A RHINOCEROS HORN 'LANDSCAPE' LIBATION CUP, SCHOOL OF ZHOU WENSHU 17TH CENTURY

the slender horn widening at the mouth carved with an idyllic scene of two scholars seated in a small cottage raised on stilts over a river, below a pair of lofty pine trees forming the handles, the reverse with a further small hut on the riverbank, the interior rim set with a pine tree 'breaking through' from the exterior, the horn of warm amber tone with a smooth patina

Collection of Marcel Lorber.
Sotheby’s London, 24th April 1987, lot 269.
Collection of Franklin Chow.

Craving for Carvings: Rhinoceros Horn from the Chow Collection, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, 2003, cat. no. FC47.

Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 159.

Apart from a few minor insect holes and small nibbles, the overall condition is very good.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

While the present cup is not signed, it displays much of the characteristics associated with Zhou Wenshu’s  school of carving.  It is exceptional in its workmanship and decoration that is related to the style of landscape painting popular during the late Ming period. Zhou loved to translate paintings onto the surface a three-dimensional medium and was a master of placement and carving. The small thatched hut standing on stilts over the rushing water exhibits a sense of tranquillity with the two figures, possibly scholars, listening to the sound of the flowing water and gazing out at the scenery.  The depiction of the figures is so meticulous and detailed that even their facial expression is clearly observable despite being only a small part of the composition. The double handle of the cup is masterly shaped out of two huge pine treetrunks, while another small hut is dwarfed by an impressive pine tree growing out of rocks fashioned at the base of the vessel. For more information on Zhou see the notes to the vessel in this collection (lot XX) and Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pp.  142-144.

For examples of carvings by Zhou, see one in the collection of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, illustrated ibid., p. 142, pl. 164,that bears an inscription indicating that the carving is based on a painted handscroll by the Ming artist Wen Boren (1502-75) and also with a cyclical date wuxu which may possibly correspond to 1658. The Chester Beatty Library has two further cups by Zhou, one decorated with figures in landscape, included ibid., pl. 166, and the other depicting a picture of the eight immortals drinking in a mountain setting, ibid., pl. 274. Another vessel by Zhou, in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, incised with his signature Wenshu is illustrated ibid., pl. 167. Chapman ibid., p. 144, mentions  further examples of Zhou’s works in the collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass., in the Ostasiatiska Museet, Stockholm and in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.