清康熙 犀角雕「河崖憩舟」圖盃 周文樞製 《文樞》款

deftly carved in deep relief around the exterior with a continuous landscape in imitation of classical ink painting, one side depicting a scholar seated at ease in a boat with an attendant at the prow fanning charcoals under a kettle, navigating on rippling waters towards an open-air gazebo built on the opposite riverbank, with a waterfall rushing in the distance, all below cloud-enshrouded cliffs and tall overhanging wutong and paulownia trees, their trunk forming an openwork handle at one end of the horn, the interior left plain with only a subtle ridge outlining the irregularly shaped rim cleverly worked to accent the three-dimensionality of the scene, the horn richly patinated to a warm honey colour evolving to a deeper lustrous burnt-caramel tone on the underside, signed Wenshu, stand

紐約佳士得1985年12月2日，編號365

《金木水火土：香港文物收藏精品展》，香港藝術館，香港，2004年

霍滿棠，《中國犀角雕刻珍賞》，香港，1999年，頁210-211，圖版154
〈一兩犀角三兩金〉，《藝術與收藏》，2001年，第105期，頁101

The rim appears to have been polished down to conceal old damage. There is a vertical patch to the interior of a different colour and texture to the rest of the cup, which may possibly be restoration to a crack. There are other minor losses to the extremities of the design, and general surface wear.
"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."

The present exquisite cup is a masterpiece by the late Ming dynasty carver Zhou Wenshu. Jan Chapman in The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pp.142-144, lists Zhou as a carver from Shangyuan (present day Nanjing in Jiangsu province) who was active in the early 17th century and who loved to translate painted handscrolls into carvings. Three cups decorated with scenes copied from paintings and signed by Zhou are known.

This cup, meticulously carved with a river-landscape, unquestionably found inspiration from literary paintings of the Ming dynasty. Taking boat trips surrounded by an idyllic landscape was a pleasurable activity among the gentry and scholar-officials of the period, and this subject transferred onto a rhinoceros horn carvings would have been commissioned by members of the elite society.

For examples of carvings by Zhou, see one in the collection of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, illustrated Chapman, op.cit., 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 included in the museum’s official website www.antiquities.npm.gov.tw and is also illustrated ibid., pl. 167. Chapman 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. (See ibid., p. 144)