Rhinoceros Horn Carved Double Dragon Ear Beast Face Pattern Cup

[Rhinoceros Horn Carved Double Chi Ear Beast Face Pattern Cup]

Rhinoceros Horn Carved Double Chi Ear Beast Face Pattern Cup, Qing Qianlong, height 6.3 cm, caliber 14.1-8.5 cm, foot diameter 3.9-3.4 cm
This cup has an open mouth, a closed abdomen, a high circle of feet, the edges of the feet being tilted outward, and the bottom slightly concave. The cup mouth is nearly elliptical, with one end slightly cocked, forming a flow; The other end has a small radian and is the tail, with subtle line changes. The shallow relief variant at the edge of the outer wall is covered with a lotus petal pattern, and the leaf margin and vein are formed by double hooks. The main decoration of the cup body is the variant animal face pattern, which is divided into two groups and is respectively decorated on both sides of the body. The side lines are all convex yang patterns, which are extremely delicate. The cup body is made of three layers of patterns, including the floor, the animal surface, and the outline, with a shallow yang line as the floor. The center line of each group of animal faces is decorated with a vertical geometric band, which evolved from the decoration of the leaf ribs in bronze craft. The cup is made up of carved double dragon dragons, one large and one small. The large one sticks his head and holds the rim of the cup, while the small one climbs onto the body of the cup. The sculpture is rounded and vivid, in sharp contrast to the light patterned main decoration. While imitating the decoration of Shang and Zhou bronzes, this cup decoration is not restricted to the ancients, but fully takes into account the characteristics of the rhinoceros horn material and the aesthetic taste of the court at that time. It is a typical work in the antique rhinoceros horn carving of the Qing Dynasty.