λ A CHINESE RHINOCEROS HORN TRIPOD LIBATION CUP 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY The exterior carved in shallow relief with two sinuous chilong holding branches of lingzhi in their mouths, with a formal wave border to the flared rim, all supported on three tall curved feet, 12.2cm, 134g. Provenance: from the collection of Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart, OBE, CIE, and thence by descent. Stuart was in India between 1928 and 1949 and he was a State Magistrate in the Indian Civil Service. After retiring he returned to Edinburgh. Cf. T Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, p.93, no.46 for a similar example from the collection of Mr Chun-hung Li. Please note that an export licence will only be granted for rhinoceros horn pieces should the hammer price meet or exceed the value of 100 USD per gram of the item's weight.