Lot 145 D‡α

The number of signed rhinoceros libation cups is relatively small. According to Jan Chapman, over 60 carvers are recorded. Among these is You Kan 尤侃 with pseudonym Zhisheng 直生, of whom 19 pieces are known. It is assumed that You worked in the imperial workshops, as one of his works is housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing. He could be identical with You Bei, who according to sources was appointed to the court by Emperor Kangxi.
You Kan’s preferred method of signing was the combination of a round and a square seal, Zhisheng and You Kan respectively. His work is carefully polished and the amber colour of the material is complemented by darker sections. The cups display an extraordinarily wide range of motifs from archaic patterns to vivid depictions of birds. The figural subject on the present libation cup shows You Kan’s great compositional skill, giving the depiction a spatial depth. His refined carving technique becomes evident in the varying layers of undercutting.

十七世紀 犀牛角雕人物圖杯
款識: 「直生」, 「尤侃」

可比：尤侃的其他作品，Jan Chapman著，《中國的犀牛角雕刻藝術》，倫敦1999年， 圖156，296，347
來源: 德國漢堡私人所有, 1970年代初購於藝術商Felix Roman Jagielski處



存世的帶款犀牛角雕杯數量並不多。揚查普曼(Jan Chapman)在他的書中列舉了六十多位犀牛角雕刻大師，其中便有尤侃(別名直生)，其十九件作品被記錄於書中。據推測，他曾征入皇家禦用作坊，因為他的一件作品被收藏於北京故宮博物院。尤侃偏愛用「直生」與「尤侃」一圓一方兩小印的結合來留款。他的作品打磨精心，材料的琥珀色與深色部分相輔相成， 展示了從仿古圖形到生動的鳥類圖案等及其豐富的題材。此款酒杯上的人物主題，展現了尤侃高超的構圖與雕刻功力，作品不僅具有空間深度且完成了不同層次上的切割細節，甚至可以看到隱藏在樹梢後面的一些圖案。