Jade Bull Rython

The jade rhyton of a very pale greenish—gray color with dark brown striations is carved in the form of a curved—shaped cup terminating in a bold bull’s head. The horns, ears, eyes and nose are rendered in high relief with softly polished details, such as the horns and forehead with a star—shaped mark in the center. The nose is incised with a curved mouth and rounded nostrils. The eyes protruding from the head have double—incised lids and rims. The horns curl up the side of the vessel above the ears.

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Perhaps the most often illustrated example of a jade rhyton is in the Avery Brundage Collection illustrated by Lefebvre d’Argence in Chinese Jades (Plate XXXIV).

A Bovine Headed—Rhyton dated to the Tang Dynasty is illustrated in James C.Y. Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing (New York: The Asia Society, 1980, cat. no. 29). An Onyx Antelope Rhyton of similar but elongated shape, found in Xian, Shaanxi is illustrated in Historical Relics Unearthed in New China (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1972, cat. no. 155).

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An earthenware Bull Rhyton dated to the Tang Dynasty is illustrated in Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth: Chinese Treasures of the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Canada: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1992, cat. no. 24) and a bull with a similar face supporting a pillow formerly in the Hugh Scott collection is illustrated in Tang Sancai Pottery: Selected from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman (with an introduction by Margaret Medley, exhibited at The International Ceramics Fair and Seminar, London, 10-13 June, 1989 and at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN, 10 September-22 October 1989, cat. no. 16).

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A Buffalo with a similar star in the center of its forehead, dated to the Han Dynasty or later and from the Avery Brundage Collection, is illustrated in John Ayers’ and Jessica Rawson’s Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages (exhibition catalogue, May 1— June 22, 1975, held at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, organized by The Arts Council of Great Britain and The Oriental Ceramic Society, cat. no. 241).