Name/Title
Ceramic RhinoDescription
Small little ceramic rhino, looks like it was previously painted with red that has since faded. Measurement: 11" L x 6" Height.Context
The realistic depiction of rhinos in Chinese art suggests that these pieces were modeled off of real-life rhinos instead of off tales and other types of stories/ histories. The rhino depicted in this statue is either a Sumatran or Northern Sumatran rhino, which has two distinct horns, one longer nasal one and the other much shorter. Both types of rhinos have been extinct in China since the early 20th century. The Sumatran, two-horned rhino is the most common one depicted in Shang, Zhou, and Han art. These rhino species became had disappeared in Northern China by the Han Dynasty, and by the Song Dynasty, they had been poached out of existence in Central and Northern China because of the value of their horns. Rhinoceros horns were very popular in China and many types of objects, like cups, snuff bottles, medicines, and hair pins were made out of rhino horn. In Ancient China (warring states period), it was believed that rhino horn would fizz in reaction to poison, and so they made cups out of rhino horns, though there are only written records of this and none of the physical artifacts are still around. Rhino cups were later used for ritualistic purposes. Couldn't really find what the rhino itself symbolizes in Chinese art, but the horn is a part of one of the Eight Treasures.