Rare Vaishnava ritual cup

Rare Vaishnava-type ritual bowl made of rhinoceros horn carved in the shape of a yoni, the interior decorated in high relief with a four-armed figure of Vishnu holding his attributes, seated on a Garuda, the god’s mount, crouching on a blossoming lotus whose stem joins the tip of the bowl. On the outside, cartouches show various avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu: Kalkin with a horse’s head; Matsya, the fish; Kurma, the turtle; Narasimha with a lion’s head; Varaha with a boar’s head; the Buddha; Rama; the dwarf Vamana.
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Weight: 244 g
Dim. 4.5 x 17.2 cm.
Provenance: French private collection.

Reproduced in:
J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 248 and 273, figs. 393-394,

Compare with a very similar bowl sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, May 29, 2018, lot 61.

The majority of carved rhinoceros horn vessels from Nepal are dedicated to Vishnu, Nepalese rulers being considered incarnations of the god.
In addition to the iconography – Vishnu reincarnating in various avatars to restore universal harmony – the form and material are also highly symbolic. The former, the yoni, representing the female reproductive organs, symbolizes fertility and powerful spiritual and creative energy. As for the latter, according to the Vishnu Purana, a sacred Vaishnavite text, it has the property of neutralizing all sins.
* Specimen made from the horn of Rhinoceros spp* (Rhinocerotidae spp) 1/A pre-convention, in compliance with the AM of May 4, 2017 allowing the commercial use of specimens worked from the horn of Rhinocerotidae spp. For an exit from the EU, a CITES re-export will be required, this being the responsibility of the future purchaser.