Rhino Horn Artifact (Rhino Horn-Carved Ewer with Dragon Patterns by Bao Tiancheng)
The rhino horn-carved ewer was made by Bao Tiancheng, a renowned sculptor in Jiangsu during the late Ming Dynasty. Bao excelled in ivory and horn carving, and many of his works were collected in the imperial palace. Precious and small, rhino horns were hardly ever used to make ewers and pots. There is no sign that this ewer was ever used for its purpose, so it has been conjectured that the artifact was made as a collectible curio.
The ewer has a helmet-shaped lid that can be opened. Four circles of decorations surround its body including two circles of dragon patterns, one circle of animal face patterns, and another circle of banana leaf patterns. The spout and handle are also covered by dragon patterns. Most of the rhino horn products have no signs to identify their makers. However, the bottom of this exquisite ewer is carved with the inscriptions "Made by Bao Tiancheng".
This rhino horn-carved ewer was once lost abroad. Eventually, Yip Yi (1919-1984), a patriotic collector in Hong Kong, donated it to the Palace Museum.
Originally from Guangdong, Yip became a well-known surgeon in Hong Kong. He developed a hobby of collecting relics, especially bamboo, wood, and horn artifacts. In the 1980s, Yip visited Beijing and met Yang Boda, a cultural heritage expert at the Palace Museum, to whom Yip expressed his donation intention but suddenly died of illness before the donation was made. In January 1985, the executors of his will in Hong Kong donated all 81 rhino horn artifacts in his collection to the Palace Museum.
The rhino horn artifacts donated by Yip had significantly enriched the collection of similar relics in the Palace Museum, and testified to the Hong Kong collector's allegiance to the motherland.
犀角器（鲍天成款犀角雕螭纹执壶）
犀角雕螭纹执壶，为明末江苏一带雕刻能手鲍天成所制。他擅雕牙角材质，作品多进入宫廷。犀角珍贵且尺寸小，鲜少用于制壶，此壶几乎没有使用痕迹，应为文玩。
壶有盔帽状的壶盖，可以打开。壶身纹饰分四层，两层为蟠夔纹，兽面纹、蕉叶纹各一层。出水口和壶把均有螭龙围绕。犀角制品大多不记录制作者，此壶底有“鲍天成制”款识，属难得佳作。
这只犀角壶曾流失海外，为香港爱国收藏家叶义捐赠。叶义先生祖籍广东，是香港有名的外科医生。他业余爱好收藏，尤其喜欢竹木牙角类文物。20世纪80年代叶义访京，与故宫文物专家杨伯达相识，达成捐赠意向。可惜意向还未实现，叶义便骤然病逝。其香港友人受托执行遗嘱，于1985年1月将他收藏的81件犀角器悉数捐赠故宫博物院。
这批犀角器的到来，不仅大大丰富了故宫博物院此类文物的馆藏数量，亦是香港收藏家拳拳爱国之心的见证。
