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You Tong
Early Qing rhinoceros-horn carver of Wuxi whose signed cups survive, one of them honoured with a poem by the Qianlong emperor
A craft workshop centres on a potter's wheel holding a tall celadon vase, amid racks of red lacquer boxes, an embroidery frame with a floral design, shelves of celadon ware, carved wooden panels and stacked logs, while one craftsman works at a table and another stands at a glowing kiln.
Also known as Rhinoceros-horn carver of the You family of Wuxi
- Roles
- Master Craftsmen
You Tong was a rhinoceros-horn carver of the Wuxi area in the early Qing whose life is unrecorded, though several horn carvings bear his signature. The Qianlong emperor wrote a poem on a raft cup carved with an immortal and signed You Tong, noting from the Wuxi county gazetteer that the You family there was known for horn drinking vessels. Pieces signed You Kan also survive, and Palace Museum scholars suggest the Yous were a hereditary family of horn carvers; whether the so-called 'You rhinoceros cups' refer to You Tong alone is not settled.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active c. early Qing