(1) Landscape modeling. Carve mountains and rivers outside the cup to create a landscape of mountains, rivers and waterfalls, just like traditional landscape painting.
(2) flower-shaped cups. The cup is carved into flowers and lotus leaves, and its branches and bracts are used as handles or seats. Some are made up of wide-angle branches more than a foot long. After the center is perforated, it bends to the mouth of the cup, most of which are tapered and cannot stand firmly. You shouldn't leave your hand until you finish drinking.
(3) People's Cup. Most of the patterns carved outside the cup are hunting pictures, fairy pictures and birthday decorations of the Eight Immortals.
(4) Auspicious Cup. Various auspicious animals, such as tigers, dragons and bats, are carved on the wall of the cup.
(5) antique cups. Cup-shaped bronze ware, with oval mouth, narrow side flowing, wide side handle, mouth decorated with back or hook pattern, body decorated with gluttonous pattern, three-legged or round-footed, with complex decorative patterns imitating Chinese wine glasses, mostly antique Yi carving 12 dragon.
The decorative pattern of the above rhinoceros horn cup is carved by the methods of negative line, positive line, flat convex, hidden convex and hollowing out. Hollow out is generally used for handles, carved into branches or branches of pine trees and miscellaneous trees. The hollow handles of antique cups are sometimes carved into dragons and flies. In addition, there are light cups, some are rhinoceros horn cups that make the whole rhinoceros horn into a natural shape, and some are made of rhinoceros horn, with no handle or single handle. Many rhinoceros horn devices are dark purple or dark red after dyeing or painting, and the natural color needs waxing to protect the surface. The carved rhinoceros horn cup was first seen in the Ming Dynasty. Famous ones are Bao Tiancheng, Pu Zhongqian, You Tong and You Kan. Among them, You Tong during the reign of Kangxi was especially good at making rhinoceros horn cups, which were called "You rhinoceros cups". Due to the limitation of materials, there are few craftsmen who specialize in carving rhinoceros horns, most of them are from bamboo and wood artists or have a strong literati atmosphere.