Page 68 - Bonhams, Fine Chinese Art, London November 3, 2022

121 *
Image courtesy of the Art Museum, Princeton
Image courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei Song dynasty (AD 960-1127). The ruler, a keen antiquarian, prompted
Illustration of a bronze tapir from the Xuanhe Bogu tulu
(Xuanhe Illustrated Collection of Antiques)
For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
66 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.
A RARE GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE TAPIR-FORM
VESSEL, ZUN
17th/18th century
The creature standing foursquare with mouth slightly open below
a curled snout, carrying a square-sectioned vase on its back, the
pointed ears behind flaming eyebrows, the collar with a band of
bosses, the body and face inlaid with gold and silver depicting foliate,
geometric and spiralling designs.
35.5cm (14in) long.
£30,000 - 50,000
CNY240,000 - 390,000
十七/十八世紀 銅錯金銀犧尊
Provenance: Sir Michael Oppenheimer (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020) and
Lady Helen Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022), and thence by descent
來源：Michael Oppenheimer 爵士（三代從男爵，1924-2020年）
與Helen Oppenheimer爵士夫人（1926-2022年）舊藏，並由後人保
存迄今
Finely cast as a tapir carrying a gu vase on its back, the present vessel
is a playful interpretation of archaic bronze models, encapsulating
the reverence for the past and expansion of political power of the
time of its production. The form and decoration are based on ancient
prototypes dating to the Warring States period, (475-221 BC), which
were similarly shaped and decorated with inlaid designs in gold and
silver.
The identity of the creature cast as the base for the present vase has
been greatly discussed and variously referred to as a ‘mythological
animal’, a ‘rhinoceros’ and a ‘tapir’. The latter appears to be the most
likely candidate as tapirs, although currently extinct in China, appear to
have been indigenous to the area since as early as 200,000 BC.
Archaistic vessels of this type are the result of renewed interest in
ancient bronzes during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern
the publication of the ‘Xuanhe Illustrated Catalogue of Antiques’,
Xuanhe Bogu tulu, which included an illustration of a tapir-shaped
bronze vessel. The popularity of inlaid zoomorphic bronze vessels
continued into the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (13th-18th
centuries). The ‘Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities’ Xiqing gujian, for
example, is an illustrated catalogue of ancient bronze utensils and
other objects from the Shang (1600-1046 BC) to the Han (202 BC-
220 AD) dynasties in the Imperial collection of the Qing dynasty.
This work was commissioned by the Qianlong emperor, compiled
under the supervision of scholar-official Liang Shizheng (1697-1763),
and completed in 1751. This ambitious literary project reflected the
emperor’s intention to ‘restore the ancient ways’, referring to the
view of ancient culture as having intrinsic moral qualities of sincerity,
simplicity and happy exuberance.
Compare with a related cloisonné enamel zun vessel shaped as a
tapir at the base, Qianlong mark and period, in the National Palace
Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing
Dynasty, Taipei, 1999, no.43. See also a related bronze gold and silver-
inlaid ‘tapir’ vessel, Ming dynasty, in the collection of the Cernuschi
Museum, Paris, acc.no.M.C.583.
A related bronze gold and silver-inlaid ‘tapir’ vessel, zun, 17th/18th
century, was sold at Christie’s New York, 13 February 2018, lot 108;
see also a related bronze ‘tapir’ vessel, xizun, Qianlong mark and
period, which was sold at Christie’s London, 3 November 2020, lot 90.