A rare Chinese gold and silver inlaid bronze tapir-form ritual vessel, zun, Yuan/Ming dynasty, finely cast in the form of a tapir standing foursquare with its mouth slightly open, the flared ears decorated with small triangles and the neck encircled with a collar, its body intricately inlaid with pattern of swirls and scrolls, the back of the hollowed body applied with a small hinged cover cast as a bird with curved wings, 36cm. long Note: The shape and inlaid gold and silver decoration of this vessel are based on archaic prototypes from the middle of the Warring States period (475-221 BC). An excavated example from Jiangsu is now in the collection of the Nanjing Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji – Gongyi meishu bian - 5 - Qingtongqi (xia), Beijing, 1986, p. 126, no. 144. Archaistic vessels of the present type are the result of tremendous interest in ancient bronzes during the Northern Song period, and their popularity has continued into the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods. A Yuan dynasty example with gold and silver inlay from the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Through the Prism of the Past, Taipei, 2003, p. 186, no. III-55. Another example, in the Royal Ontario Museum, dated Yuan-Ming dynasty, is illustrated in Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth, Toronto, 1992, p. 102, no. 53; another similar example, acquired by Henri Cernuschi in 1896, dated to the 16th-early 17th century, in the exhibition Bronzes de la Chine impériale des Song aux Qing, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, 2013, cat. no. 42, another dated Song dynasty from the collection of E. B. Ellice-Clark, illustrated in the Catalogue of a Collection of Objects of Chinese Art, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1915, pl. XXXV, was subsequently sold at Christie’s Paris, 12 June 2012, lot 286. Other examples of similarly shaped and decorated zun that have been seen on the market are: A tapir-shaped zun of slightly larger size was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2007, lot 162, previously in the collection of a former chairman of the Far Eastern Art Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; another tapir-shaped vessel dated to the Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century from the collection of Jeffrey M. Kaplan Collection was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 15 March 2017, lot 565; a third tapir-form zun dated to the Yuan-Ming dynasty and of slightly bigger size was sold at Christie’s New York, 25 September 2020, lot 1538. 品相報告 Condition Report: A small dented and broken area to the rear of the back, with associated small losses of the inlays; there are a few small nicks, chips and small dents to the extremities, particularly to the ears and the cover; a small area of losses to one of the hind leg; there are some traces of lacquer throughout, minor losses of the gold and silver inlay; general surface wear including scratches and light incrustation and tarnish. Please contact the department for additional condition images. PLEASE NOTE: INTERNET BIDDING FOR THIS LOT IS AVAILABLE VIA ROSEBERYS LIVE ONLY. ALL BIDDING ON THIS LOT IS SUBJECT TO A DEPOSIT WHICH MUST BE MADE BY 1700 BST ON 17th MAY. CONTACT CLIENT SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER TO BID