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Lot Essay
This vessel and others like it are the result of the interest in archaic bronzes during the Northern Song period, brought about by a renewed interest in Confucianism and anything associated with the rituals of the Bronze Age. The archaic inspiration for these vessels could be embodied by a Warring States tapir-form vessel inlaid with gold, silver and turquoise illustrated in A Selection of Archaeological Finds of The People's Republic of China, Beijing, 1976, pl. 44.
A comparable but slightly more elaborate Song/Yuan example was sold by Christie's New York, 21 March 2000, lot 162. The dating of this vessel was substantiated by a thermoluminescence test. As the present lot is less lavishly decorated a slightly earlier date is conceivable.
See also the exhibition catalogue Le Musée chinois de l'Impératrice Eugénie, Château de Fontainebleau, Blanchard, Le Plessis-Robinson, juin 1994, fig. 20.
A comparable but slightly more elaborate Song/Yuan example was sold by Christie's New York, 21 March 2000, lot 162. The dating of this vessel was substantiated by a thermoluminescence test. As the present lot is less lavishly decorated a slightly earlier date is conceivable.
See also the exhibition catalogue Le Musée chinois de l'Impératrice Eugénie, Château de Fontainebleau, Blanchard, Le Plessis-Robinson, juin 1994, fig. 20.