An archaic bronze model of a tapir

Late Spring and Autumn to Warring States period,
6th to 5th century BC
Houma Niucum Foundries, Shanxi Province

Length: 7 in (17.9 cm)
Height: 4 7/8 in (12.3 cm)

An extremely rare bronze quadruped, the figure, sometimes referred to as that of a tapir, standing straight on all four hooves with head and ears erect, the body covered all over with an intricate design.

For a similar piece in the Freer Gallery see Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period (Washington DC: 1982), page 77. A similar piece sold at Sotheby's, London, June 12, 2003, lot 74.

Provenance:
Michael Morrison
William Haines, Pasadena, California

Microscopic and chemical analysis have been performed by Orenda Laboratories and support the above dating.

Published: Asiantiques, Chinese Works of Art (2009), cat. no. 107

Ref. 860276

SOLD