A RARE GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE TAPIR-FORM VESSEL, ZUN17th/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. 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 The collection belonged to Sir Michael and Lady Oppenheimer DD (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020). Sir Michael's maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Grenville Harvey, 2nd Baronet (1856-1931) and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935) of Langley Park, Buckinghamshire. The Chinese art collection can be, at least in part, traced back to Langley Park, Buckinghamshire, home to the Harvey Baronets from 1788 until 1945, as demonstrated in a pre-1945 photograph showing Lot 122, the cloisonné enamel tripod 'elephant' incense burner, Qianlong. Sir Michael Oppenheimer's paternal family was the well-known South African mining family. The baronetcy was created in 1921 for Bernard Oppenheimer, Chairman of the South African Diamond Corporation for setting up diamond sorting factories to employ wounded ex-servicemen after the First World War. The family has been involved with De Beers over many decades. Lady Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022) was a distinguished moral and philosophical theologian, with a particular interest in the ethics pertaining to personal relations. 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 Song dynasty (AD 960-1127). The ruler, a keen antiquarian, prompted 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 '