A finely cast gold and silver inlaid archaistic 'recumbent buffalo' waterpot Yuan Dynasty -Ming Dynasty, 13th-15th century | 元至明 十三至十五世紀 銅錯金銀臥牛水注

An old aristocratic Spanish family collection (painted inventory number 28117 to base).

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西班牙貴族家族舊藏 （底部記藏品編號28117）

The treatment and inlaid decoration found on this delicate waterpot can be compared to the revival archaistic decoration found on the more commonly found tapir-form bronze vessel which have historically been dated broadly to the Song to Ming dynasties, with a number attributed to the Yuan dynasty, such as one included in the exhibition Through the Prism of the Past. Antiquarian Trends in Chinese Art of the 16th to 18th Century, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, cat. no. III-55, where cat. no. III-59 is an inlaid, archaistic fenghuang with a vase on its back; and another related vessel inlaid with metal wire.

Compare a related Tapir-form vessel inlaid with metal wire but without the rich relief decoration, published in Le Musée Chinois de l’Impératrice Eugénie, Paris, 1994, p. 28, fig. 20. Another similar example, acquired by Henri Cernuschi in 1896, attributed to the 16th to early 17th century, in the exhibition Bronzes de la Chine impériale des Song aux Qing, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, 2013, cat. no. 42.  

Compare also a gold and silver-inlaid bronze tapir-form zun vessel dated the the Ming dynasty, sold in our New York rooms, 15th March 2017, lot 565, from the collection of jeffrey m. Kaplan. 

The inlaid decoration found on the present waterpot is based on ancient prototypes from the Eastern Zhou and Warring States period, 5th-3rd century B.C., such as one example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Shang and Chou Dynasty Bronze Wine vessels, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1989, cat. no. 66.

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本品錯金銀紋飾風格，可比較其他仿古紋飾作例，更常見造型為貘，多數斷代宋至明朝，部份斷代元朝，比較一例，《古色 : 十六至十八世紀兿術的仿古風》，故宮博物院，台北，2008年，編號III-55，編號III-59為仿古錯金銀 

鳳凰，鳳凰背負一尊，另有一例，嵌金屬絲。再比一犧尊 例，嵌金屬絲，紋飾較素，載於《Le Musée Chinois de l’Impératrice Eugénie》，巴黎，1994年，頁28，圖20。尚有一例，1896年由Henri Cernuschi納入珍藏，斷代十六世紀至十七世紀初期，曾展於《Bronzes de la Chine impériale des Song aux Qing》，Musée Cernuschi，巴黎， 2013年，編號42。

比較一例，明十六 / 十七世紀銅錯金銀犧尊，售於紐約蘇富比2017年3月15日，編號565，出自jeffrey m. Kaplan收藏。

本品錯金銀紋飾，源自東周及戰國高古器原型，比較一例，台北故宮博物院收藏，圖載於《商周青銅酒器特展》，台北，1989年，編號66。