AN ARCHAISTIC GOLD AND SILVER-DAMASCENED WINE VESSEL AND COVER, GONG 18th centuryAN ARCHAISTIC GOLD AND SILVER-DAMASCENED WINE VESSEL AND COVER, GONG18th centuryOf archaistic gong-shape, rising from a straight foot, the globular body connected to a stylised bird-head lid by a swing handle made of three movable sections, the waisted neck with raised nails in the form of chain jewellery, decorated around the body with designs of mythical beast masks, floral and geometric patterns damascened in gold and silver. 36cm (14 1/8in) high.Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價十八世紀 銅錯金銀獸面紋觥Provenance: Henri-Rene d'Allemagne (1863-1950) collection, Marnes-la-Coquette來源：Henri-Rene d'Allemagne (1863-1950) 舊藏，馬爾訥拉科凱特Published and Illustrated: Michael Goedhuis, Chinese and Japanese Bronzes A.D.1100-1900, London, 1989, no.83.展覽著錄：Michael Goedhuis著，《Chinese and Japanese Bronzes A.D.1100-1900》，倫敦，1989年, 編號83Henri-Rene d'Allemagne (1863-1950) was a French historian, librarian, author and collector. He was the owner of a large collection of Islamic items which was acquired after his death from his son Jacques d'Allemagne by P.T.Brooke-Sewell, who presented them to the British Museum in 1956. The subject matter of his books range from titles on decorative ironwork to playing cards.With silver inlaid designs on the body and the cover, the present vessel is inspired by the archaic ritual bronze wine vessels guang or gong. During the Ming dynasty, appreciating and collecting antique artefacts was highly popular. At this time, comprehensive catalogues illustrating the archaistic bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties were prepared and supplied the workshops with inspirational designs for the production of contemporary wares. The present vessel cleverly combines two archaic forms, namely the hu shape for wine containers produced during the Zhou dynasty, and the guang shape for handled wine ewers produced during the Shang dynasty, which were shaped as a sauce boat and had their cover cast as a dragon with a toothy grin and protruding horn. Wine vessels combining the hu and an animal shape were already produced during the later phases of the Zhou Dynasty. Compare, for example, with a bronze bird-head wine vessel, Warring States, excavated in Shandong, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes Beijing, 1997, p.28, no.27. For a bronze gong pouring vessel, Shang dynasty, see the example in the British Museum, London, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Art and Ritual, London, 1987, cat.no.6.The inlaid designs of cusped palmettes are similar to those found on Persian metalworks and suggest that the present vessel may have been produced for the Islamic market. See, for example, a large tinned copper basin, Safavid Iran, 17th century, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by A.S.Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, 8-18th Centuries, London, 1982, pp.317-318, no.143. A very similar bronze-inlay 'owl' vase, Ming dynasty, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 November 2022, lot 139.