A SILVER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF A TORTOISE AND YOUNG, ATTRIBUTED TO SHISOU, LATE MING DYNASTY
China, 17th century. Well cast as a mother tortoise standing foursquare and lifting its head as its young clambers on her back. Both with their carapaces finely inlaid with silver wire, the mother’s deeply incised as well, their faces neatly detailed.


Provenance:
From a private French collection in Bordeaux.

Condition:
Very good condition with minor wear and casting irregularities, few small nicks, light scratches, minor losses to inlays. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 365.7 g
Dimensions: Length 10.4 cm


Little is known about the historical figure Shisou
. The earliest reference in the Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian ('Dictionary of Chinese Artists') comes from the Luochuang xiaodu and is presumably from the same source as published in Zhongguo yishujia zhenglue ('Brief Introduction of Chinese Artists’). Shisou is listed there only as a late Ming dynasty monk without any further biographical information. A number of vessels and sculptures from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century bear his name, sometimes in combination with a hall name, Jinyu tang (‘Hall of Prosperity’). Although the present piece is unsigned, the high quality of the casting and fine silver-wire inlays make an attribution to Shisou or a related workshop more than reasonable.


The tortoise is one of the Four Fabulous Animals
, the most prominent beasts of China. They govern the four points of the compass, with the Black Tortoise as the ruler of the north, symbolizing endurance, strength, and longevity. The tortoise and the tiger are the only real animals of the four, although the tortoise is sometimes depicted with supernatural features such as dragon ears, flaming tentacles, and a long hairy tail - such as the present lot - representing seaweed and the growth of plant parasites found on older tortoise shells that flow behind the tortoise as it swims. The Chinese Imperial Army carried flags with images of dragons and tortoises as symbols of unparalleled power and inaccessibility, as these animals fought with each other but both remained alive.


Literature comparison:

For an earlier inlaid bronze tortoise-form weight, dated 3rd-2nd century BC, see Christie’s New York, The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection, 16 September 2010, lot 907. For an inlaid bronze tortoise-form weight dated Yuan to Ming dynasty, see Christie’s Hong Kong, Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 27 November 2013, lot 3584. A lacquer-gilt bronze model of a turtle, also dated to the 17th century, was sold in these rooms in Fine Chinese Art, Buddhism and Hinduism on 6 March 2021, lot 430.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Zacke, 16 October 2021, lot 346
Price: EUR 1,150 or approx.
EUR 1,350
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A silver-inlaid bronze ‘turtle’ weight, attributed to Shisou, late Ming dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of casting, silver wire inlay decoration, and size (10 cm). Note that this is a figure of the mother turtle only,
not showing the young
.




明末錯銀銅龜携子，或爲石叟

中國，十七世紀。 一隻母龜呈四足著地立姿，抬頭；一隻小龜爬在她的背上。龜甲上精美錯銀線，面部細節生動，活靈活現。


來源：
法國波爾多私人收藏。

品相：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損和鑄造不規則，局部小刻痕，輕微劃痕，鑲嵌物有輕微損失。整體包漿細膩。

重量：365.7 克
尺寸：長10.4 厘米


文獻比較：

一件西元二至三世紀銅鑲嵌龜鎮，見紐約佳士得，「The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection」，2010年9月16日，lot 907。一件元至明代銅鑲嵌龜鎮，見香港佳士得，《Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art》，2013年11月27日，lot 3584。一件十七世紀漆金鎏金銅龜，售於Zacke，《Fine Chinese Art，Buddhism and Hinduism》，2021年3月6日，lot 430。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：Zacke，2021年10月16日，lot 346
價格：EUR 1,150（相當於今日
EUR 1,350
）
描述：明末錯銀銅龜鎮紙
專家評論：比較非常相近的鑄造風格，銀鑲嵌裝飾和尺寸(10 厘米)。請注意此龜鎮紙只有母龜，
沒有小龜
。