A BRONZE ‘DEER’ WATERDROPPER, LATE MING TO EARLY QING DYNASTY
China, 17th to 18th century. Naturalistically modeled as a deer seated on its haunches, detailed with branched antlers growing horizontally and forking into each other, the face with large wide eyes and alert funnel-shaped ears, the head raised and turned to one side with an opening through the mouth and pierced behind the neck with a circular aperture.


Provenance
: The present lot was part of an important collection of archaic Chinese bronzes, built by three generations of the Chasseloupe-Laubat family in France. Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat (1805-1873), was a prominent aristocrat, politician, and art collector who became Minister of the French Navy and the Colonies under Napoleon III, traveling extensively though all of Asia. His son Louis (1863-1954), an engineer in ship design, significantly expanded the family collection, also during his frequent travels throughout Asia. François (1904-1968), Prosper’s grandson, eventually inherited the family passion and became a renowned explorer and participant in the Hoggar Expedition. He was the first French explorer to reach English Malaysia, bringing back previously unpublished documents on the isolated Sakai tribes. As a collector, François Chasseloupe-Laubat was advised by Jean Claude Moreau-Gobard, an important French collector and dealer specializing in Asian art.

Condition
: Good condition with minor wear and casting irregularities, some nicks. One foot with a minor old repair and associated soldering marks. The bronze with a smooth patina of dark chestnut color overall.

Weight: 258.7 g
Dimensions: Height 12.7 cm, Length 10.5 cm


Deer antlers
are classified as ‘typical’ or ‘nontypical’. In general, the tines of typical antlers grow vertically as individual points, whereas the tines of nontypical antlers grow down horizontally and sometimes fork. Although most bucks grow typical racks, abnormalities that produce nontypical antlers similar to those seen on the present lot are relatively common.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 14 September 2015, lot 8082
Price: USD 3,125 or approx.
EUR 3,700
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze deer-form water dropper, 17th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form and similar pose. Note the similar size (9.2 cm).




明末清初鹿形硯滴

中國，十七至十八世紀。 造型自然，鹿成坐姿，鹿角分叉上揚，大眼，漏斗狀耳朵竪起，頭部抬起並轉向一側。鹿口有一個開口，頸部後面穿有一個圓形孔。


來源：
法國Chasseloup-Laubat家族的三代人共同努力建立的中國古代青銅器重要收藏的一部分。Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat（1805-1873 年）是一位著名的貴族、政治家和藝術收藏家，後來成為拿破崙三世領導下的法國海軍和殖民地部長，足跡遍及整個亞洲。他的兒子Louis（1863-1954 年）是一名船舶設計工程師。在他頻繁遊歷亞洲期間，他的家族收藏顯著擴大。 Prosper的孫子François（1904-1968）最終也成為著名的探險家和霍格探險隊的參與者。他是第一位到達英屬馬來西亞的法國探險家，帶回了之前未發表的關於與世隔絕的酒井部落的文獻。 作為一名收藏家，François Chasseloupe-Laubat 得到了Jean Claude Moreau-Gobard 的指導，後者是法國一位重要的亞洲藝術收藏家和經銷商。

品相：
狀況良好，有輕微磨損和鑄造不規則，有一些刻痕。一隻腳有小修和焊接痕跡。整體呈深栗色。

重量：258.7 克
尺寸：高 12.7 厘米，長 10.5 厘米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約邦翰斯，2015年9月14日，lot 8082
價格：USD 3,125（相當於今日
EUR 3,700
）
描述：十七世紀銅鹿形水滴
專家評論：比較相近的外形和相似的姿勢。請注意相似的尺寸(9.2厘米)。