A WESTERN ASIATIC CHLORITE 'SNAKE' VESSEL, 3RD MILLENNIUM BCWith a slightly domed base and tapering sides rising to a flat everted rim, carved in relief to either side with a large, archaic snake coiled around a bull with an elongated body and large oval eyes, divided by incised palm leaves, the beasts' eyes neatly inlaid in bone, the snake with many circular recesses to take inlays.Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc, inherited from the above. Thence by descent within the same family. Arthur Huc was the chief editor of La Dep?ache du Midi, at the time the leading newspaper in Toulouse, France. He was also an accomplished art critic and early patron of several artists, including Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec. At the same time, Arthur Huc was a keen collector of Asian art, a passion that he inherited from his legendary ancestor Evariste Regis Huc, also known as the Abbe Huc (1813-1860), a French Catholic priest and traveler who became famous for his accounts of Qing-era China, Mongolia and especially the then-almost-unknown Tibet in his book “Remembrances of a Journey in Tartary, Tibet, and China”.Inventory List: In 1954, L. Magniette, bailiff of the court in Toulouse (Huissier), was ordered to compile a complete inventory of the collection inherited by Marcel Huc from his father, Arthur Huc, the so-called “Inventaire Huc”. The present lot is listed in this inventory as follows: “Quatre pots anciens en pierre sculptee avec decor d'incrustations os? Haut: 21 cm ? 30, Etiquettes: Massoudi ou Iran Nord?” (Four old carved stone jars with inlays of bone? Height: 21 cm to 30, labels: Massoudi or Northern Iran?). A copy of the inventory list and cover page are accompanying this lot.Condition: Very good condition, especially when considering the dating of this piece. Scratches, nicks, losses, minor fills, encrustations, most inlays lost (except for the animals' eyes). Remnants of old varnish.French Export License: Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel Nr. 184684 dated 9 June 2017 has been granted and is accompanying this lot.Weight: 3,644 g Dimensions: Height 16 cm, Diameter 30 cmLiterature comparison: A related chlorite vessel with two zebu, of smaller size, dated 2600-2350 BC and attributed to Al-Rafiah, on the east coast of the island of Tarut, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2014.717.Auction result comparison: Compare with a related but considerably larger chlorite vessel, dated c. 2500-2600 BC, at Christie's New York in Antiquities on 8 June 2001, lot 332, sold for USD 58,750.公元前三千年西亞綠泥石蛇紋罐平底略凸,側面逐漸變細,罐表面浮雕纏繞著公牛的大蛇,細長的身體和橢圓形的大眼睛,間隔蕉葉紋,獸眼鑲嵌著骨珠,蛇身帶有許多圓形凹槽,曾經有鑲嵌。 來源:Arthur Huc (1854-1932)收藏。 Marcel Huc繼承,自此保存在同一家族至今。 Arthur Huc是La Dep?achedu Midi的主編,這是當時法國圖盧茲的主要報紙。他還是一位出色的藝術評論家,也是包括Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec在內的幾位藝術家的早期贊助人。同時,Arthur Huc是一位熱衷於亞洲藝術的收藏家,他的熱情源於他的傳奇祖先Evariste Regis Huc,中文名為古伯察(1813-1860),是法國天主教神父和旅行作家,在他的《韃靼西藏旅行記》書中描述了他在清朝的遊歷以及對蒙古尤其是當時幾乎鮮為人知的西藏的敘述。 收藏清單:1954年,圖盧茲法院法警 L. Magniette奉命對Marcel Huc從其父親Arthur Huc繼承的收藏品進行完整目錄彙編,即所謂的“ Inventaire Huc”。在目錄清單裏這麽描述本拍品:一組4件鑲嵌著骨質的罐,高21-30厘米,Massoudi 或北伊朗。隨附目錄清單副本及其封面。 圖片:Arthur Huc (1854-1932) 品相:狀況良好,尤其是在考慮它的年代時。 划痕、缺口、缺損、小修和結垢,大部分鑲嵌物丟失(動物的眼睛除外)。 舊清漆餘留。 法國出口證書:隨附2017年6月9日出具的Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel 證書,編號. 184684。 重量:3,644 克 尺寸:高16 厘米, 直徑30 厘米 拍賣結果比較:一件相近但更大的公元前2500-2600年的綠泥石罐見紐約佳士得Antiquities 拍場2001年6月 8日 lot 332, 售價USD 58,750.