Vietnam, 500 BC to 300 AD. The vessel in the form of a seated monkey with slender elongated arms and legs, one elbow resting on his knee, the left hand lowered toward his waist and touching his prominent member. The face of almond shape with bulging eyes and a broad nose, the incised mouth forming a subtle smile, flanked by two tubular ears, the mouth of the vessel at the top of his head. The body incised with vertical lines, the recessed base decorated with a characteristic spiral design.

Provenance: From the private collection of Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022), who was a fashion stylist from Bologna, Italy, and the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than 60 years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom.
Condition: Minor old repairs and fills as generally expected from ancient Dong Son excavations. Some losses, fissures, signs of weathering and erosion, casting flaws. Overall, still very good condition commensurate with age. Fine malachite-green patina with brown encrustations overall.

Weight: 663.8 g
Dimensions: Height 20 cm

Dong Son (named for Dong Son, a village in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD. Vietnamese historians attribute it to the states of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc. Its influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Maritime Southeast Asia, throughout the first millennium BC. The culture long remained a mystery to western archaeologists, and it was known only through its bronze objects, many of which were taken from burial sites. Dong Son bronze objects were exhibited in Europe for a century before their original location was even determined, and several theories and speculations over the dating methodologies of the culture continue to this day.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related seated male figure, though of much smaller size (8.9 cm), in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2000.287.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Galerie Zacke Vienna, 16 October 2021, lot 579
Price: EUR 15,168 or approx. EUR 16,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare male bronze figure, Dong Son culture
Expert remark: Compare the nude man with prominent member and related incised decoration. Note the size (28 cm).



東山文化罕見坐猴銅管
越南，公元前500至公元300年。器形為坐猴狀，手腳細長，一肘擱膝，左手垂向腰部。杏仁形臉，雙眼圓睜，闊鼻，咧開的嘴露出笑意，兩側耳朵。器皿的口在頭頂。主體刻有垂直線條，圈足，全身有螺旋狀圖案。

來源：Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022年) 私人收藏。Paolo Bertuzzi是來自義大利博洛尼亞的時尚造型師。他是 Hettabretz 的創始人 Enrichetta Bertuzzi 的兒子，Hettabretz 是一家著名的義大利時裝公司，客戶包括羅斯柴爾德家族、奧黛麗赫本和伊麗莎白泰勒。Paolo Bertuzzi 後來接手了他母親的生意並設計了獨家作品，其中一些作品在美國紐約大都會博物館服裝學院展出。六十多年來，他還是一位狂熱的古董收藏家。 他的收藏包括古代和當代藝術，他編輯了兩本關於亞洲藝術的重要書籍，《Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery》-關於義大利和印度尼西亞政府合作的大規模考古項目，以及《滿者伯夷-來自被遺忘王國的傑作》。
品相：小修和填充，一些缺損，裂縫，風化和侵蝕的跡象，鑄造缺陷。綠色銅鏽包漿細膩，有棕色結殼。

重量：663.8 克
尺寸：高20 厘米

東山文化是位於越南北部紅河河谷的一個鐵器時代史前文化。它約繁盛於公元前1000年到公元前後，它影響的區域包括東南亞其他地區乃至以及印度-馬來亞群島。越南歷史學家將其歸因於範朗州和悠樂州。公元前1000年，它的影響了東南亞的其他地區，包括海上東南亞。長期以來，這種文化對西方考古學家來說一直是個謎，人們只能通過青銅器了解它，其中許多通過考古墓地挖掘。東山青銅器在其原始位置被確定之前就在歐洲展出了一個世紀，關於文化年代測定方法的幾種理論和推測一直持續到今天。

文獻比較：
比較一件相近的男性坐像，尺寸 (8.9 厘米)小很多，收藏於大都會藝術博物館，館藏編號2000.287。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：維也納Galerie Zacke，2021年10月16日，lot 579
價格：EUR 15,168（相當於今日EUR 16,500）
描述：東山文化罕見男性銅像
專家評論：比較裸體形象，以及相近的雕刻裝飾。請注意尺寸 (28 厘米)。