A LARGE BRONZE INCENSE BURNER AND COVER IN THE FORM OF DU FU Late Ming Dynasty Cast in two sections, the base as a stubborn mule standing four-square with head lowered and ears pricked, the cover as the poet Du Fu seated in a simple tied robe and holding a rolled scroll in his right hand, the surface irregularly mottled and with some brownish-red lacquer remaining on the harness trappings. 49cm (19 1/2in) long. (2). Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 明晚期 「杜甫騎驢」式銅蓋爐 With scholar's cap, the sage of poetry Du Fu (712-770) holds the reins in one hand and a scroll, symbolising his literary erudition, in the other. Depictions of Du Fu travelling by horse or mule to some remote retreat were perennial favourites of painters, and the subject would sit well on the late Ming scholar's desk. Du Fu is considered to be the greatest of Chinese poets who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a golden age for Chinese poetry. His poetry was not only praised and enjoyed for its technical brilliance, but also for his moral engagement with current and historical events such as the devastating An Lushan rebellion (755-763) from which the once mighty Tang would never quite recover. For this reason, Du Fu is also known as the 'Poet Historian'. Such depictions of Du Fu on muleback may derive from his poems, which refer to mules frequently as a symbol for the scholar official - either travelling to their next post, tired and emaciated, or well fed and powerful. The mule therefore, had poetic significance for Du Fu and could be used for satire. For example in one poem, Du Fu wrote 'The Dong family promised to lend me an old nag, in the slippery mud I don't dare ride to court 東家蹇驢許借我，泥滑不敢騎朝天.' The 'old nag' refers to Du Fu himself in slippery political circumstances at court. For examples of bronze depictions of Du Fu on muleback, see P.Moss and G.Hawthorn, The Second Bronze Age: Later Chinese Metalwork, London, 1991, no.22. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com