Tapir Zun

Bronzeware of the Western Zhou Dynasty
11cm high, 18cm long

Excavated from Hengshui Cemetery in Jiangxian County in 2006

It has a short neck, round eyes, big round ears, a slightly longer nose, a short pointed tail, strong four legs, a cover on the back, a bird-shaped button, and the whole body is decorated with scales. Lively and cute. This is a bronze vessel from the Han Dynasty.

Tapirs are mammals that resemble pigs, elephants, and bears. They lived widely in warm and humid environments between 1 million and 10,000 years ago. Its closest relative, the Malayan tapir, still exists in Southeast Asia. A bronze tapir statue of the Western Zhou Dynasty was discovered in Hengshui, indicating that tapirs still existed in China at that time.