I love how the 'tapir' has some combination of cats' airplane ears and dogs' ears in comics when there's a major surprise. XD
In any case, this is evidently an ancient Chinese bronze ritual wine container known as a Xi Zun (often referred to as a "bronze tapir"), richly decorated with gold, silver, and turquoise inlays from the Warring States period (475–221 BC).
https://www.littletonandhennessy.com/warring-states-inlaid-bronze-tapir/
Function & History: Originally used during elite ritual ceremonies to hold or pour sacrificial wine, historic examples of this piece (such as the famous former Fujita Museum specimen) have achieved record-breaking prices at international art auctions like Christie's.
Same site, different link:
https://www.littletonandhennessy.com/tefaf-2007/
https://lazoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mountain-Tapir-Water-Copy-Space-JEP_4539-scaled.jpg
In any case, tapirs are amazing animals! (at least it seems that way to me as a different kind of mammal, haha)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Tapir&udm=2
