高17.3cm,长19.5cm
此品整体呈立熊形,尊口位于熊脊部,下有四足,熊吻前伸,鼻部翘起,嘴微张,精美传神。在齐家文化陶器中,常见红陶鸟形器,熊形陶器甚为罕见。
熊在中国上古时代有着特殊的文化地位,五帝之首黄帝又称“有熊氏“;黄帝后人鲧禹启三代都有“化熊”和“熊化”的传说,《左传》载:“昔尧殛鲧于羽山,其神化为黄熊,以入于羽渊。实为夏郊,三代祀之。”《淮南子》:“禹治洪水,通轘辕山,化为熊。“
肖熊艺术品最早有红山文化的熊形陶器和玉器作例证。辽宁阜新查海遗址曾出土一件夹砂红褐陶熊形尊,现藏于朝阳市德辅博物馆。另可参考一件红山文化玉熊神像,见《旷世矩藏:一贯道博物馆》,三艺文化,2006年,第119页。有学者认为这表现了上古时代人们对熊的图腾崇拜。
经牛津热释光鉴定检测确认年代,检测编号C205e59
Height: 17.3cm, Length: 19.5cm
Depicted standing four square with a cylindrical filler on the centre of its back into which water can be poured.
Bears('xiong') have always held a special place in Chinese culture.
The Yellow Emperor, the foremost of the 'Five Emperors', is also known as 'You Xiong' (having bears).
Legend states that Gun, the great grandson of the Yellow Emperor, was sent to control the floods of the Yellow River. He determined the solution to be a magical dike, only possible with special self-growing soil. This, he stole from the Emperor of the Sky. Not only was his plan a failure, his theft soon cost him his life. Years later, villagers noticed an odd transformation taking place. They looked on as Gun’s lifeless corpse evolved into a yellow bear and ran away, disappearing into the forest mountains.
Yu, son of Gun, later tamed the Yellow River floods, when he transformed himself into a bear and bored a drainage tunnel through a mountain.
The earliest examples of bear-shaped artefacts include pottery and jade artworks from the Hongshan culture.
A reddish-brown pottery bear jar, excavated at Chahai, Fuxin, Liaoning, is now at Chaoyang Defu Museum.
For an example of a bear in jade, see lncredible Treasures: E-Kuan-Tao Museum, Sanyi Culture, 2006, p.119.
Some scholars believe that such objects are evidence of bear worship in ancient times.
Oxford TL test consistent with Qijia period, sample C205e59