A VERY RARE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL, GU
Late Shang DynastyThe tall vessel crisply cast with a flared mouth and pedestal foot, the central section decorated in relief with a band enclosing two taotie masks between narrow bowstring borders and two narrow bands of circles, the upper band below a further bowstring band, the foot cast with a pictogram within a shaped cartouche, the smooth mottled-green patina with scattered cuprite encrustations. 25.7cm (10in) high.
注脚
商晚期 青銅饕餮紋觚The inscription reads 亞獏父丁 'Yamo fuding [made as sacrifice to] ancestor Fuding of Yamo family'Provenance: Liang Shangchun (active 1930-1940s)Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New YorkStephen Junkunc III (d.1978), IllinoisChristie's New York, 21 September 1995, lot 294An important European private collectionPublished and Illustrated: Liang Shangchun, Yanku jijin tulu (Illustrated Catalogue of Archaic Bronzes in Yanku Collection), Beijing, 1944, fig.1.51R.W.Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Cambridge, 1987, p.303, fig.49.12The Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Yinzhou jinwen jicheng (A Compendium of the Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions), Beijing, 1984-94, no.7231T.Wang and Y.Liu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby's and Christie's Sales, Shanghai, 2007, p.234Z.F. Wu, Shangzhou qingtong ji mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng (Corpus of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from the Shang & Zhou Dynasties, Shanghai, 2016, vol.24, p.131, pl.13217來源:梁上椿舊藏紐約亞瑟?M.賽克勒(1913-1987年)舊藏伊利諾伊州史蒂芬?瓊肯三世(1978年逝)舊藏紐約佳士得,1995年9月21日,拍品編號294歐洲重要私人收藏出版著錄:梁上椿,《巖窟吉金圖錄》,北京,1944年,圖版1.51R.W.Bagley,《Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》,英國劍橋,1987年,頁303,圖版49.12中國社會科學院考古研究所,《殷周金文集成》,北京,1984-94年,編號7231汪濤,劉雨,《流散歐美殷周有銘青銅器集錄》,上海,2007年,頁234吳鎮烽,《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》,上海,2016年,卷24,頁131,圖版13217Remarkable for its tall, elegant shape and complex high-relief decoration with leiwen spirals, this gu is an outstanding example of the late Shang dynasty.Gu vessels were used as sacrificial wine receptacles and were among the most important objects used in State rituals during the late Shang dynasty. Although reference to the name gu is frequently found in early ritual texts, it became associated with the present vessel type in the catalogues of antiquities produced by Song dynasty scholars (960-1279). The shape appears to have originated in pottery production of the Neolithic period, which came in various sizes and shapes. The bronze version, however, probably emerged in the Erligang period (c.1510-1460 BC) and became popular during the Yinxu period (1250-1192 BC), when it became an important component of ritual vessels. While gu vessels produced during the early phases of the Shang dynasty were short and stout, decorated with simple taotie designs merely suggested by eyes amidst linear decoration, the refinement of shape and ornamentation took place towards the later phases of the Shang dynasty, as bronze-casting technique gained in skill and experience. By the time that the Shang capital moved from Zhengzhou to Anyang in Henan Province, gu vessels depicted more detailed taotie designs, which were often complemented with new animal shapes. While retaining some early features of the Erligang phase of the Shang dynasty, notably the sturdy trumpet-shaped body, the finely-detailed and lively taotie masks depicted with bulging eyes on the frieze convey a distinctive sculptural appearance and point to a casting finesse more typical of the later phases of the Shang dynasty. A number of comparable examples of gu vessels dating to the late Shang period have been excavated in Henan, Shanxi, Hubei and Anhui Provinces. Compare with a related bronze gu vessel, 13th-11th century, displaying a similarly-shaped body and taotie decoration on the frieze, illustrated by Wang Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, p.39, no.13. See also another archaic bronze gu vessel, Late Shang Dynasty, from the collection of Mr and Mrs Kress, Finland, illustrated by P.K.M.Kwok, Dialogue with the Ancients. 100 Bronzes of the Shang, Zhou, and Han Dynasties. The Shen Zhai Collection, Singapore, 2018, pp.222-223, no.42C.another bronze gu vessel, 13th century BC, illustrated by R.Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington DC, 1987, pp.258-9, no.40. A related bronze gu vessel, late Shang dynasty, was sold at Christie's New York, 20 September 2010, lot 1472.觚,為盛酒之禮器,是商周宗廟祭祀的代表器之一。此種器型始見於新石器時代陶器,商早期二里崗上層出土了現存最早的青銅觚,至商晚期逐漸盛行,殷墟有大量出土。商早期的青銅觚矮而寬,紋飾簡單,之後器型不斷變細加高,頸部腹部逐漸收束,兩者直徑趨於一致,裝飾紋樣也益發繁複。本器侈口,長頸,中腹微鼓,圈足外撇,足底直緣。腹飾獸面紋,獸眼鼓脹凸出,上下飾連珠紋帶,是商晚期的典型器物。類似商晚期的例子於河南、山西、湖北和安徽等地多有出土。對比一件公元前十三至十一世紀青銅觚,器型及紋飾與本例相似,收錄於汪濤著,《玫茵堂藏中國銅器》,倫敦,2009年,頁39,編號13;以及芬蘭Kress伉儷收藏一例商晚期青銅觚,收錄於P.K.M.Kwok著,《Dialogue with the Ancients. 100 Bronzes of the Shang, Zhou, and Han Dynasties. The Shen Zhai Collection》,新加坡,2018年,頁222-223,編號42C。另可參考一件公元前十三世紀青銅觚,收錄於R.Bagley著,《Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》,華盛頓,1987年,頁258-259,編號40。一件商晚期青銅觚,售於紐約佳士得,2010年9月20日,拍品編號1472,可為比對。
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