登录
China, 960-1644. Heavily cast, the upper cauldron with two upright loop handles to the rim, decorated with interlocking scroll and confronting stylized phoenixes. The sides with three animal masks flanked by confronting phoenixes divided by short flanges, above pendent stiff leaves, all reserved on leiwen grounds. The shoulders of the three legs cast with stylized large-eyed animal masks, decorated with scroll and lozenge designs. The bronze with a rich, solid, naturally grown, dark patina with scattered malachite encrustations.
Provenance: From the personal collection of Dr. David McCay, and thence by descent in the same family. Dr. David McCay was an English physician and later surgeon general with the Indian Medical Service in Bengal, India. He was sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion and served as an army doctor at the Siege of Peking. While in India, he wrote a book titled Investigations on Bengal Jail Dietaries. Upon his retirement, he returned to England with his collection of Chinese bronzes, cloisonné, and porcelain. After his death, his wife gifted his favorite piece, a highly important Wanli garlic mouth vase, among other items, to the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number CIRC.23-1950, where it remains to this day.
Condition: Very good condition with expected old wear, traces of age and usage, some casting irregularities, small nicks and losses, light scratches, the undersides of the feet with tiny old fills. The gold inlays are fresh and in very good condition overall. The silver inlays have darkened over time and show expected tarnish. However, we chose not to clean the silver inlays, so to preserve the piece’s impressive natural appearance.
Weight: 5,200 g
Dimensions: Height 31.5 cm
Referring to the importance of reverence to the past in Chinese art, Ulrich Hausmann writes:
“Archaic bronzes and their inscriptions, the subject of centuries of epigraphic and stylistic studies by literary men and artists, became inseparable, so much so that since that time scholars writing characters have seen at the back of their minds the image of ancient bronze vessels whose rubbings they had carefully studied. Generations of painters and calligraphers [...] spent a lifetime studying these inscriptions. What could be more fitting than to embellish one's studio with subtle allusions to the magnificent past, or to furnish the ancestral altar with vessels expressing the continuation of their inheritance.” (Quote from Ulrich Hausmann, Later Chinese Bronzes: In Search of Later Bronzes in Documentary Chinese Works of Art: In Scholars' Taste, Ed. Paul Moss, Sydney L. Moss, London, 1983, page 233, requoted again by Hugh Moss and Gerard Tsang in Arts from the Scholar's Studio, The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 161.)
Expert’s note: The present steamer is quite likely to date from the Song dynasty, because the earliest archaistic bronzes generally tend to be the closest in form and design to their archaic prototypes. This is clearly the case here, as shown by the two literature comparisons below, which prove that the present lot is very much in the spirit of its Shang and Western Zhou paragons. The example from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, even has gold and silver inlays just like our vessel, which is unusual for such an early piece. Another important aspect is the superb, naturally grown patina on the present lot with its distinct malachite encrustations. This is beyond doubt not a patina from the late Ming or early Qing dynasty: It not only does closely resemble that of ancient bronzes, but with its unique appearance, reminiscent of savage elementary forces rather than the genteel creations of later periods, essentially makes this bronze an archaic vessel of its own merit.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related prototype for this steamer, also with gold and silver inlays, dated to the Shang dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, image number K1A002369N000000000PAB. A related prototype, lacking gold and silver inlays, dated to the Western Zhou dynasty, 11th-10th century BC, in the collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S1987.352a-b, is illustrated by Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Vol. IIB, Massachusetts, 1990, pp. 342-344, no. 33.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 11 November 2010, lot 139
Price: GBP 31,200 or approx. EUR 49,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large archaistic bronze tripod steamer, yan, probably Song dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form with similar legs cast with animal masks. This steamer is however vastly inferior to the present lot as it lacks the gold and silver inlays and the design is overall less lively. Note the larger size (44.5 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 1 December 2022, lot 694
Price: USD 37,800 or approx. EUR 35,000 converted at the time of writing
Description: An archaistic copper-inlaid bronze tripod censer (Ding), Ming dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related form with similar legs cast with animal masks. This censer is however vastly inferior to the present lot, not only because the inlays are merely copper, but also because it completely lacks the cauldron found on the present lot. Also note the significantly smaller size (16.7 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 14 May 2014, lot 252
Price: GBP 80,500 or approx. EUR 116,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaistic silver and gold-inlaid bronze wine vessel and cover, you, Ming dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of casting and decorations with similar gold and silver inlays. Note the related size (30.2 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2014, lot 3350
Price: HKD 2,680,000 or approx. EUR 380,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large gold and silver-inlaid bronze incense burner, gui, late Ming dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of casting and decorations with similar gold and silver inlays. Note the similar size (28.5 cm).
宋至明代銅錯金銀三足銅甗
中國，960-1644年。甗分上下兩部分：一甑一鬲。甑部與鬲部相連，甑部有一對拱形直耳，外壁飾雷紋地鳳鳥紋飾帶與蕉葉紋，同樣是雷紋地上獸面紋。鬲部修飾獸面紋。表面神色包漿堅實，散佈著孔雀石色結殼。
來源：Dr. David McCay收藏，在同一家族保存至今。Dr. David McCay是一名英國醫生，後來在印度孟加拉的印度醫療部擔任外科醫生。他在義和團運動期間被派往中國擔任軍醫。在印度期間，他寫了一本名為《孟加拉監獄飲食調查》的書。退休後，他帶著他收藏的中國青銅器、景泰藍和瓷器回到英國。在他去世後，他的妻子將他最喜歡的一件非常重要的萬曆蒜頭瓶贈予維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，編號為 CIRC.23-1950，至今仍保存在博物館。
品相：狀況極好，有磨損和使用痕跡、一些鑄造不規則、小刻痕和缺損、輕微劃痕、腳底面有微小的填充物。錯金部分整體狀況非常好。錯銀部分變暗並顯示出光澤。
重量：5,200 克
尺寸：高 31.5 厘米
專家注釋：這件銅甗很可能是宋代的，因為早期的仿古青銅器通常在形式和設計上最接近其原型。如下面的兩份文獻比較所示，本拍品非常符合商代和西周的内涵。台北故宮博物院藏品，與本器一樣，亦有錯金銀，為早期器物所不及。另一個重要方面是當前銅甗上自然生長的包漿及其獨特的綠色銅鏽。這不會是明末清初的古銅色：它不僅酷似古代青銅器，而且以其獨特的外觀，讓人聯想到强勁的原始力量，而不是後世的文雅創作。
文獻比較：
比較一件非常相近的商代錯金銀父乙甗 ，收藏於臺北故宮博物院 ，圖像編號K1A002369N000000000PAB。一件相近的公元十一至十世紀西周錯金銀甗，收藏於Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in the National Museum of Asian Art，史密森學會，館藏編號S1987.352a-b，見Jessica Rawson，《Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，卷IIB，麻薩諸塞州，1990年，頁342-344，編號33。
拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦邦瀚斯，2010年11月11日，lot 139
價格：GBP 31,200（相當於今日EUR 49,500）
描述：可能為商代三足銅甗
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形，以及三足皆有相似的獸面。然而，此甗與現在的拍品相比要差很多，因為它沒有金銀鑲嵌物，而且設計整體上也不那麼活潑。請注意尺寸較大(44.5 厘米)。
拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2022年12月1日，lot 694
價格：USD 37,800（相當於今日EUR 35,000）
描述：明 銅錯銅饕餮紋冲天耳鼎式爐
專家評論：比較相近的外形，以及三足皆有相似的獸面。此爐與今拍品相差甚遠，不僅鑲嵌純銅，亦無現拍品之甑。請注意尺寸明顯較小(16.7 厘米)。
拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦蘇富比，2014年5月14日，lot 252
價格：GBP 80,500（相當於今日EUR 116,000）
描述：明銅錯金銀獸面紋帶蓋提梁卣
專家評論：比較非常相近的鑄造風格和相似的錯金銀裝飾。請注意相近 尺寸(30.2 厘米)。
拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2014年10月8日，lot 3350
價格：HKD 2,680,000（相當於今日EUR 380,000）
描述：晚明銅錯金銀夔龍紋簋式爐
專家評論：比較非常相近的鑄造風格和相似的錯金銀裝飾。請注意相似 尺寸(28.5 厘米)。
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