An important archaic bronze ritual food vessel, Gui


Western Zhou Dynasty The compressed ribbed globular vessel with flaring rim raised on a hollow pedestal foot terminating in a straight foot rim, cast below the gently everted rim with a band of dragons with double bodies in high relief on two sides, and interrupted on the other sides by two loop handles cast with C-scrolls, springing from stylised bovine masks terminating with pendant tabs, the foot cast with a matching band of kui dragons divided by four low flanges, patinated in light green tone. 32.5cm (12 3/4in) wide
|The Property of a Gentleman 士紳藏品西周 青銅龍紋牲耳簋Provenance: Sir Herbert Ingram (1875-1958) and Lady Hilda Ingram (d.1968), Driffield Manor, CirencesterThe Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Sotheby's London, 9 June 1993, lot 122Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 1993Jean-Yves Ollivier CollectionExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Oriental Ceramic Society, Exhibition of Early Bronzes, London, 1951, no.40Mostra d'arte Cinese, The Marco Polo Seventh Centenary Exhibition, Venice, 1954, no.51Published and Illustrated: W.Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962, pl.43b來源：英國塞倫塞斯特Driffield莊園，Herbert Ingram爵士（1875-1958年）及Hilda Ingram爵士夫人（1968年歿）舊藏牛津大學阿什莫林博物館(借展)1993年6月9日於倫敦蘇富比拍賣，拍品122號布魯塞爾古董商吉賽爾藝廊，1993年歐宗易先生珍藏展覽：1951年於倫敦東方陶瓷學會「Exhibition of Early Bronzes（早期銅器展覽）」展出，展品40號1954年於威尼斯「The Marco Polo Seventh Centenary Exhibition（馬可波羅第七屆世紀展）」展出，展品51號出版及著錄：W.Watson著，《Ancient Chinese Bronzes（中國古代青銅器）》，倫敦，圖43bSir Herbert Ingram (1875-1958) donated over 3,000 pieces of Chinese and Japanese art objects to the Museum of Eastern Art in 1956, which in 1962 were moved to become part of the collection of the Ashmolean Museum. Sir Herbert's grandfather founded the Illustrated London News and came from a family of collectors. In 1908, he visited Japan on his honeymoon, and spent three months there hunting for 'curios'. During this time, he and his wife bought over a thousand pieces, many of which formed part of the donation to the museum. A few years after his return to England, Sir Herbert began to turn his interest towards Chinese ceramics. During the following two decades he assembled a renowned collection of greenwares and other ceramics from the Song dynasty and earlier. These, along with numerous early Chinese jades and bronzes he had collected, also came to the museum in 1956.The high-relief motif on the neck of a single-headed dragon with joint double-bodies splitting into two sides is rare. Compare with dragons which encircle the shoulder and lid of a you, illustrated by Chen Peifan, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Shanghai Museum, London, 1995, p.57, no.30; and a ding, early Western Zhou dynasty, unearthed in Beijing, with similar dragons on its neck and lid, illustrated in Yan State Cemetery of the West Zhou period at Liulihe, Beijing, 1995, p.110. The decoration of vertical ribs emerged during the late Shang period, as attested by the Che gui, late Shang dynasty, reportedly unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol.2, Beijing, 1995, no.92. This form of decoration was especially popular in the early and middle Western Zhou period. Compare with a gui, early or middle Western Zhou period, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (acc.no.B60B887), where both lid and body are decorated with vertical ribs. Another related gui found in Baicun, Shaanxi, middle Western Zhou period, is also fully cast with vertical ribs on its belly. Both examples are illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol.5, Beijing, 1996, nos.57 and 65. Ritual bronze gui with similar motifs of dragon on the neck and ribbed belly are rare. However, there are several related gui with similar forms and ribbed motifs in important museums and private collections. Compare with a very similar gui, Western Zhou dynasty, which was exhibited at Asia House Gallery, New York, 1965, see M.Loehr, and P.Singer, Relics of Ancient China: From the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer, New York, 1976, no.39. Compare also with a lidded gui, early Western Zhou dynasty, with similar form, foot and handles as well as vertical ribs on the globular belly, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (ac.no.49.135.6a,b). Another related gui with different motifs on the neck and foot is in the Sackler Collection, illustrated by J.Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M.Sackler Collections, vol.2, Cambridge MA, 1990, no.49. A fourth related gui from the collection of Sakamoto Gorō, is illustrated by Takayasu Higuchi and Minao Hyashi in Ancient Chinese bronzes in the Sakamoto Collection, Tokyo, 2002, p. 120, no.154.簋方唇略侈，頸部飾雙身龍紋，龍首居中，身分兩側，雙足前踞，尾部捲曲，其後飾鳳鳥紋，整條頸飾以雷紋填地。腹部外鼓，飾以直棱紋。鼎身兩側鑄牲首雙耳，耳下垂以方形小珥。高圈足，前後兩面飾以兩組S形夔龍紋，以正中出棱對稱分佈。器身覆以青綠皮殼。Herbert Ingram爵士(1875-1958)曾於1956年捐贈超過三千件中國和日本藝術品與東亞藝術館，其後於1962年成為牛津大學阿什莫林博物館館藏。 Herbert爵士的祖父為倫敦新聞畫報創辦人，家族成員亦富收藏。1908年Herbert爵士在日本蜜月期間，曾花三月搜羅奇珍巧件，夫妻二人共得千餘件，其中大部分後來入藏博物館。返回英格蘭之後數年，Herbert爵士又移情中國陶瓷，二十年間，他建立起一個享譽甚廣的綠釉器及其他陶瓷收藏，時溯宋代及更早。這些藏品連同大量中國玉器和銅器，後來也在1959年入藏博物館。雙身龍紋十分罕見，大多出現在西周銅器之上。上海博物館所藏一件西周提樑卣，肩部及提樑即是此類雙身龍紋，見陳佩芬，《上海博物館藏中國古代青銅器》，倫敦，1995年，頁57，編號30。另有西周早期青銅鼎出土於北京，蓋及頸以飾此龍紋，見《琉璃河西周燕國墓地》，北京，1995年，頁110。直棱紋裝飾發軔於商代晚期，有據傳出土於安陽的商代晚期車簋可證，見《中國青銅器全集》，卷二，北京，1995年，編號92。直棱紋流行於西周早期至中期，參見美國三藩市亞洲藝術博物館所藏一件西周早期或中期的直棱紋簋，館藏編號B60B887，其蓋和和全身皆著此紋；另見陝西白村出土一件西周早期簋，腹部亦精飾直棱紋，此二例著錄於《中國青銅器全集》，卷5，北京，1995年，編號57及65。然而，同時飾有雙身龍紋和直棱紋的青銅簋則頗為稀少，有數例散見於公私收藏。與此件拍品最相似的一件，曾於1965年在紐約亞洲協會展覽，見羅越著，《Relics of Ancient China: From the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer（保羅·西格納醫生收藏的中國古代文物）》，紐約，1976年，編號39。另有一件紐約大都會博物館所藏西周早期帶蓋直棱紋簋可資參考，館藏編號49.135.6a,b。形制相近而裝飾相異的例子可參考賽克勒舊藏一件簋，見Jessica Rawson著，《Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections（賽克勒藏西周青銅禮器）》，卷二，麻省劍橋，編號49；及坂本五郎所藏一件西周早期直棱紋簋，見林巳奈夫著，《不言堂坂本五郎中國青銅器清賞》，東京，2002年，頁120，編號154。