拍品專文
It is very rare to find vessels of similar shape and design in Western collections, although a number of similar examples have been excavated in Central China, in the region of Henan and Anhui. A very similar fu from Huangchuan in Henan province is illustrated in Historical Relics Unearthed in New China, pl.61; another from Xincheng, also in Henan, by Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, pl.56a; another very similar fu with 20-character inscription was excavated at Gushi, Henan, in 1978, illustrated in Chongguo Meishu Quanji, vol.5, pl.29. Two others with similar six-character inscriptions inside were excavated from the tomb of the Marquis of Cai in Shouxian, Anhui, which is datable to the early 5th Century B.C.; one of them was exhibited in Beijing, Exhibition of Archaeological Treasures Excavated in the People's Republic of China, Tokyo, 1973, Catalogue, no.10, where a rubbing of the inscription is illustrated, Coll. 11
Compare also three similar pieces in Western collections; two of them illustrated by Weber, The Ornaments of the Late Zhou Bronzes, pl.2, from the Buckingham Collection in the Art Institute of Chicago, and pl.3, from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; and the third included in the Catalogue of the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, 1970, no.7
The development of this vessel shape is illustrated in line drawings by Guo Baojun, A comprehensive Study of the Shang and Zhou Bronze Vessel Group, p.139, fig.34, where the present type represents the third of five stages and is attributed to the middle Spring and Autumn period. The shape is also discussed by Chen Zhenyu in an article on tombs of the Chu Kingdom, Kaogu, 1981, no.4, p.319ff, where a similar type attributed to the late Spring and Autumn period is illustrated in a line drawing, p.321, fig.1(24), together with later ceramic versions, p.324, fig.4 (22-26)
Compare also three similar pieces in Western collections; two of them illustrated by Weber, The Ornaments of the Late Zhou Bronzes, pl.2, from the Buckingham Collection in the Art Institute of Chicago, and pl.3, from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; and the third included in the Catalogue of the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, 1970, no.7
The development of this vessel shape is illustrated in line drawings by Guo Baojun, A comprehensive Study of the Shang and Zhou Bronze Vessel Group, p.139, fig.34, where the present type represents the third of five stages and is attributed to the middle Spring and Autumn period. The shape is also discussed by Chen Zhenyu in an article on tombs of the Chu Kingdom, Kaogu, 1981, no.4, p.319ff, where a similar type attributed to the late Spring and Autumn period is illustrated in a line drawing, p.321, fig.1(24), together with later ceramic versions, p.324, fig.4 (22-26)