.jpg?w=1)
拍品專文
This magnificent bronze vessel was once in the collection of Count Inoue Kaoru (1836-1915), born Inoue Yakichi in Hagi (Choshu). Inoue was one of the most important and influential Japanese statesman during the Meiji period (1868-1912). In his early years he promoted the defense of Japan from foreign influx, but as time progressed he became a strong proponent of the 'westernization' of Japan, including the reorganization of government finance policies and practices. He was also one of the 'Choshu Five' who traveled to London in 1863 to study western ideas and bring them back to Japan for implementation. In 1883, he was a primary supporter of the construction of the Rokumeikan, the famous yet controversial building which became a symbol of the west in Japan.
In the 1860s, Inoue played a vital role in the formation of the Sacho Alliance, a group organized with the goal of overthrowing the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Inoue became actively involved in both business and politics, and rose quickly through the ranks, holding such illustrious posts as Senior Vice Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and most notably Minister of Foreign Affairs, to which he was appointed to in 1885, shortly after having been given the title of Count one year earlier. Although he retired from politics in 1898, Inoue continued to remain a powerful figurehead amongst Japan's elite until his death in 1915 in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Count Inoue amassed one of the largest collections of artworks during the Meiji period, and had a pronounced passion for tea ceremeny objects and ancient Chinese bronzes, such as the present magnificent zun. R.W. Bagley, in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1987, p. 265, discusses the development of the zun vessel shape and cites that it displaced the older lei shape, and was one of the more popular vessel types during the first half of the Anyang period. The various examples vary not only in the proportions of their three sections (body, neck and foot), but also in the decoration.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of this exceptional zun is its unusually broad proportions, which endow the vessel with an impressive sense of weight and monumentality. This is further enhanced by the unusually thick casting of the flared rim. A zun of somewhat similar broad proportions, but with more angled shoulders, in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated by Chen Peifen, "Animal Mask Designs on Shang and Zhou Bronzes," Chinese Bronzes, Selected Articles from Orientations 1983-2000, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 145, fig. 3, where it is stated that the vessel dates to early in the period, when the Shang capital moved to Yinxu, Anyang. Another late Shang zun, of similarly broad proportions and with a thick mouth rim, but raised on a taller splayed foot, is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji - 13 - Ba Shu, Beijing, 1994, p. 80, no. 89.
Another notable feature of the present zun is the image of a turtle centered by a coiled dragon and encircled by two dragons biting each other's tail which is cast on the base of the interior. Though exceptionally rare, similar images of turtles appear on the interior of vessels of various shapes from the late Shang through the early Eastern Zhou period. See, for example, two pou of late Shang date, cast with similar turtles on the interior, illustrated by R.W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, op. cit., p. 323, fig. 53.2 (in the Musée Guimet, Paris, which is thought to be from Wuguancun) and p. 336, fig. 57.2 (in the British Museum). Similar turtles may also be seen on the interiors of broad gui vessels, such as the Shang example from Dayangzhou, Xingang County, Jiangxi province (see, Shang dai Jiangnan (Treasures of Shang Dynasty), Beijing, pp. 62-7), and an early Spring and Autumn gui from Shangcaolou, Changxing, Zhejiang province (see Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji - 11 - Dong Zhou (5), Beijing, 1997, pp. 10-1, figs. 10-1). Unlike the turtle cast in the present zun, which is centered by a coiled dragon biting its tail, the turtles on the other aforementioned vessels are not encircled by dragons and are centered by whorl medallions.
A Technical Examination Report is available upon request.
In the 1860s, Inoue played a vital role in the formation of the Sacho Alliance, a group organized with the goal of overthrowing the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Inoue became actively involved in both business and politics, and rose quickly through the ranks, holding such illustrious posts as Senior Vice Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and most notably Minister of Foreign Affairs, to which he was appointed to in 1885, shortly after having been given the title of Count one year earlier. Although he retired from politics in 1898, Inoue continued to remain a powerful figurehead amongst Japan's elite until his death in 1915 in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Count Inoue amassed one of the largest collections of artworks during the Meiji period, and had a pronounced passion for tea ceremeny objects and ancient Chinese bronzes, such as the present magnificent zun. R.W. Bagley, in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1987, p. 265, discusses the development of the zun vessel shape and cites that it displaced the older lei shape, and was one of the more popular vessel types during the first half of the Anyang period. The various examples vary not only in the proportions of their three sections (body, neck and foot), but also in the decoration.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of this exceptional zun is its unusually broad proportions, which endow the vessel with an impressive sense of weight and monumentality. This is further enhanced by the unusually thick casting of the flared rim. A zun of somewhat similar broad proportions, but with more angled shoulders, in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated by Chen Peifen, "Animal Mask Designs on Shang and Zhou Bronzes," Chinese Bronzes, Selected Articles from Orientations 1983-2000, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 145, fig. 3, where it is stated that the vessel dates to early in the period, when the Shang capital moved to Yinxu, Anyang. Another late Shang zun, of similarly broad proportions and with a thick mouth rim, but raised on a taller splayed foot, is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji - 13 - Ba Shu, Beijing, 1994, p. 80, no. 89.
Another notable feature of the present zun is the image of a turtle centered by a coiled dragon and encircled by two dragons biting each other's tail which is cast on the base of the interior. Though exceptionally rare, similar images of turtles appear on the interior of vessels of various shapes from the late Shang through the early Eastern Zhou period. See, for example, two pou of late Shang date, cast with similar turtles on the interior, illustrated by R.W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, op. cit., p. 323, fig. 53.2 (in the Musée Guimet, Paris, which is thought to be from Wuguancun) and p. 336, fig. 57.2 (in the British Museum). Similar turtles may also be seen on the interiors of broad gui vessels, such as the Shang example from Dayangzhou, Xingang County, Jiangxi province (see, Shang dai Jiangnan (Treasures of Shang Dynasty), Beijing, pp. 62-7), and an early Spring and Autumn gui from Shangcaolou, Changxing, Zhejiang province (see Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji - 11 - Dong Zhou (5), Beijing, 1997, pp. 10-1, figs. 10-1). Unlike the turtle cast in the present zun, which is centered by a coiled dragon biting its tail, the turtles on the other aforementioned vessels are not encircled by dragons and are centered by whorl medallions.
A Technical Examination Report is available upon request.