TRES RARE ET IMPORTANT RECIPIENT RITUEL COUVERT EN BRONZE EN FORME DE HIBOU, XIAOZUN
TRES RARE ET IMPORTANT RECIPIENT RITUEL COUVERT EN BRONZE EN FORME DE HIBOU, XIAOZUN
TRES RARE ET IMPORTANT RECIPIENT RITUEL COUVERT EN BRONZE EN FORME DE HIBOU, XIAOZUN
31 更多
TRES RARE ET IMPORTANT RECIPIENT RITUEL COUVERT EN BRONZE EN FORME DE HIBOU, XIAOZUN
34 更多
Maurice Rheims 先生(1910-2003)舊藏商晚期 安陽 公元前十三至十二世紀 青銅梟尊此青銅「梟尊」極為珍罕,屬商代(約公元前1600–1046年)酒器,用作盛酒、宴享,或以祀神、祭祖。梟尊造形優美,莊嚴肅穆,當為上古尊貴禮器,確切功能雖待商榷,亦無礙觀者視之為昔日宗廟祭壇重器。梟尊來源顯赫,著錄有緒,經布恰德博士(Otto Burchard, 1892–1965年)及蘭斯先生(Maurice Rheims,1910–2003年)兩大收藏名家先後入藏;1940年代中期,由青銅學泰斗陳夢家先生(1911–1966年)親往美國密蘇里州堪薩斯城審鑒。傳世青銅梟尊屈指可數,河南安陽市西北岡1885墓曾出土一尊,與本器風格一致,工藝相若;1976年婦好墓出土兩例,亦可謂與本尊一脈相承。銅器乃商周貴族專用之禮樂重器,上述出土梟尊均為商代王室墓葬,作為本尊之索源對象,暗示物主地位顯要昭彰,甚或同出商代王族。古代青銅酒器形制紛陳,模仿鳥獸造型的一類泛稱「獸尊」或「獸形尊」。取鳥形者為數不多,如本尊鑄成梟形,故名「梟尊」。傳世獸尊造型各異,部分家喻戶曉,1843年山東出土呈犀牛形的「犀尊」堪稱獸尊之首,現藏於舊金山亞洲藝術博物館(館藏編號B60B1+)。其他鳥獸造型的銅器一概稀世,不少名器先後躋身各大博物館珍藏之列,諸如日本大阪市藤田美術館的「羊觥」,2017年3月14日經紐約佳士得拍賣(拍品526);美國華府佛利爾美術館的「象尊」(館藏編號F1936.6a–b);巴黎吉美博物館的「象尊」(館藏編號EO1545)。 「梟」通「鴞」,為鴟鴞科鳥類統稱,今俗稱貓頭鷹,涵蓋逾200品種。梟頭寬眼大,嘴短爪利,晝伏夜出,長作直立姿態。其羽毛柔軟輕鬆,具消音作用,適合夜間飛行。喙呈鉤狀,猶如鷹嘴,臉部扁平,雙目向前,各繞一圈羽毛,列成「面盤」。正如本尊,商代青銅梟器往往飾有面盤,可供識別。梟鳥文化在中國歷史源遠流長。梟潛藏不露、隱形匿影的習性,加上寂靜飛行、夜間狩獵等奇異本能,使之富於神秘色彩,深得古人崇敬。梟鳥在商代的具體含意和象徵意義眾說紛紜,但其隱含的保衛角色昭然若揭,相信是上古時期的重要文化圖騰。考古學家曾在金文及甲骨文內發現梟形字體,被推斷為一個古時的族徽 (1)。事實上,史學家胡厚宣認為,梟確是商人憑信的圖騰 (2)。《詩經‧商頌‧玄鳥》述「天命玄鳥,降而生商,宅殷土芒芒」,證明中國自古已有文字記錄商朝與鳥的關係。「玄」可解作黑色,意即商人曾奉一種黑色「玄鳥」為祖先。有學者認為玄鳥就是梟鳥。美術史學者孫新周亦推斷商人崇拜「鴟鴞」(梟鳥),指出華夏神話中的上古天帝「帝俊」與鳥息息相關 (3)。歷史兼考古學家劉敦愿認為,「鴟鴞」(梟鳥)在商代是「夜與夢之神」,其無聲飛行和夜間狩獵等奇技,使之成為商人向上天傳遞訊息的信差 (4)。美術史學者汪濤概括以上觀點,提出若梟確是人神世界的連繫,便能解釋梟鳥圖案遍及商代祭禮工藝及墓葬文化的原因 (5)。本梟尊與上述西北岡1885墓出土之尊如出一轍,僅在局部紋飾細節上稍帶差異。西北岡墓的所在地殷墟,是商代後期都邑,位處現今河南省安陽市,為世界重要考古遺址。該梟尊現存於臺北中央研究院歷史文物陳列館(館藏編號R001074)(6), 其蓋已失,在發掘過程中未見。按推斷兩尊蓋之鳥頭、面部應該甚為相似,可惜因欠缺實物而無法完整比對。兩尊足爪朝下內彎呈勾狀,仿如梟鳥立於樹上棲息時緊抓枝幹之勢。其他現存梟尊的足爪造型不一,有的平面直立,例見明尼阿波利斯藝術學院培斯貝里珍藏(Pillsbury Collection)(館藏編號50.46.116) (7),以及華盛頓特區敦巴頓橡樹園研究圖書館(Dumbarton Oaks Research Library)布里斯珍藏(Bliss Collection)(館藏編號HC.S.1924.03.(B)) (8);有的內彎成球狀,可參見1976年安陽婦好墓出土兩例 (9);有的趾端上勾,下踏高臺,表面陰刻圖案,康州紐黑文耶魯大學藝術館藏有一例(館藏編號1954.48.7a–b)可參 (10)。婦好墓出土兩尊與本尊的梟頭、身及足部造型雖異,但三者胸前的浮雕圖案相近。本尊身正面疑飾有獸面紋,下浮雕一或兩道蛇紋,惟因銹蝕情況現時難以準確識別。婦好是商王武丁(約公元前1250年–前1192年)之妻,太子祖己之母,為地方諸侯、軍隊將領,英勇善戰,極具威望。 婦好墓藏有逾二千件陪葬品,工藝非凡,極盡奢華,當中包括連上述梟尊在內約468件青銅器,彌足珍貴。墓葬含「婦好」銘文,按推算兩梟尊應製於公元前約1200年,即婦好卒後入葬之時。本尊與西北岡M1885墓及婦好墓出土梟尊的造型、紋飾風格相類,反映四者的製作時間與地點相符,大概出自商代晚期約公元前十三世紀末至十二世紀初,甚至有可能來自河南安陽同一作坊。藝術史學者羅伯特.巴格利(Robert Bagley)曾簡明闡述梟尊的演變歷程,指出商代初期風格傾向寫實,渾樸自然,諸如前述培斯貝里藏例,至晚期側重寫意,風格鮮明,即如耶魯大學藏例 (11)。他留意到本尊的梟翼和尾相併,從兩則往下掠成弧形,線條流暢,剛健遒逸,比同代早期及晚期的例子都來得傳神,更富動態。不少商代青銅重器皆附銘文,本梟尊如是,在尊底梟足與尾巴之間銘刻一字。基於後期的破損和修復,現時難以從實物釋文,但因逾半世紀前遺留下來的一份墨迹拓本,銘文原貌幸得保存 (12)。著名學者陳夢家先生(1911–1966年)是商周青銅器研究的一代巨擘,曾在1944至1947年間走訪美國各地的青銅器珍藏。他抵達密蘇里州堪薩斯城,在納爾遜美術陳列館(Nelson Gallery of Art)(現名納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art)過手寓目這件由藏家借予展出的梟尊 (13),拍下照片並為銘文製作墨迹拓本,兼記「在底下銘一字,似獨角獸」,「此器傳安陽出土,可信,器未經修整」 (14)。「獨角獸」有可能是犀牛。犀牛在商代被視為祥瑞之獸,前述舊金山亞洲藝術博物館所藏犀尊(館藏編號B60B1+)可證明這點 (15)。銘文被推斷為氏族徽號,即古人信奉為象徵先祖的符號圖騰。安陽西北岡1885墓出土梟尊底部同銘一字,字形狀如老虎 (16)。乾隆皇帝篤學好古,熱衷鑒藏古物,曾敕撰「西清四鑒」,為清宮所藏大量古青銅器編纂譜錄,其中《西清續鑑甲編》於五十八年(1793年)刻刊,內載一梟尊,器形略小 (17)。續鑑圖文並茂,附木刻版畫插圖,惟構圖流於簡約,難與實物詳細比較。即便如此,兩尊的形制、造型相似,梟頭至頸部均作可打開的尊蓋。續鑑插圖欠梟腳,可能已失,也無記載銘文,故此未能比對每項特徵。續鑑列乾隆皇帝所藏梟尊尺寸比本尊小,且誤斷為周代製,定禽鳥類型為雞,稱之為「周雞尊」。商代安陽青銅器製作考究,一般先鑄器物尖細部分如耳、足,後置入整器模具,再與器身澆鑄合成一件。這些細件跟主體結構熔合相連時,偶然會產生破損或丟失,或許能夠解釋上述周雞尊為何欠缺足部。除了上文所述數件著名梟尊,其他值得參考的例子包括美國華府亞瑟‧M‧賽克勒美術館(Arthur M. Sackler Gallery)(館藏編號S1987.1a–b) (18)、倫敦維多利亞阿伯特博物院(館藏編號V&A M.5–1, 2–1935) (19),京都泉屋博古館住友珍藏 (20),以及芝加哥藝術博物館(館藏編號1936.139)等館藏 (21)。取形梟鳥的商代青銅酒器,除尊以外還見於其他品類,譬如帶蓋及提梁的「卣」,多為兩梟背對,例見倫敦大英博物館(館藏編號1936,1118.4) (22) 及麻省哈佛大學藝術博物館(館藏編號1943.52.102)所藏「梟卣」 (23)。帶蓋的「觥」則常見前虎後梟,Luboshez Gong珍藏一例,2021年3月18日經紐約佳士得拍賣(拍品505)。而「斝」、「觶」、「方彜」等也時以梟為主題紋飾,設形象突出的梟鳥面盤。例見紐約州水牛城Albright–Knox藝術館舊藏,現納英國牛津郡Compton Verney珍藏的著名方斝(CVCSC 0365.1–2.A) (24)、蘇黎世玫茵堂珍藏方彜 (25)、紐約大都會藝術博物館藏觶(1988.20.1) (26),以及舊金山亞洲藝術博物館藏觶(B60 B3+)。有些鼎的腿部不作柱狀,或棄高而平的刀片形,而鑄成梟形。少數斝口沿豎立的小柱頂亦會鑄成梟形。此外,商代墓葬曾出土梟形玉佩及大理石雕,其中最著名的是安陽西北岡M1001墓發現的大理石雕 (27);商代梟形石雕與同代梟尊造型相似,頗有親緣關係。由是觀之,儘管梟不及饕餮紋普及,其地位在商代藝術中實在不容小覷。本梟尊在1962年首次刊行,錄於陳夢家先生(1911–1966年)編撰的全美珍藏商周青銅器集。陳氏在1944至1947年間訪美,先後由洛克菲勒基金會、哈佛燕京學社以及盧芹齋(1880–1957年)資助,整合了流傳美國各地的早期中國青銅器,並為器物銘文製作墨迹拓本。陳氏在位處堪薩斯城的納爾遜藝術館親自過手此尊。按其記述,梟尊由藝術商布恰德博士(Otto Burchard,1892–1965年)珍藏,當時借予藝術館展覽。因此,梟尊早在1940年代中期以前已離開中國,由布恰德本人在1920年代末或1930年代初攜帶離境,或更有可能是在1946年,隨他與夫人從北京移居紐約而送到美國。陳氏在1947年啟程返國,完成書稿並提交哈佛大學出版。礙於種種原因,刊印進度緩慢,至1950年代校方與陳氏失去聯絡,編目付梓一事告吹。該書終在1962年出版,名為《美帝國主義劫掠的我國殷周銅器集録》,由中國科學院考古研究所編輯,科學出版社刊印,惟刊本數量有限,未及廣泛流傳。集録在1977年於日本再版,為現今學者經常引用的版本。該書列陳夢家為作者,採用其原訂標題《殷周青銅器分類圖録》。然而,由於各地圖書館少有1962年的圖録原版,部分學者誤以1977年版為陳氏著作的初版,忽略梟尊在1940年代中期已流入美國之事實。從陳氏1940年代中訪美親鑒此尊,1947年成書,到1962年出版,著錄過程雖然曲折,但清楚記錄梟尊在1940年代中期已傳至美國,為其流傳背景提供一大佐證。本梟尊來源顯赫,由法國著名藝術商、收藏家兼巴黎老牌拍賣行Hôtel Drouot合作多年的首席拍賣官蘭斯(Maurice Rheims,1910–2003年)珍藏。蘭斯聲譽卓著,與法國總統戴高樂(1890–1970年;1959至1969年出任總統)交情匪淺。其人滿腹才學,著作等身,涉獵甚廣,曾撰寫有關保羅‧高更(Paul Gauguin,1848–1903年)、亨利‧德‧圖盧茲–勞特雷克(Henri de Toulouse–Lautrec,1861–1901年)和維托里‧卡爾帕喬(Vittore Carpaccio,約1465–1525/26年)等畫壇巨匠的多部權威專論,亦精於法國雕塑及瓷器、古羅馬銀器等諸多歐洲藝術範疇。蘭斯辯知閎達,溢於文辭,寫過多部小說,曾創辦藝術雜誌《Connaissance des Arts》,甚至編著大型字典《Dictionnaire des mots sauvages》,收錄十九及二十世紀作家筆下罕見、艱深而神秘的詞彙。蘭斯成就非凡,不一而足,1976年當選法國科學院院士,以及1979年獲頒法國榮譽軍團勳章,被他認定為畢生兩大輝煌成就 (28)。蘭斯是同代法國小說家、藝術理論家兼文化事務部長安德列‧瑪律羅(André Malraux,1901–1976年;1958–1969年出任文化事務部長)的密友,借所藏梟尊予名為「安德列‧瑪律羅」 的紀念展覽展出。展覽內容橫跨不同時地,涵蓋逾200件展品,於1973年7月13日至9月30日在法國聖保羅德旺斯梅格基金會(Fondation Maeght)美術館舉行。梟尊被收錄在展覽圖錄 (29),同時載於蘭斯在1973年為展覽撰寫的文章內 (30)。梟尊在蘭斯入藏之前,原屬布恰德博士(1892–1965年)在約1950年代或1960年代初蓄有。布氏為著名藝術商兼收藏家,在二十世紀初至中期活躍於中國、歐洲和美國各地。他在1910年代生於德國美因茨,自少對中國藝術產生濃厚興趣,在萊比錫大學攻讀博士,畢業論文探討中國繪畫 (31)。布恰德在1917年移居柏林,1920年在當地開設畫廊,同年夏天舉辦柏林前衛達達藝術運動最為觸目的「國際達達博覽會」(International Dada Fair) (32),聲名大噪,被冠以「達達將軍閣下」 (Generaldada, Exzellenz)的頭銜。1920年代初,布恰德經常到訪中國蒐購古青銅器、高古玉器、佛教雕塑、早期陶瓷和珍稀書畫,其後轉售美國及歐洲的博物館和收藏家。1932年,他與妻子搬到北京,醉心鑒藏古物,在當地薄有名氣。布恰德伉儷旅居中國至1946年,及後定居紐約,再遷至瑞士伯恩附近的耶根斯托夫(Jegenstorf),至1965年在當地終老。期間他一直釋出藝術珍藏,主要為中國藝術,也含歐洲藝術,會直接售予買家,但以通過經紀交易的居多。布恰德熱衷於中國早期藝術,在大學研習漢學,寫過中國繪畫專論,憑藉天賦與慧眼,成為出色的收藏家暨古董商。他過手的中國藝術精品名作多不勝數,包括一件西周早期的青銅簋,現藏於美國華府佛利爾美術館(館藏編號F1938. 20) (33); 著名戰國時代龍紋玉璧,現藏於堪薩斯城納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館(館藏編號33–81) (34);南宋馬遠(約1160–1225年)名作〈春遊賦詩圖〉,亦藏於堪薩斯城納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館(館藏編號63–19) (35);一對明代宣德(1426–1435年)龍紋梅瓶,同藏於堪薩斯城納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館(館藏編號40–45/1–2) (36); 一尊唐代鎏金青銅菩薩坐像,現藏於密蘇里州聖路易士藝術博物館(館藏編號36:1933) (37)。本梟尊來源顯赫,流傳有序,而且著錄甚豐,兼具1940年代中期存藏美國的珍貴記錄,洵屬可貴。梟尊與兩大商代王墓名器相類,地位亦當十分尊貴,意義極其深遠,無疑是商代晚期的青銅瑰寶。毛瑞(Robert D. Mowry) 哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽主任暨佳士得高級顧問(1) 〈甲骨文所見商族鳥圖騰的新證據〉,《文物》,(北京: 文物出版社),1977年, 第2期,頁84–87。(2) 胡厚宣:〈甲骨文商族鳥圖騰的遺跡〉, 《歷史論叢》,(北京:中華書局),第 1期, 1964年,頁131–159。(3) 孫新周:〈鴟鴞崇拜與華夏歷史文明〉, 《天津師範大學學報社會科學版》, (天津: 天津師範大學), 2004年,第5期,頁31–37。(4) 劉敦愿:〈夜與夢之神的鴟鴞〉,《劉敦愿文集》, (北京:科學出版社), 2012年, 頁159–171.(5) 汪濤:The Owl in Early Chinese Art:Meaning and Representation,紐約蘇富比《藝海觀濤:阪本五郎珍藏中國藝術–高古》,2016年9月13日,(紐約:蘇富比),2016年,拍品13;另見Christian Deydier:Understanding Ancient Chinese Bronzes:Their Importance in Chinese Culture, Their Shapes, Functions and Motifs(《中國古代青銅器探析:文化意義,形制、功能與紋飾主題》), (巴黎: Christian Deydier),2015年,頁126–127。(6) 見Robert W. Bagley:Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections(《 亞瑟‧M‧賽克勒珍藏商代青銅禮器》),(華盛頓特區:亞瑟‧M‧賽克勒基金會;麻省劍橋:亞瑟‧M‧賽克勒美術館;麻省劍橋:哈佛大學出版社),1987年,頁 410,圖 72.3;另見臺北故宮博物院編:《商王武丁與後婦好:殷商盛世文化藝術特展》, 初版,(臺北:國立故宮博物院), 2012年,87頁,圖板III–1;另見李濟、石璋如、高去尋:〈殷墟發掘出土五十三件青銅容器的形制和文飾之簡述及概論〉,《中國考古報告集新編》,第5期, (南港:中央研究院歷史語言研究所),1972年。(7) 見 https://collections.artsmia.org/art/827/zun–wine–vessel–in–the–shape–of–an–owl–unknown(8) 見Bagley:《商代青銅禮器》, 1987年, 頁 409, 圖 72.1;另見Gudrun Bühl編:Dumbarton Oaks: The Collections (華盛頓特區:敦巴頓橡樹園研究圖書館及珍藏;麻省劍橋:哈佛大學出版社), 2008年, 頁 290f,插圖。 (9) 見方聞、Robert W. Bagley等:The Great Bronze Age of China:An Exhibition from the People’s Republic of China (《中國銅器盛世:中華人民共和國文物展》),(紐約:大都會藝術博物館),1980年,頁 162–163、183–184,第29號;另見國立故宮博物院編:《商王武丁與後婦好:殷商盛世文化藝術特展》 初版 (臺北: 國立故宮博物院), 2012年,72頁,圖板 II–2。(10) 見Mary Gardner Neill (現名Mimi Gardner Gates): The Communion of Scholars:Chinese Art at Yale (《文人薈萃:耶魯大學珍藏中國藝術),(紐約: 華美協進社China House Gallery),1982年,頁 26–29, 第4號。(11) Bagley:《商代青銅禮器》,1987年,頁 406–411,圖錄編號 72;另見Netta A. Owens:The Bronze Owl Vessels and Stone Artifacts from the Late Shang Period(《商代晚期梟尊及石器》),匹茲堡大學待刊博士論文, (賓夕凡尼亞州:匹茲堡大學),1979年。(12) 見陳夢家編:《殷周青銅器分類圖録》 ,(東京:汲古書院),1977年,頁258,第477號;另見林巳奈夫: 《殷周時代靑銅器之硏究》 ,(東京:吉川弘文館), 1984年,卷 1圖片,西周,頁246,鳥獸形尊8號;另見Bagley:《商代青銅禮器》,1987年,頁 409,圖 72.2。(13) 陳氏述梟尊由紐約布恰德博士藏有(陳氏編號為667),所藏另外數件古代銅器同被借予納爾遜美術館展覽,「寄陳納爾遜美術陳列館」。陳夢家:《殷周青銅器分類圖録》,1977年,頁 163,第3節,「在古董商肆的, 1. 布恰德 Otto Burchard, New York」。(14) 「4–在底下銘一字,似獨角獸。」、「8–此器傳安陽出土,可信,器未經修整。」,載陳夢家編, 《殷周青銅器分類圖録》 (東京: 汲古書院), 1977年, 在梟獸尊 (A 666 – A 682) 部分, no. A 667 梟尊, 第 4, 8 點。(15) 中國早期犀牛記述見孫機: 〈古文物中所見之犀牛〉, 《文物》,1982年,第8卷,頁80–84。(16) 見林巳奈夫 :《殷周時代靑銅器の硏究》, 1984年,頁 246,鳥獸形尊9號;見Bagley:《商代青銅禮器》,1987年, 頁 409,圖72.3。(17)王傑等編:《西清續鑑甲編》,1793年,第5卷, 頁53,涵芬樓依甯壽宮寫本影印本,(上海:商務印書館),1911年。(18) 見Bagley:《商代青銅禮器》,1987年,頁 406–411,第72號;另見中國青銅器全集編輯委員會編, 《中國青銅器全集》,第4卷,商4,(北京:文物出版社),1998年,頁39、133,第136號。(19) 英國皇家藝術研究院編:The Chinese Exhibition:A Commemorative Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art (《中國藝術展:中國藝術國際展覽紀念圖錄》)(倫敦:皇家藝術研究院), 1935–1936年,第236號;另見 https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74109/vessel–unknown/。(20) 見泉屋博古館等編:《中國古銅器編》,(京都:泉屋博古館), 2002年(平成 14年),頁72,編號86。(21) 見汪濤等:《吉金鑒古》(芝加哥:芝加哥藝術博物館),初版,2018年,頁 69、242,編號38。(22) 見傑西卡.羅森(Jessica Rawson): Chinese Bronzes:Art and Ritual (《中國銅器:藝術與禮樂》)(倫敦:大英博物館出版社 British Museum Publications), 1987年, 圖錄編號 7。(23) 見 Bagley:《商代青銅禮器》, 1987年, 頁 115, 圖 153。(24) 見( Max Loehr), Ritual Vessels of Bronze Age China (《中國青銅時代禮器》)(紐約:亞洲協會), 1968年,頁 78–79,第31號。(25) 見汪濤:Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection (《玫茵堂珍藏中國銅器》)(倫敦:Paradou Writing Ltd.),2009年,頁142–143,第65號。(26) 見: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44512?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=1988.20.1&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=1。(27) 見臺北故宮博物院編:《商王武丁與後婦好: 殷商盛世文化藝術特展》,初版,(臺北:國立故宮博物院), 2012年,頁228,圖板IV–3。(28) 蘭斯背景資料見James Kirkup:Obituary:Maurice Rheims Wares(〈蘭斯先生訃聞〉),《獨立報》(英國),網上版,2003年3月10日,https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/maurice–rheims–36329.html;另見 https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational–magazines/rheims–maurice–1910–2003。(29) Maeght 基金會編:André Malraux: Exposition du 13 juillet au 30 septembre 1973 (《安德列‧瑪律羅: 1973年7月13日至9月30日展覽》),(聖保羅德旺斯:Maeght基金會),圖錄編號720, 1973年,頁 255(文)、 258(圖)。(30) 蘭斯(Maurice Rheims):André Malraux, pour tout l’art du Monde(〈安德列‧瑪律羅:致世界藝術〉),Le Point(《觀點週刊》),(巴黎),1973年7月9日, 頁 56–57 (文章與圖片載於頁 57).(31) 布恰德背景見:Patrizia Jirka–Schmitz:Otto Burchard (1892–1965). Vom Finanz–Dada zum Grandseigneur des Pekinger Kunsthandels(〈布恰德(1892–1965):從達達主義藝術商到北京藝術貿易大王 〉),Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst Mitteilungen (《德國協會東亞藝術年報》),第12期,(1995年6月), 頁 23–35(德文) ;另見Patrizia Jirka–Schmitz:The Trade in Far Eastern Art in Berlin during the Weimar Republic (1918–1933)(〈威瑪共和國時期柏林的遠東藝術品貿易(1918–1933)〉), Journal for Art Market Studies(《藝術市場研究期刊》), 網上期刊 (ISSN: 2511–7602),https://www.fokum–jams.org/index.php/jams/article/view/57/111(32) 布恰德在柏林達達運動的事蹟見 Tony Perrottet:Dada:100 Years Later(〈達達:百年以後〉), azprojectsblog.wordpress.com (網上期刊),2016年1月22日,azprojectsblog上載, https://azprojectsblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/22/dada–100–years–later–by–tony–perrottet/。(33) 見John Alexander Pope、Rutherford John Gettens、James Cahill、Noel Barnard:The Freer Chinese Bronzes(《佛利爾美術館藏中國銅器》),亞洲研究系列,第1卷,第7期,(華盛頓特區:史密森尼學會佛利爾美術館), 1967年,頁 351,圖錄編號 63。(34) 見Colin Mackenzie、陸聆恩:Masterworks of Chinese Art:The Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art(《中國藝術名作:納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館 》), (密蘇里州堪薩斯城:納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館),2011年,頁 26–27,圖錄編號 3。(35) 見Deborah Emont Scott編:The Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art:A Handbook of the Collection(《納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館 :館藏導覽》),第7版, (密蘇里州堪薩斯城:納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館),2008年,頁 344,圖 189。(36) 見Scott:The Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art(《納爾遜–阿特金斯藝術博物館》),2008年,頁 356, 圖錄編號225。(37) 見https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/33747/。
商晚期 安陽 公元前十三至十二世紀 青銅梟尊

CHINE, FIN DE LA DYNASTIE SHANG, ANYANG, XIIIEME-XIIEME SIECLE AV. J.-C.

細節
商晚期 安陽 公元前十三至十二世紀 青銅梟尊
Hauteur totale: 24,1 cm. (9 1⁄2 in.)
Longueur: 17,5 cm. (6 7⁄8 in.)
Largeur: 8,5 cm. (3 3⁄8 in.)
Poids: 1492 gr. (tête: 332 gr ; corps: 1160 gr.)
來源
著名古董商Otto Burchard 教授(1892-1965)舊藏。Otto Burchard於1932年至1946年在中國生活, 1947年移居紐約。他於1947年前購入此器
1940年代寄借於美國堪萨斯威廉•羅克希爾•納爾遜藝術館(現纳尔逊美术馆)
著名法國作家及拍賣官 Maurice Rheims 先生(1910-2003)舊藏, 可能于1950年代末至1960年代初購入,后家族傳承



出版
- Zhongguo Kexueyuan Kaogu Yanjiusuo, ed., Mei diguo zhuyi jielüe de woguo Yin Zhou tongqi jilu [A corpus of Chinese Yin and Zhou Bronzes looted by American imperialists], (Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe), 1962
- Umehara S. ,Yinxu, Ancient Capital of the Shang Dynasty at An-Yang, Asahi Shinbusha, Tokyo 1964, planche CXVII - 2.
- Maurice Rheims, “André Malraux, pour tout l’art du Monde”, Le Point (Paris), 9 July 1973, pp. 56-57 (text and photo on p. 57).
- Fondation Maeght, ed., André Malraux: Exposition du 13 juillet au 30 septembre 1973 (Saint Paul, France: Fondation Maeght), catalogue n° 720, 1973, pp. 255 (text), 258 (photo).
- Chen Mengjia, Yin Zhou Qingtongqi Fenlei Tulu, (A Corpus of Chinese Bronzes in American Collections), Tokyo : Kyukoshoin, 1977. text volume p. 127 n° A 667 (text) and p. 258 n° 477 (mark rubbing), illustration volume p. 960 n° A667.
- Netta A. Owens, The Bronze Owl Vessels and Stone Artifacts from the Late Shang Period, unpublished MA thesis submitted to the University of Pittsburgh, (Pittsburgh, PA), 1979, Plate 10; the thesis written under the direction of Katheryn M. Linduff.
-Hayashi M., In Shu Jidai Seidoki no Kenkyu (In Shu Seidoki Soran Ichi), Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes, Vol. I-plates, Tokyo 1984. volume plaches p. 246, n° 8.
-Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, (Washington, DC: The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, and Cambridge, MA: Arthur M. Sackler Museum; distributed by Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), 1987, p. 409, fig. 72.2.
-Wu Zhenfeng, Shang Zhou Qingtongqi Mingwen Ji Tuxiang Jicheng, Shanghai 2012, volume 20, p. 172 n° 11110.

展覽
André Malraux, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, 13 July - 30 September 1973, no. 720.
更多詳情
AN EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT ARCHAIC 'OWL' BRONZE VESSEL AND COVER, XIAOZUN
CHINA, LATE SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG,13TH-12TH CENTURY BC

榮譽呈獻

Tiphaine Nicoul
Tiphaine Nicoul Head of department

拍品專文

A Rare, Important, Shang-dynasty
Owl-Form Zun Wine Vessel


Dating to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1046 BC) and known in Chinese as a xiaozun, or owl-shaped zun, this exceptionally rare vessel served as a wine-storage or presentation jar and was used in funerary ceremonies honoring the spirit of a deceased ancestor. Though its exact function remains unknown, one can picture it resting majestically on an altar and containing the wine that would be used in the ceremonies. Frequently published, this vessel claims a distinguished provenance, having passed through the hands of Dr. Otto Burchard (1892–1965) and of Maurice Rheims (1910–2003) and having been studied in Kansas City, MO, by bronze specialist Chen Mengjia (1911–1966) in the mid-1940s. Most important of all, however, this xiaozun compares in style and quality to a virtually identical owl-form zun excavated from Xibeigang Tomb 1885 at Anyang, the last Shang capital; moreover, it shows kinship to two owl-form zun vessels excavated from the tomb of Lady Fuhao at Anyang in 1976. That xiaozun vessels of this type were buried in Shang royal tombs not only attests to the importance of this piece but to the high status of the person for whom it was made; in fact, it might have been made for Shang royalty.

This owl zun belongs to a small group of wine-storage or presentation vessels generally classified as shouzun or shouxingzun, meaning “animal-shaped zun vessels”. The best-known such Shang animal-form vessel is arguably the rhinoceros-form zun, or xizun, that was excavated in Shandong province in 1843 and is now in the collection of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (B60B1+). Other animal-form vessels, all of which are exceptionally rare, include the ram-form gong vessel from the Fujita Museum, Osaka, Japan, that sold at Christie’s, New York, on 14 March 2017 (Lot 526), the elephant-shaped zun vessel in the U.S. National Asian Museum of Asian Art’s Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (F1936.6a-b), and the elephant-form zun in the Musée Guimet, Paris (EO 1545).

Known generically in Chinese as xiao and comprising more than 200 different species, owls are solitary, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. They possess a hawk-like hooked beak, a flat face, large, forward-facing eyes, and a conspicuous circle of feathers, termed a facial disc, around each eye. As witnessed by this xiaozun, owls represented on Shang bronzes typically possess the facial disc, permitting ready identification.

The owl was known to the earliest Chinese, who likely admired its stealth, its ability to fly silently, its prowess in hunting at night, and its regal bearing. Though its precise meaning and symbolism in Shang times remain unknown, the owl doubtless played a totemic, tutelary, or talismanic role. A character in the form of a bird resembling an owl appears in both bronze and oracle-bone inscriptions, sparking suggestions that it might have served as a clan sign (also termed a clan insignia and an ancestral lineage emblem) (1).

In fact, Hu Houxuan has argued that the owl was the totem of the Shang people (2). According to the Shijing , or Book of Songs—whose origins date as early as the Shang dynasty—the Shang people descended from a mythical black bird known as the xuanniao, which some scholars have argued must have been an owl. Sun Xinzhou has posited that the Strigidae owl, or true owl, was worshiped in the Shang dynasty and that Di Jun, the mythical Shang ancestor, can be associated with that bird deity (3). The historian and archaeologist Liu Dunyuan has contended that the Shang people perceived the owl as the god of night and dreams as well as the messenger between human and spirit worlds (on account of its silent flight and nocturnal hunting) (4). As Wang Tao has concluded, the belief, if true, that the owl is the messenger between human and spiritual worlds could explain why the owl is repeatedly employed in Shang ritual art and is found in burial contexts (5).

Except for small differences in surface ornamentation, this xiaozun is virtually identical to the owl-form zun excavated from Xibeigang Tomb 1885 at Yinxu, Anyang, Henan province, the last Shang capital, and now in the collection of the Museum of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taipei (R001074) (6). The excavated example’s cover, long ago lost, was not recovered in the excavations, so the vessels’ heads and faces cannot be compared, though they must have been very similar. The treatment of the feet distinguishes these two xiaozun from other owl-zun vessels, as the talons of these two owls curve downward, as if grasping a branch for support while perched in a tree. By contrast, the feet of other owl-zun vessels 1) are shown flat, as if the bird is standing, as seen in the vessel in the Pillsbury Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (50.46.116) (7) and in the similar example in the Bliss Collection in the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC (HC.S.1924.03.(B)) (8); 2) are curved and grasping a sphere, as if the bird is standing with each foot placed on a small orb as witnessed by the pair of vessels excavated in 1976 from the tomb of Lady Fuhao at Anyang (9); or 3) appear on the outside faces of square vessel-support blocks, the talons schematically indicated by shallow intaglio lines as evinced by the example in the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT (1954.48.7a-b) (10). Despite the vessels’ differing treatment of head, body, and feet, the design executed in relief on the breast of the present owl vessel recalls that on the two owl-zun vessels excavated from the tomb of Lady Fuhao; though exact identification remains difficult, the design on the present vessel seems to represent an animal mask presented frontally above one or two ascending snakes.

A principal wife of Shang-dynasty King Wu Ding (r. c. 1250–c. 1192 BC), Lady Fu Hao was a powerful figure who gave birth to a royal prince and served as a military leader, apparently leading troops into battle. That zun vessels of this type were buried in her tomb—along with 2,000 other luxury items including some 468 bronzes—attests to the importance of such vessels. As they bear an inscription with her name, the pair of owl-zun vessels found in her tomb are assumed to have been cast around 1200 BC, shortly after her death and specifically for burial in her tomb. The similarity in style and decoration of the present xiaozun to the one excavated from Xibeigang Tomb M1885 at Anyang and to the two excavated from the Anyang tomb of Lady Fuhao suggests that all four vessels were made in the same place (presumably in Anyang, Henan province), at roughly the same time in the late Shang period—likely in the late thirteenth to early twelfth century BC—and perhaps even in the same workshop.

In his succinct discussion of the evolution and development of the owl zun, Robert Bagley notes that the earliest such Shang vessels, as witnessed by the previously mentioned Pillsbury example, tend to be more naturalistic, while later Shang vessels, such as the Yale University example, tend to be more stylized (11). He further notes that due to the consolidation of the wings and tail into a single, downward sweeping arc, the present vessel is more streamlined and thus more naturalistic and dynamic than both earlier and later examples.

Like many important Shang ritual bronzes, this owl zun includes a short inscription—in this case, a one-character inscription—that appears on underside of the vessel in the area between the feet and the tail. Now difficult to read because of recent damage and repair to the vessel, the character, or graph, is well-preserved in ink rubbings taken in earlier decades (12). It represents a standing quadruped; a single horn issues from the animal’s forehead, as noted by the renowned early-bronze specialist Chen Mengjia (1911–1966) , who examined the zun first-hand in Kansas City, MO, during his 1944–1947 travels in the U.S., when it was on loan to the Nelson Gallery of Art (subsequently renamed the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) (13); at that time Chen photographed the zun, made an ink rubbing of its inscription, stated his belief that it came from Anyang, and noted that it had not been repaired or restored (14). The single horn suggests that the animal might be a rhinoceros, an animal known in Shang times and considered to be auspicious (15), as evinced by the previously mentioned rhinoceros-form zun, or xizun, in San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum (B60B1+). The graph is assumed to be a clan sign —also termed a totem, clan insignia, and ancestral lineage emblem. The closely related owl zun excavated from Xibeigang Tomb 1885 at Anyang also claims a single-character inscription on its underside, the graph likely representing a tiger (16).

Once in the Qing Imperial Collection, a related though slightly smaller owl zun is published in the 1793 Xi Qing xujian jiabian, one of the catalogues of Emperor Qianlong’s collection of antiquities (17). The catalogue’s woodblock-printed line drawing of the bronze is too schematic to permit a close comparison with the present vessel; even so, the two vessels share the same shape and general appearance, and in each case the bird’s head and neck comprise the removable cover. The Qianlong catalogue illustration does not picture the owl’s feet, suggesting that they were missing, nor does it give any indication that the vessel had an inscription, so those features cannot be compared. According to the dimensions listed in the Xi Qing xujian jiabian catalogue, the Qianlong-collection bronze was smaller than the present example. The catalogue incorrectly ascribes it to the Zhou dynasty and terms it a jizun, or chicken zun (though that term might be more appropriately rendered as a bird-shaped, or fowl-shaped, zun).

During the Shang dynasty, the Anyang bronze foundries typically cast in advance vessel handles and other protruding elements—the legs and feet, in the case of this owl zun and that from Xibeigang Tomb 1885—and then placed those pre-cast elements in the vessel-casting mould before it was assembled and readied for casting the vessel itself (a technique termed “casting on”). When the molten bronze was poured into the mould to cast the vessel, the so-called cast-on elements were fused into the vessel and became integral with it. In some instances—though not always so—such cast-on elements were susceptible to damage and loss, which might account for the lack of legs on the owl zun depicted in the Qianlong-collection catalogue.

Apart from the owl-zun vessels previously mentioned, additional closely related xiaozun vessels include those in the U.S. National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (S1987.1a-b) (18), in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A M.5-1, 2-1935) (19), in the Sumitomo Collection at the Sen-oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto (20), and in the Art Institute of Chicago (1936.139) (21), among a few others.

In addition to owl-zun vessels, there are also Shang owl-you vessels, called xiaoyou, which are covered, wine containers, usually with a bail handle, and which feature two addorsed owls—i.e., two owls set back-to-back—as seen in examples in the British Museum, London (1936,1118.4) (22), and in the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA (1943.52.102) (23). Moreover, an owl is typically paired with a tiger in those covered, wine-pouring vessels known as gong, the tiger featured at the front and the owl at the back, as witnessed by the famous Luboshez gong that sold at Christie’s, New York, on 18 March 2021 (Lot 505). Other wine vessels in more standard shapes—particularly jia, zhi, and fangyi vessels—occasionally feature the face of an owl as the principal decorative motif, the bird’s distinctive facial discs commanding immediate attention, as evinced by the famous fangjia formerly in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, and now in the collection of Compton Verney, Oxfordshire, U.K. (CVCSC 0365.1-2.A) (24), the fangyi in the Meiyintang collection, Zurich (25), the zhi in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (1988.20.1) (26), and the similar zhi in San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum (B60 B3+). Rather than columnar legs, a few ding food vessels claim tall, flat legs—sometimes termed blade legs—each in the form of a standing owl, and a few jia vessels sport owl-form finials atop the vertical posts, or pillars, that rise from their lips. Moreover, both jade pendants and marble sculptures of owls have been recovered from Shang tombs, the most famous such marble sculpture being that excavated from Xibeigang Tomb M1001 at Anyang (27); the Shang marble sculptures of owls show kinship to the contemporaneous owl-form zun vessels. Thus, even if less frequently encountered than the taotie mask, the owl nonetheless played a prominent role in the arts of the Shang dynasty.

This rare owl-form vessel was first published by eminent bronze specialist Chen Mengjia (1911–1966) in the original, 1962 version of his compendium of Shang and Zhou bronzes in American collections. Chen had traveled in the U.S. between 1944 and 1947, compiling a record of early Chinese bronzes collected in America and taking ink rubbings of their inscriptions, supported by grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, from the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and, later, from C.T. Loo (1880–1957). During that period, Chen studied the present xiaozun in Kansas City, MO, where it was in on loan to the Nelson Gallery of Art (though as Chen noted, it belonged to art dealer Dr. Otto Burchard (1892–1965), documenting that the vessel had left China by the mid-1940s, possibly carried by Burchard himself in the late 1920s or early ’30s or, perhaps more likely, in 1946, when he and his wife moved from Beijing to New York. Chen completed the book manuscript and submitted it to Harvard University for publication in 1947, the same year he returned to China. Due to various reasons, preparations for publication moved slowly, then, after Harvard lost contact with Chen in the 1950s, publication was cancelled. Even so, the book eventually appeared in China in 1962 under the title Our Countrys Shang and Zhou Bronzes Looted by American Imperialists, edited by the Chinese Institute of Archaeology and published by the Science Press, but it enjoyed only limited circulation, so scholars today usually consult the 1977 Japanese reprint of the book, which credits Chen Mengjia as author and features his original title, A Corpus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes in American Collections. However, as the original, 1962 edition of the book is not generally available in libraries, some scholars mistakenly assume that Chen’s book was first published in 1977; they thus fail to understand the importance of Chen’s work in documenting that this xiaozun was already in the U.S. in the mid-1940s. In that context, it is important to note that Chen traveled in the U.S. in the mid-1940s, that he saw and recorded this xiaozun at that time, that he had completed the book manuscript by 1947, and that the book was first published in 1962, as it is this compendium that attests that this rare bronze had left China and was already in the U.S. by the mid-1940s.

In terms of provenance, this owl-form zun was most recently in the collection of Maurice Rheims (1910–2003), a famous French art dealer, collector, and long-time chief auctioneer at the Hôtel Drouot, the venerable Paris auction house. An acquaintance of Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970), President of France from 1959 until his retirement in 1969, and a learned man of many and varied talents, Rheims was a prolific author, with authoritative monographs on Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1861–1901), and Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465–1525/26), not to mention, with scholarly works as well on French sculpture and porcelain, Roman silver, and many others. Clever and very witty, Rheims penned several novels, founded the art journal Connaissance des Arts, and compiled Dictionnaire des mots sauvages, a vast, learned assembly of unusual, difficult, and arcane words found in the works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century authors. He considered his 1976 election to the Académie française and his 1979 appointment as a commander of the French Légion d’honneur to be two of his crowning achievements (28).

A contemporary and close friend of André Malraux (1901–1976)—French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Cultural Affairs (1958–1969)—Maurice Rheims lent his precious owl zun to the tribute exhibition titled “André Malraux”, which featured more than 200 works of art from all corners of the globe and from all chronological periods. The exhibition was on view at the Fondation Maeght in Saint Paul, France, from 13 July to 30 September 1973. This xiaozun is published in the exhibition catalogue (29) as well as in Rheims’ 1973 Le Point article on the exhibition (30).

Before passing into the hands of Maurice Rheims, presumably in the 1950s or early 1960s, this xiaozun vessel had belonged to Dr. Otto Burchard (1892–1965), a well-known art dealer and collector who was active in China, Europe, and the United States in the early and mid-twentieth century. In the 1910s, Burchard, who was born in Mainz, Germany, developed a passion for Chinese art, a passion that took him to the University of Leipzig, where he earned a doctorate, writing a thesis on Chinese painting (31). In 1917 he moved to Berlin, where he opened an art gallery in 1920. Achieving fame in Summer 1920 as the host of the International Dada Fair, the most prominent event of the avant-garde Berlin Dada movement (32), he was duly honored with the grand-but-unofficial title of “Generaldada, Exzellenz”, or “His Excellency, General Dada”.

Burchard frequently traveled to China in the early 1920s, acquiring archaic bronzes and jades, Buddhist sculptures, early ceramics, and fine paintings which he sold to museums and private collectors in the U.S. and Europe. In 1932 he and his wife relocated to Beijing, then known as Peking, where he became known as a connoisseur of considerable reputation. He and his wife continued to live in China until 1946, when they settled first in New York and later in Jegenstorf, near Bern, in Switzerland, where he passed away in 1965. During all those years he sold works of art, mainly Chinese but also some European works, sometimes directly to clients but often through intermediaries.

With a passion for early Chinese art, a degree in sinology, and a thesis on Chinese painting, Burchard had an eye for quality and talent as a collector and salesman. Among the numerous important works of Chinese art that passed through his hands are an Early Western Zhou bronze gui ritual food vessel in the U.S. National Museum of Asian Art’s Freer Gallery, Washington, DC (F1938.20) (33), the renowned, Warring States-period, ritual jade bi disc with dragons striding around its periphery in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (33-81) (34) , the celebrated Southern Song painting by Ma Yuan (c. 1160–1125) depicting “Composing Poetry on a Spring Outing” , in the Nelson-Atkins Museum (63-19) (35), the acclaimed pair of Ming dragon-emblazoned meiping vases from the Xuande period (1426–1435) also in the Nelson-Atkins Museum (40-45/1-2) (36), and the exquisite Tang, gilt bronze sculpture of a Seated Bodhisattva in the St. Louis Museum of Art (36:1933) (37).

Often published, this rare owl-form vessel has a long and distinguished pedigree that establishes that it was in the U.S. by the mid-1940s. Moreover, with kinship to zun vessels of similar form from two different Shang-dynasty royal tombs, this xiaozun rightly takes its place among the important bronzes of the late Shang period. It truly is a rare treasure.

Robert D. Mowry
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie’s




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