Page 239 - China's Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert H.CIague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900

Venice: Alfieri Editore, 1954, 196, number 724. convention is not always observed, the chilong,
22. See Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, feiyu, and douniu are not supposed to be shown in
London: Faber and Faber, 1954, plate 59a; Sheila pursuit of the flaming pearl, a symbol reserved for
Riddell, Dated Chinese Antiquities, 600-1650, London the senior members of the dragon family. For addi-
and Boston: Faber and Faber, 1979,106, number 87. tional information on these creatures, see Cammann,
23. Watt, Chinese Jades from the Collection of 'Some Strange Ming Beasts.'
the Seattle Art Museum, 66. 2. See Watt, Chinese Jades, 138, number 114; Ip
24. Cammann, 'Some Strange Ming Beasts,' 96. Yee, Chinese Jade Carving, 235, number 210.
25. See Delbanco, Art from Ritual, 93, number 34; 3. See Watt and Ford, East Asian Lacquer, 105,
Loehr, Ritual Vessels, 121, number 52. number 40.
26. See Tsang and Moss, Chinese Metalwork, 47-48, 4. See, respectively, d'Argence, 'Chinese Lacquer-
numbers 11-13; Li and Watt, The Chinese Scholar's ware of the Late Medieval Period,' cover illustration
Studio, 118, number 62. and 10, figures 11-12; Watt and Ford, East Asian
27. The handles on Shang and early Western Zhou Lacquer, 62-63, number 16.
bronze gui usually take the form of a ring issuing 5. See National Palace Museum compiler, Master-
from the mouth of a fabulous beast; nonrepre- pieces of Chinese Carved Lacquer Ware in the
sentational designs frequently enliven the ring's National Palace Museum, Taipei: National Palace
surfaces and a spur typically appears at its bottom. Museum, 1970, number 2; National Palace Museum
Bronze designers of the Ming apparently trans- compiler, Gugong qiqi tezhan (Catalogue of an
formed the nonrepresentational surface designs Exhibition of Chinese Lacquer in the Palace Museum
on the handles of antique vessels into tufts of fur Collection), Taipei: Guoli gugong bowuyuan, 1981,
on their own. See Delbanco, Art from Ritual, 99, number 11. Also compare Harry M. Garner, Chinese
number 37; Loehr, Ritual Vessels, 115, number 49. and Associated Lacquer from the Garner Collection,
28. Compare, Tsang and Moss, Chinese Metal- London: British Museum, 1973, plate 15, number 38.
work, 45, number 8. 6. See Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades, 375-77,
29. Cammann, 'Some Strange Ming Beasts,' 100. numbers 538-40; 395-97, numbers 572-74; 400,
Cammann notes that the feiyu was dropped from number 579; Watt, Chinese Jades, 180, number 156.
court and official insignia at the end of Ming and 7. See Watt, Chinese Jades, 150, number 124;
thus was not included among the symbols used to 195-96, numbers 187-88; 204, number 203; Li and Watt,
distinguish official rank in the Qing. The Chinese Scholar's Studio, 112, number 47;
30. See Joint Board of Directors, Blue-and-white Ware Cammann, 'Some Strange Ming Beasts,'100, figure 6.
of the Ming Dynasty, book 6, 64-65, plates 18-18e. 8. See Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades, 302-303,
31. Mowry, 'Catalogue,' in Li and Watt, The numbers 441-43; 334, number 490.
Chinese Scholar's Studio, 179, number 66. 9. See Fontein and Wu, Unearthing China's Past,
177, figure 92.
10. See, Watt, Chinese Jades, 64, number 44; 96,
13 number 80; Yang Boda, Zhongguo meishu quanji:
254; Heilongjiang Cultural
142, number
Man-
Yuqi,
1. A young, or immature, dragon, the chilong agement Team, 'Heilongjiang pan Suibin Zhongxing
typically has a broad, triangular face with flattened gucheng he Jindai muxun' (The Old City of Zhongxing,
snout, a sinuous feline body, usually without Suibin County, Heilongjiang, and a Group of Jin
scales, and thus different from other members of Dynasty Tombs), Wenwu (Beijing), 1977, number 4,
the dragon family, rounded paws with short claws, 40-49, especially plate 7, figure 3.
and a long tail that splits into two (or even three) 11. See Watt, Chinese Jades, 70, number 52-53;
tips that curl outward in opposite directions. 74, number 55; 99. 98-103, numbers 84-87, 89; 196,
Although encyclopaedias describe the chilong as number 188; Li and Watt, The Chinese Scholar's
hornless, since it is an immature dragon, it is often Studio, 112, number 49; 114, number 52; Shanghai
shown with a horn in the visual arts, as in this Museum, compiler, 'Shanghai Pudong Ming Lushi
covered box. Despite its feline or salamander-like mu jishu' (A Description of the Lu-family Tomb
appearance, the chilong is definitely a member of from the Ming Dynasty in Pudong, Shanghai),
the dragon family, a close relative of the long Kaogu (Beijing), 1985, number 6, 540-49, illustration
(three- or five-clawed conventional dragon), mang 54, and plate 1, figure 6.
(four-clawed conventional dragon), and yinglong 12. See Li and Watt, The Chinese Scholar's Studio,
(five-clawed conventional dragon with a pair of 124, number 69e.
outspread wings attached at the base of its head); 13. See d'Argence, Treasures from the Shanghai
it is also related to such lesser members of the Museum, 117, number 119 a-b.
dragon family as the feiyu (flying fish-dragon; see 14. See Mowry, Handbook, 68, number 1979.148.
entry 12), and douniu (literally, 'dipper ox'), which 15. See Tsang and Moss, Chinese Metalwork, 59,
has a conventional dragon's body, usually with number 36; 67, diagram j.
three claws, but has two down-swept horns and a
split tail that often supports a jewel. Although the
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T H E R O B E R T II. C L A G U E C O L L E C T I O N