Page 44 - CHRISTIE'S Marchant Nine Decades of Chinese Art 09/14/17

MARCHANT: NINE DECADES IN CHINESE ART

Later bronzes were cast through the cire-perdue, or lost-wax, process, 花或鑿刻)，或鑄造與冷加工兼而有之。明初作品偶有鎏
a technique easier and more effcient to employ than the piece-mold 金， 但晚明卻大行其道，無論是通體或局部鎏金，均意
technique used for casting bronzes in antiquity. Except for those with 趣盎然，而用金銀絲、金銀箔或二者兼用的錯金銀工藝
gold or silver inlays, bronzes from the Song, Yuan, and early Ming 亦盛極一時。
periods typically have decoration integrally cast with the vessel itself.
From the mid-Ming onward, bronzes often relied on cold work 文學記載雖曾提到許多鑄銅工匠，但行內傳人泰半寂寂
(chasing and chiseling after casting)—or a combination of casting and 無聞，蓋因銘有作者名號或作坊的青銅器寥寥無幾。部
cold work—for the creation of their decoration. Occasionally used in 份青銅器銘「雲間 (今上海松江) 胡文明製」字樣，胡氏
the early Ming, gilding soared to popularity in the late Ming, whether 為活躍於晚明的名匠。但歸根結柢，青銅器始終以銘
enlivening an entire vessel or only localized areas, as did inlay work in 「石叟」款者居多，傳為這位明末清初工匠的作品不少
gold and silver, whether in wire, sheet metal, or both. 仍有待商榷，而與之有關的作品大多飾以精巧工絕的嵌
銀絲圖案。
Although literary records mention numerous bronze artisans, the
tradition remains largely anonymous because so few bronzes are 雖然清代的青銅紋飾間或與明代作品類似，但其紋飾風
inscribed with their maker’s name or their place of manufacture. 格從摹古以至抽象、從規整乃至寫實，甚或博採眾家之
Some bronzes bear the names of Hu Wenming of Yunjian (present- 長，變化之多不一而足。康熙年間 (公元1662–1722年)
day Songjiang, near Shanghai), who was active in the late Ming ，青銅器崇尚陰陽互補的配對之作，亦好模仿宣德青銅
period. Even so, more bronzes bear the mark of Shisou than of any 器的抽象灑金紋；雍正 (公元1723–1735年) 和乾隆
other artist, but attributions to the hand of that late Ming to early (公元1736–1795年) 二朝則鍾情花卉紋、仿古龍紋、饕
Qing artist remain problematic; works associated with his name 餮紋和龍鳳紋。飽含榮華富貴、琴瑟和鳴、金榜題名等
typically sport subtle designs delicately inlaid in silver wire. 吉祥祝願的紋飾，在明代中葉已蔚為風尚，此風在清代
更是有增無減。於十八世紀末葉，青銅器偶有結合非傳
Although sometimes resembling that of Ming bronzes, the decoration 統的不對稱圖案，十九世紀的作品更改用一種更節省用
of Qing bronzes ranges from archaistic to abstract, from formalistic 料的新工藝，即用包金銀來代替沿用了數百年且成本不
to naturalistic and even to eclectic. Bronzes of the Kangxi period 菲的錯金銀。最上乘的清代青銅器，其器表拋光細膩，
(1662-1722) show a taste for a yin-yang pairing of complementary 誠非其他後仿之作所能企及。
opposites and for abstract, gold-splashed décor inspired by Xuande
bronzes; those of the Yongzheng (1723-1735) and Qianlong (1736- 毛瑞
1795) eras reveal a preference for foral designs, archaistic dragons
and taotie masks, and dragon-and-phoenix motifs. Popular already in 哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽
the mid-Ming, auspicious designs wishing the viewer wealth, marital 主任暨佳士得高級顧問
happiness, and success in the civil service examinations became even
more so in the Qing. Late eighteenth-century bronzes occasionally
feature asymmetrical designs that represent a radical departure from
tradition, whereas nineteenth-century ones espouse a new-found
economy of material, substituting overlays of gold and silver for the
more costly inlays of earlier centuries. At their best, Qing bronzes
show exquisitely fnished surfaces unrivalled by those of other later
bronzes.

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

1 For information on later Chinese bronzes, see: Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes (London: 1 關於中國後仿青銅器的資料，可參考以下著作：柯玫瑰 (Rose Kerr) 所著《Later
Bamboo Publishing Ltd. in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum), 1990; Robert Chinese Bronzes》(倫敦：Bamboo Publishing Ltd.與維多利亞與艾伯特博物館聯合出
D. Mowry, China’s Renaissance in Bronze: The Robert H. Clague Collection of Later Chinese 版，1990)；毛瑞 (Robert D. Mowry) 所著《China’s Renaissance in Bronze: The Robert
Bronzes, 1100-1900 (Phoenix: Phoenix Art Museum), 1993; Chu-tsing Li and James C.Y. H. Clague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900》(鳳凰城：鳳凰城藝術博物
Watt, eds., The Chinese Scholar’s Studio: Artistic Life in the Late Ming Period, An Exhibition from 館，1993)；李鑄晉、屈志仁合編《中國書齋：晚明文人的藝術生活》 (紐約：亞洲
the Shanghai Museum (New York: Asia Society Galleries in association with Thames and 協會美術館與Thames and Hudson聯合出版，1987)。
Hudson), 1987.

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