Page 53 - Sotheby's Important Chinese Art, Sept. 21-22, 2-21, NYC

The line drawing of the present lot.
Fig. 1 A bronze ritual pouring vessel (he) © Shanghai Museum, Shanghai
本拍品綫描圖
圖一 獸面紋龍流盉 © 上海博物館，上海

He of similar form, probably slightly earlier in date, have also 湖南、湖北楚地亦曾出土盉例，器形相近，年代或稍 Idiosyncratic features among the high-relief decoration of the 本品盉一個獨特之處在於其饕餮紋間的輔助紋飾：小
been excavated from the Chu region of Hunan and Hubei. 早。湖南省寧鄉市黃材鎮龍泉村出土一件流、鋬及蓋 present he are the figurative motifs above and between the 型龍紋幾乎僅呈現龍首部分，身體則簡化成鉤狀；鳳
A vessel with dragon spout, handle and cover, but with low- 均為龍形作例，紋飾較淺更接近西周典型，現存於長 main taotie masks: the small dragon motifs consist almost 鳥紋則由相對寫實風格的鳥首及尖曲喙部組成，鳥身
relief decoration more typical of the Western Zhou period, only of a head with upturned snout, the body being reduced
has been excavated at Longquan village, Huangcai, Ningxiang 沙市湖南省博物館，曾展於《沿著長江：湖南的古代 to a small hook, and the bird motifs show a rather naturalistic 卻極具幾何抽象風格，稜角分明。兩款紋飾明顯源自
county, Hunan, is now in the Hunan Provincial Museum, 青銅器》，華美協進社中國美術館，紐約，2011年， crested head with sharp curved beak but an almost 西周風格，但皆有演化，頗具特色；參考上述羅森著
Changsha, and was included in the exhibition Along the 編號45，斷代西周。再比一湖北省京山市宋河鎮出土 geometrically stylized, angular body. Both motifs clearly 錄，1990年，卷IIA，圖39左下，圖64 右下，及圖107
Yangzi River. Regional Culture of the Bronze Age from Hunan, 春秋初作例，無蓋、四足，連龍流及龍鋬，見陳萬雄 derive from earlier Western Zhou designs, where similar 。類似鳥紋及龍紋尤見於戰國時期楚國漆器之上，參
China Institute Gallery, New York, 2011, cat. no. 45, where it 編，《中國地域文化大系 - 楚文化 : 奇譎浪漫的南 dragon heads sometimes have a scroll as body, and birds can 見《楚文化》，前述出處，鳥紋如圖版237，龍紋如
is attributed to the Western Zhou. A four-legged he without have a rather similar silhouette, but on this he both motifs
cover, with dragon spout and handle, the body decorated 方大國》，香港，1997年，圖版48。日本私人收藏一 are highly individually interpreted; compare Rawson 1990, 圖版315及355。
with formal scroll designs as known from the Western Zhou, 相近盉例，連蓋，圖載於鄭德坤， 《Archaeology in vol. IIA fig. 39 bottom left and fig. 64 bottom right, and fig.
was included in a hoard at Songhequ, Jingshan, Hubei, China, vol. 3: Chou China》，劍橋，1963年，圖版23a。 107. The dragon motifs on the cover of the Shanghai he are
that can be dated to the early Spring and Autumn period, depicted with a very similar head, albeit with a slender curved
see Chen Wanxiong, ed., Zhongguo diyu wenhua daxi. Chu 用於祭祀儀式之三足青銅斟器於商代已經開始製作， body. Similar bird and dragon motifs lived on particularly in
wenhua [Great series on Chinese regional cultures. Chu 至西周初期，與本品相類的三足器形流行甚廣，然 the Warring States period (475-221 BC) in lacquer wares of
culture], Hong Kong, 1997, pl. 48. A similar covered he is also the Chu Kingdom, see Chu wenhua, op. cit., pl. 237 for the
found in a private collection in Japan, illustrated in Cheng 多為直流，與器身成45度角。西周末期，彎曲之龍 former, pls. 315 and 355 for the latter..
Te-k’un, Archaeology in China, vol. 3: Chou China, Cambridge, 形流開始出現，亦可見於青銅鎣；見傑西卡•羅
1963, pl. 23a. 森，《Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M.
Ritual bronze tripod pouring vessels were produced since Sackler Collections》，華盛頓，1990 年，卷IIB，圖
the Shang period, and by the early Western Zhou a lobed 157、116.7及116.10。
tripod shape not unlike that of the present piece was already
popular, but with a straight tubular spout set at a 45-degree
angle to the vessel body. A curved dragon-shaped spout was
introduced towards the end of the Western Zhou and is also
often seen on a related vessel shape, the ying, where the
vessel rests either on three visually separated, conical feet
or on a ring foot; see Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual
Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington,
D.C., 1990, vol. IIB, figs 157, 116.7 and 116.10.

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