Page 24 - Bonhams Olivier Collection Early Chinese Art November 2018

Another consideration is the decoration. The gu (Lot 18) is the book ‘Shang Zhou qingtongqi mingwen jituxiang jicheng’
covered with a plantain-leaf pattern on the neck, a serpentine (Inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties) . Among the
15
pattern at the central section, and a beast-pattern on the foot, bronzes of the late Shang Dynasty in this book, three ding
all against a cloud-pattern ground. This type of decoration can have the ‘ ’ Yue clan mark (nos. 00124, 00126, 00850)
be said to be “three layers fully decorated” and magnificent. one jue (06597), one gu (09074), another gu (09607), and a
The protruding pattern adds a sense of depth. The abdomen he (14632); all heavy and important objects with elaborate
and the foot are decorated with four ridges, making the object decoration. Even until the Western Zhou dynasty, the artefacts
look sturdier and straight. of this clan are still of good quality, such as the early Western
Zhou you (13175), and the mid-Western Zhou zun (11180).
The decoration of the double dragon gui (Lot 23) is also very According to the age of these bronzes, it is known that this
attractive. The double dragons under the mouth are vivid. family flourished in the late Shang dynasty and continued into
Starting from the tails on both sides, the body gradually widens the middle of the Western Zhou dynasty. It was a family with
and becomes thicker. It is almost as if the dragon’s undulating a certain influence. Obviously, the Ollivier gu is a masterpiece,
body is vividly welcoming us. Olivier’s fanghu (Lot 12) is also representing the family’s peak period, which provides valuable
a rarely seen treasure. This vessel has three points that are information for the research of the family.
eye-catching. Firstly, the abdomen is decorated with a cross-
strap design, and is ridged, so that the commonly rounded The cicada emblem on the jiao (Lot 25) is also very special. The
abdomen appears firmer. The second is the pair of crawling pictogram of a cicada is on the side of the jiao, beneath the
animal handles flanking the neck, clambering up on four feet handle. Cicada patterns are common decoration on archaic
with curling tail, bending neck, head down, seemingly looking bronzes, particularly in the late Shang and early Western Zhou.
for something, looks charming. The third is the four buffaloes Most cicada patterns are arranged in groups although they
under the foot. Although their portrayal is simple with round sometimes appear alone. Although the cicada on the jiao is
eyes and wide snouts. This fanghu is indeed more impressive very pictographic, according to the general rule, this part of
than the one unearthed from the Jinsheng tomb. the vessel is where the inscription should appear, so it should
be considered as a text rather than an image. Among the
Finally, there is the value of the inscriptions. One of the inscriptions on the bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties,
significant differences between ancient Chinese bronze wares there is a part of the text that does not differ from the image.
and Western bronze wares of the same period is that the For example, the ‘deer’ ding and ‘ox’ ding, unearthed from the
former have more inscriptions, and these inscriptions are very tomb No.1004, in Xibei Gang, Houjia Zhuang, Anyang, Henan
important for judging the authenticity, age and value of the Province in 1935, have cast images of deer and cattle on the
bronze ware itself. Among the seven bronzes in the Ollivier inner wall. Seeing the particular location where the inscription
collection, there are three pieces with inscriptions particularly is cast, scholars considered them to be an inscription rather
worthy of attention, namely the gu (Lot 18), the jiao (Lot 25), than an image. In addition to this, there are also pictograms of
and the you (Lot 15). Although these bronze inscriptions are birds, fish, scorpions, sheep, pigs, elephants, tigers, dragons,
short, even just sometimes one or two characters, they are and rabbits. To identify whether they are ornamentation or text,
very meaningful. it is necessary to see where they are located on the bronze. Of
course, the way and location of the castings like on the ‘deer’
For example, inside the foot of the gu is an inscription ‘ 父 ding and ‘ox’ ding are more common, but a second example
庚’ Yue fu geng. The character ‘Yue’ is the clan’s symbol inscribed in the same way as Ollivier’s jiao has not been found
(Lot 18) and indicates the family as the owners. According yet, which makes this lot very rare.
to Dr. He Jingcheng’s research, there are at least a dozen
pieces of bronzes that belong to this family . The gu is quite The inscription on the you (Lot 15) is a little longer with 17
14
representative of this family. As mentioned previously, from the characters:‘否弔獻彝，疾不已， 母宗彝則備，用譴母霝’
volume of alcohol capacity and decoration of this piece, one which may be translated as ‘Hereby Pi Shu offers this sacrificial
can see the strength of this family. Other typical bronzes with vessel. When mother was gravely ill, a series of sacrificial
the same clan mark and belonging to this family can be seen in vessels have been prepared for her funeral.’

22 | BONHAMS