Page 25 - Bonhams Olivier Collection Early Chinese Art November 2018

According to Professor Cheung Kwong-Yue’s introduction, 1. Anyang City Cultural Relics Team, ‘Tomb No.269, Yujiazhuang,
there are a total of seven bronzes belonging to the same Yinxu’ in Journal of Archaeology, no.3, 1991.
owner. Apart from this you, there is also a zun with the same 2. Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
17 character inscription. There are also two gu, one with a four Tengzhou Cemetery, Beijing, 2005.
character inscription: ‘用遣母霝’ (translated as ‘used to send 3. Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
off mother’s soul’) and another with a five character inscription: Yinxu Women’s Tomb, Beijing, 1980. p.67.
‘否用遣母霝’ (‘used to send off mother’s soul’). There are also 4. Shaanxi Zhouyuan Archaeological Team, ‘A Brief Report on
two jue with similar inscriptions: one with two characters 用遣 the Excavation of the Western Zhou Dynasty Bronze Vessels
(‘used to send off’), the other with just one character 遣 (‘send in Fufeng Zhuang, Shaanxi Province’ in Cultural Relics, No.3,
off’) . From the group of bronzes and their inscriptions, we 1978.
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can see that this is a relatively complete set of wine vessels. 5. Zou Heng, ed., Tianma - Qucun (1980-1989), Beijing, 2000,
Using the zun or you as the core, supplemented by the gu, p.356, Fig.523.3, 4.
jue and zhi these vessels were central to early Western Zhou 6. Lu Liancheng, Hu Zhisheng, Baoji National Cemetery, p.267.
rituals. This has a definite significance for the study of bronze 7. Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Taiyuan Jin Guo Zhao
combinations. From the inscription on the you tells us that the Qing’s Tomb, Beijing, 1996, p.46.
owner’s mother was seriously ill with no sign of improvement. 8. Wang Wenjuan, A Study of Shang and Zhou Bronze Gu,
The you was therefore possibly cast as a set of ritual objects Northwestern University Master’s Thesis (Instructor Zhang Wei),
for the ancestral temple to make offerings to the mother. This 2005.
group of bronzes, regardless of the number of characters 9. Wu Wei, Research on Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Beijing, December
in the inscription, have one character in common, which is 2015.
the character ‘qian’ (遣) meaning to ‘dispatch’ or ‘send off’. 10. Zhang Wei, Yan Shuyan, A Study of Ancient Chinese Bronzes-
Professor Cheung Kwong-Yue has made a good interpretation Hu, Beijing, December 2015. Zhang Wei, ‘Where is the bronze
of the character. He pointed out: “This set of bronzes made for Hu?’ in Ancient Collections and Theories on Bronze, Beijing,
the mother is mainly for the purpose of sending off the mother’s 2016, p.295,
soul [as burial objects]. We can call it a ‘qianqi’ referring to 11. Hubei Provincial Museum, Suizhou Yejiashan Western Zhou
burial objects. In the pre-Qin classics, in addition to the Yi Li Dynasty Early Zengguo Cemetery, Beijing, 2013, pp.126-127.
(Etiquette and Ceremonial), there is no other reference to the 12. Zhang Wei, Exploring the Bronzes of Shang and Zhou
information about the qianqi. The emergence of sentences Dynasties, Ancient Collections and Theories on Bronze,
such as “send the mother’s soul” is important to the study Beijing, 2006, p.114.
of the etiquette and rituals of the Western Zhou dynasty. In 13. Yan Shuyan, A Study of Ancient Chinese Bronzes- Hu, Beijing,
addition, the you’s inscription is not long, but the calligraphy is 2015, pp. 77-7.
beautiful, with free and bold strokes, a combination of square 14. He Jingcheng, Study on the Inscriptions on the Bronze
and round, and is quite powerful. It therefore also has a certain Warriors of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Jinan, 2009.
calligraphic value. 15. Wu Zhenyu, Inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties,
Shanghai, 2012.
All in all, the seven pieces of the early Chinese bronzes of 16. Zhang Guangyu, ‘A New Understanding of Western Zhou
the Ollivier collection are regular in shape, beautiful in texture Concept of Qian’ in Academia Sinica Institute of History and
and well-cast, with high artistic appreciation and of historical Language Research, no.73, 1999, pp.761-778.
research value.

Professor Zhang Maorong - Northwest University, Xi’an city, Shaanxi
Province, specialises in the archeology of Shang and Zhou dynasty
bronze vessels and etymology of early chinese art.

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