Page 12 - Sotheby's Part II Collection of Sir Joeseph Hotung Collection CHINESE ART , Oct. 9, 2022

VIRILITY TO AVERT EVIL SPIRITS

REGINA KRAHL

This bronze animal, although not monumental in size, has a universal 1991, p. 42), but the present feline animal with horns, wings and claws
sculptural quality that carries it well beyond the confines of Chinese is generally known as bixie, which signifies ‘to avert evil spirits’.
art. With its imaginative, fanciful physique and dynamic quasi-
naturalistic bearing, it can hold a place in any history of world art. In the Han dynasty, such inspiration from abroad would have fallen
The basic image of a mighty but not ferocious animal, depicted in a on fertile ground. Many books of a Daoist nature were circulating,
state of utmost alertness that makes one expect an immediate jump fostering belief in the power of super-natural beings, and the
or other rapid movement, expresses qualities valued in any animal mythological work Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Lakes),
sculpture and achieved rarely as strikingly as in this figure. probably compiled over a lengthy period prior to and throughout
the Han dynasty, described them directly. “The book poses as a
The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) is the last period that can still guide to travellers visiting holy mountains and other sites within
be counted to the Bronze Age, but as bronze was no longer the one China, informing them of the strange creatures, animal, hybrid, and
material vital for daily life and for ritual, it was increasingly explored spiritual, that they may encounter in their wanderings; of the powers
also as an artistic medium. When looking at this dramatic sculpture, that such creatures may wield; and of the consequences of meeting
there can be no doubt that bronze casting had come a long way them, consuming their flesh, or wearing their fur” (Loewe in Denis
since its beginnings in the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – 1045 BC), Twitchett and Michael Loewe, The Cambridge History of China,
when animals tended to be shown in a distant, awe-inspiring mode. vol. 1: The Ch’in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220, Cambridge,
In the late Warring States period (475 – 221 BC) began an interest 1986, p. 658). Compared to the fanciful creatures described in the
in animal sculptures rendered in naturalistic poses and movements. Shanhaijing, this chimera, however, seems like a tame version, not that
This perceived naturalism made mythical creatures, cherished as far removed from a real animal.
guardians and benevolent supporters of men, seemingly more
approachable. The visual culture of the period was accordingly also full of mythical
beings and demonic figures, inhabiting imaginary realms together
Fabulous animals springing from an artist’s imagination exist with real animals and birds, as for example, depicted on the black-
throughout the world. Related winged and horned mythical creatures lacquered coffin of Lady Dai, who was buried around 168 BC at
were depicted already earlier in regions to the west of China and Mawangdui near Changsha, Hunan (see Changsha Mawangdui yi
appear, for example, in Achaemenid glazed brickwork from palaces hao Han mu/The Han Tomb No.1 at Mawangtui, Changsha, Beijing,
of King Darius (r. 522-486 BC) in Susa, Iran, and are also seen on 1973, vol. 2, pls 27-31, 38-57). While fabulous animals were frequently
precious metalwork. In the West, they are usually called chimeras, depicted in two-dimensional form, sculptures, worked in the round,
although the original Greek chimera, also a creature combining are rare in the Han. Bronze animals that exist from this time mostly
features of several animals, was a fictional female monster. In China, had a practical purpose, being cast as fittings, weights, tallies, belt
several terms were in use at the time for such fanciful beasts, such hooks or supports carrying lamps, incense burners, frames for musical
as tianlu, bixie, or qilin (Ann Paludan, The Chinese Spirit Road. The instruments and other items of perishable material which have not
Classical Tradition of Stone Tomb Statuary, New Haven and London,

fig. 1
A bronze fitting in the form of a supernatural animal, Eastern Han
dynasty © Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C.: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1961.3
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˸ݟဧ౶gࣦg̿лဧ࣏ᗍਿږᒅᔛcF1961.3

THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG I 23