Page 32 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of art

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A RARE ARCHAISTIC SILVER-AND-GOLD-INLAID BRONZE The zun was a popular vessel used to keep the wine warm during the
TRIPOD WINE VESSEL AND COVER, ZUN Warring States period and Han dynasty. The function can be proved
Mid Qing Dynasty by the inscription on a bronze zun, late Western Han dynasty, reading
The deep cylindrical body raised on three bear-form feet and cast in Zhongling Hufu wenjiu zun, which may be translated as ‘This zun
low relief with bands at the rims and mid body, with a pair of taotie was made for Hufu of Zhongling to keep wine warm’, in the Shanxi
mask handles, decorated in gold and silver inlay in the upper and lower Provincial Museum and illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji
sections of the body with archaistic bands of cicada blades and leiwen (Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), Beijing, vol.12, 1996, pl.37.
scroll interspersed with stylised clouds in gold and silver inlay, the
domed cover decorated with similar patterns in gold and silver inlay, Zun vessels could be lavishly decorated with inlay of gemstones, gold
with two bands encircling a central quatrefoil flower with a loop handle, and silver as well as being lacquered and painted. Compare with a
applied with three upright phoenix-form handles that become supports gold-and-silver-inlaid zun, mid Warring States period, in the Hubei
when the cover is inverted, the interior undecorated. Provincial Museum, illustrated in ibid., vol.10, p.51; and also with a
23cm (9in) high (3). gilt animal-incised zun in the National Museum of China, and a cloud-
painted zun in the Yangzhou Museum, both dated late Western Han
HKD150,000 - 250,000 dynasty and illustrated in ibid., vol.12, pls.40 and 41.
US$19,000 - 32,000
Archaic bronzes including ritual wine and food vessels were greatly
admired by the Qianlong emperor and were used as inspiration at
清中期 錯金銀饕餮雲氣紋樽 the Palace Workshops. The Qianlong emperor encouraged fanggu
(imitating antiquity) and fugu (reviving antiquity), resulting in a revival of
Provenance: archaistic forms in the Imperial court.
William S. Tatlow (1921-2016), Wollongang, Australia
Examples made under the same inspiration, but dated Song to
來源： Ming dynasty, include an inlaid bronze hu, illustrated by M.Goedhuis,
澳大利亞沃隆岡William S. Tatlow (1921-2016) 舊藏 Chinese and Japanese Bronzes, A.D. 1100-1900, London, 1989,
no.77. Another in the British Museum, dated Song-Ming dynasty, is
William S. Tatlow was an ardent collector whose interests included illustrated by R.S.Jenyns and W.Watson, Chinese Art II, New York,
not only books, Australian pottery and aboriginal paintings, but also 1980, pp.90-91, no.56.
Chinese ceramics and furniture. His strong interest in Chinese art
was nurtured over a period of 25 years. The majority of his Asian art See a related archaistic gold-and-silver-inlaid bronze pear-shaped
collection was given to Wollongong Art Gallery to form the new Mann- vase, hu, Song dynasty, which was sold at Christie’s New York, 18-19
Tatlow Gallery in 2003. September 2014, lot 1016.

威廉·泰勒（1921-2016）為澳大利亞新南威爾士州的資深收藏家，
他一生熱衷收藏。除了對古籍、土著陶瓷及澳洲原住民藝術有研究以
外，對亞洲藝術、尤其是陶瓷及家具收藏有強烈的愛好。他和同好西
曼先生歷經25年收藏研究中國藝術品，最後於2003年將大部分藏品捐
贈給了澳洲沃隆岡市立博物館，並由此建立了「泰勒-西曼」展廳。

Image courtesy of the National Museum
of China, Beijing
中國國家博物館藏

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