Page 20 - Christie's Fine Chinese Qianlong's Bronze Auction September 13, 2018

Fig. 1 Bo Gui, early Western Zhou dynasty. The Capital Museum Collection.
After Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji (Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), vol. 6:
Western Zhou 2, Beijing, 1997, no. 15.
圖一 西周早期 伯簋 首都博物館藏

Although standard vessel shapes and established decorative motifs both persisted 商亡之後，西周 (約公元前1030至771年) 雖承襲
after the fall of Shang, the people of Western Zhou 西周 (c. 1030 BC – 771 BC) 了其標準形制和既有紋飾，但很快便迭有創新，這
quickly introduced changes, perhaps refecting slightly differing religious beliefs
或許也反映了兩者在宗教信仰和禮制方面的一些
and ceremonial practices; in fact, some vessel types disappeared, while others
細微差別；事實上，有的器物類別不復存在，有的
became more elaborate and thus more imposing. Except for its legs, this gui food-
則日趨繁縟，外觀益發氣勢奪人。除四足之外，本
serving vessel is conservative in shape, exhibiting the basic Shang interpretation
of the vessel form. Through its transformation by the addition of the four legs, 例盛放食物的青銅簋形制傳統，外觀大致不脫商簋
however, this vessel refects the new, post-Shang age in which it was produced. 本色。但其新添的四足，卻從側面反映了商滅周起
之後的新氣象。
Typically resting on a circular footring, gui vessels of the Shang dynasty claim a
compressed, globular bowl, frequently with a lightly faring neck and two visually 商簋大多採用圈足，鼓腹扁圓，頸泰半微撇，兩側
substantial, vertically oriented, loop handles. A variant vessel form with deep 飾立式 環耳。這類器形有一種變奏，其腹深鼓，大
rounded bowl, often lacking handles but occasionally with a pair of horizontally 多無耳，間或飾水平環耳，常名曰「盂」；簋和盂的
set, loop handles, is often categorized as a yu 盂; functionally and stylistically 用途、風格密切相關，兩者均是盛放煮熟糧食的容
related, both gui and yu vessels were used for serving cooked grains. Precise 1
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distinctions between yu and gui vessels are diffcult to defne, and, according to 器。 它們本身已難以明確區分，而羅森 (Jessica
Jessica Rawson, “even the evidence of vessels self-named in their inscriptions is Rawson) 更指出，「即便部份實例的銘文有提到
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partly contradictory”. 2 器物名稱，當中亦不乏自相矛盾之處。」
The standard Shang form of the gui continued into the Western Zhou, though 西周沿襲了商簋的標準樣式，但旋即在形制和紋飾
modifcations in both form and decoration soon ensued. The most obvious 上有所調整。以形制而言，最明顯的變化是加高器
alteration to the form involved elevating the vessel, often by presenting it on an 3
身，常用手法是設一連器合鑄的方底， 但偶爾也會
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integrally cast square socle, or base, but occasionally by setting it on four legs, as
添加四足，本拍品便是絕佳的例證。更有甚者，將
in this excellent example. In rare instances, an entire group of vessels might be
整個青銅器組置於禁上，如紐約大都會博物館所
raised by placing them on a bronze altar table, known in Chinese as a jin 青銅禁,
藏例（24.72.1） 。 加高簋身的原因雖無據可考，
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such as the example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (24.72.1) .
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The reasons for raising the vessels remain unknown but could involve changes 但當中可能涉及宗教或禮制方面的沿革，或僅是為
in religious needs or ceremonial requirements, for example, or perhaps a simple 了追求更佳的視覺效果。
desire for greater visual impact.

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