Page 52 - Bonhams, The H Collection, Classical Chinese Furniture, May 13, 2021 London

This vessel has an inscription cast in the interior with two characters 器內鑄「己冉」二字銘文。己應為日名，冉則為族徽文字，表明器主
reading Jiran 己冉, which relates to the powerful clan for which the 所在的族氏。
vessel was produced.
盂為青銅禮器中的盛食器，多見侈口深腹圈足，有獸首耳或附耳，少
The present piece is notable and rare for its exceptionally large size, 量無耳，器形似簋而大。中英文世界對此類器物定名不一，此處沿用
the swelling volume and the crisp decoration of taotie masks beneath 盂的叫法。「盂」字自甲骨文起就以像形造字，形似一手持勺於食物
a band of bovine heads interspersed in relief amidst kui dragons. 容器之上。學者研究認為，盂一般用於存放黍稷等穀物和蔬菜，常與
盛放肉類的鼎搭配使用。
Archaic bronze food vessels, yu are among the most highly prized and
technically sophisticated objects manufactured in Bronze Age China. 盂最早出現於商晚期前段，流行於西周，春秋時期尚有所見。此例直
Reserved for use by the most powerful families of the time, they carried 口寬唇無耳，屬商晚期典型器型。深腹，近底內斂，下有高圈足外
offerings of grain and vegetables presented to the ancestors during 撇。頸部與圈足均飾相對變形夔紋，腹部主體紋飾為饕餮紋，怒目圓
the performance of elaborate rituals and were often accompanied 睜，與頸部中心的高浮雕牛首相輔相成。整體紋飾以雷紋填底，多層
in burials by tripod vessels, ding. The role of these elaborate bronze 次的淺浮雕線條勁利，渾然天成。
vessels was fundamental in ensuring the continuity of family lines, as it
was believed that ancestors were active participants in the life of their 本例的獨特紋飾，即器身交替出現的饕餮和夔紋飾帶，以及中心的
living offspring, which they could positively influence if provided with 浮雕牛首裝飾，常見於商代晚期高級貴族之用具。商王武丁之寵妻
continuous nourishment. 婦好墓中曾出土一件青銅盂，裝飾風格與本例相似。見蘇芳淑著，
《Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，華盛
The extant number of skilfully-made vessels in ancient China testifies 頓，1987年，頁499，圖版96.5。
to a highly-organised bronze casting industry at the time. Hundreds of
men were employed in mining, smelting and transporting metal from 一件戴潤齋舊藏商晚期至西周早期青銅盂，售於紐約蘇富比，2011年
mining areas to the capital and the workshops. In addition, the large 3月22日，拍品編號14，可資參考。
quantities of material required and the many stages involved in the
casting process depended upon subdividing the tasks among a large
number of workmen. No single craftsman contributed to every stage
in the production of a particular vessels. Workshops were therefore
large in size and specialised mould-makers, casters and finishers were
required to make the vessels; see J.Rawson, ‘Bronze Metal Circulation
in China’ in Antiquity, vol.91, issue 357, 2017, pp.674-687.

Yu vessels were popular during the late Shang dynasty, particularly
during the Yinxu period (circa 13th-11th centuries BC). The physical
form of the yu, consisting of a round body rising from a splayed foot,
may have derived from a pottery prototype. Unlike the food vessels
gui that were prevalent during the succeeding Western Zhou dynasty,
yu do not have ring handles. Oracle-bone inscriptions dating to the
Shang dynasty depict the yu vessel as a pictograph depicting a food
container with a hand holding a spoon, and according to research,
this vessel was used specifically for making offering of grains and
vegetables, and was often paired with the tripod ding vessels storing
cooked meat of various kinds.

Bronze vessels dating to the Shang dynasty were often cast with
pictograms, such as the present example. These symbols included
birds, weapons or humanoid figures, and usually referred to the names
of either the aristocratic owners who commissioned the vessels, or the
ancestors to whom the vessel was dedicated.

The three basic designs employed on the present vessel, comprising
alternating bands decorated with taotie and kui dragons interspersed
with bovine heads, are often found on vessels belonging to the
highest-ranking members of society, dating to the later phases of
the Shang dynasty. The tomb of Fu Hao (d.circa 1200 BC), favourite
consort of the Shang emperor Wu Ding, for example, yielded a bronze
yu vessel decorated with similar schemes to the present example, and
is illustrated by J.So, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler
Collections, Washington DC, 1987, p.499, fig.96.5.

A related bronze yu vessel, Shang dynasty, formerly in the collection of
Dr.A.F. Philips, was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2011, lot 14.

50 | BONHAMS