Page 22 - September 23 to 24 Important Chinese Art Christie's NYC

Fig. 2. Four-lobed silver
bowl with rhinoceros,
Tang dynasty, circa 825-
50. Recovered from the
Belitung wreck.
圖二 唐，約825-50年，銀
犀牛紋花口盌，發掘於黑石
號沉船。

Without written records from the Tang clearly stating the reason, we cannot The present dish was made by hammering a solid piece of cast silver into
know why the rhinoceros is depicted with scales. Apart from mere artistic shape over a dome-shaped matrix, probably of wood. After the dish had
license, the most plausible explanation for so portraying the rhinoceros is been shaped, the central motif was then executed in repoussé, by pushing
that the beast had become conflated with the qilin in the thinking of the day. a decorated matrix from the outside bottom, producing a rhino figure in low
Indeed, some individuals believed the rhinoceros to be the qilin, a mythical relief on the inside bottom, leaving an unevenly depressed silhouette on the
hooved chimerical creature from Chinese mythology. (In the Ming dynasty outside bottom. Scales and other details were executed on the surface of
the giraffe was believed by many to be the qilin.). Although often depicted the rhino’s body. The centering dot at the heart of the base—i.e., that area of
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with the lithe body and furred hide of a deer, the qilin is also frequently shown the underside enclosed by the footring—and the numerous concentric circles
with scales over its body, as witnessed by the Yuan-dynasty (1279–1368), surrounding it indicate that the dish was finished by turning on a lathe,
blue-and-white charger with qilin decor in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam presumably to smooth the surface and to eliminate all traces of hammering.
(AK-RBK-1965-88). 21 As a finishing touch, the rhinoceros and the relief bowstrings were further
enriched with amalgam gilding. The short, circular footring was separately
Numerous silver dishes with decoration of a single gilded animal on the floor created by hammering a narrow band of silver and then affixing it to the
were recovered from Hejiacun in 1970, the animals, both real and fantastic, dish’s underside with solder.
including foxes, lynxes, phoenixes, bears, and tortoises, among others.
Of particular interest, as it sports decoration of a rhinoceros, is the small, Appreciated by the emperor and his courtiers and by connoisseurs and
parcel-gilt silver box recovered at Hejiacun in 1970 and now in the Shaanxi collectors, both ancient and modern, Tang silver vessels, with their elegant
History Museum, Xi’an. The repoussé animals appear on the otherwise plain, forms, stately proportions, and intriguing decoration, represent the height
flat vessel floor without borders or backgrounds. Both the bowstring-line of Tang craftsmanship and luxury. Although taste for gold and silver vessels
borders and the intricate texturing of the rhinoceros’ surfaces distinguish the would wane by the end of Tang, these sumptuous vessels stand as a symbol
present dish from those unearthed at Hejiacun; even so, the present dish’s of the cultural sophistication and high craftsmanship of the era.
close resemblance to those excavated vessels confirms its Tang-dynasty
origins and suggests that it likely was produced in north China, perhaps in
a workshop in Chang’an. Vessels of this type were likely inspired by ancient
Iranian silver from the Sassanian period (224–651) such as the seventh- Robert D. Mowry
century silver plate with gilt repoussé decoration representing a standing Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
horse and now in the collection of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur Harvard Art Museums, and
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M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC (S1987.123). (Fig. 3) Senior Consultant, Christie’s

維景深的立體描寫，再加上張口咆哮之姿，神獸的法力與剛猛呼之欲出。本拍品具弦紋 平滑如鏡。犀牛紋和凸起的弦紋另用鎏金 (即「汞鍍金」，又稱「火鍍金」) 加以潤飾，以
邊框，犀牛表皮的紋理豐富細膩，與何家村和遼寧的出土銀盤高下立辨；話雖如此，本 收畫龍點睛之效，使金銀紋飾之對比格外鮮明。製作低矮圈足時，則另行錘製一道細
拍品與出土文物的相似程度，已足以證實此乃唐代作品，而且很可能源於華北，或出自 窄銀片，再與盤底焊接而成。
長安某家作坊。此類器物或脫胎於古薩桑時期 (公元224至651年) 的伊朗銀器，就此可
參照一例公元七世紀鎏金壓花立馬紋銀盤，該盤今藏華盛頓特區的薩克勒美術館國 唐代銀器造型清雅、比例雍容、紋飾雋永，故而備受古今帝王將相、皇親貴冑、鑑藏名
立亞洲藝術博物館 (館藏號S1987.123)。 （圖三） 家及學者青睞，被視為唐代工藝與奢侈品的圭臬之作。雖然金銀器在唐末日漸式微，
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但這批華美重器依然象徵着唐代文化之輝煌與工藝之高超，對歷代奢華器物的影響
是次拍賣的銀盤應是用整塊銀錘揲成雛形，再放進 很可能為木製的穹形模具 加工。 至為深遠。
此盤具備雛形後再以錘鍱手法製作盤心的壓花犀牛紋，其對應外表則留下深淺不一的
毛瑞
壓痕。至於犀鱗及別的細部紋飾則直接施加於犀牛身，。觀乎器底正中 (即外底圈足內)
的圓點及其四周無數的同心圓，此盤應曾用車床加工，以去除所有錘揲痕跡，並使器表 哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽主任暨佳士得高級顧問
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