Page 109 - Sotheby's Junkunc Collection March 2019

he present Han dynasty gilt-bronze phoenix is extremely rare, and no close counterparts
appear to be recorded. Although a related gilt-bronze phoenix of a slightly smaller size,
Tfrom the Western Han dynasty, also holding a pearl in its beak and with its wings folded, but
with a more elaborate tail, was included in the exhibition Ancient Chinese Bronzes, J.J. Lally, New York,
2011, cat. no. 20.

The small aperture at the back of the bird suggests it once had a functional use. As one of the Four
Divine Animals, along with the dragon, tiger, and turtle, the phoenix, sometimes referred to as zhuque
(Vermillion Bird) in Chinese tradition, was one of the popular subjects for ornamental uses during the
Han dynasty.

See a related early Han dynasty gilt-bronze phoenix, serving as the finial on the cover of a lian, published
in Seiichi Mizuno, Tenri Sankōkan zuroku [Collection from Tenri Sankokan], Nara, 1967, pl. 74; one with its
wings spread, excavated from a Han dynasty tomb near Ding county, Hebei province in 1959, published
in ‘Dingxian Beizhuang Hanmu chutu wenwu jianbao [A summarized report on the cultural relics
excavated from the Han tomb in Beizhuang, Ding county], Wenwu, no. 12, 1964, pl. 1, fig. 3, where it is
captioned as an ornamental object for a cover; one similarly modeled with a stocky build, excavated from
a Han tomb in Liuqu mountain, Pingdu city, Shandong province in 2003, now in the Pingdu City Museum,
Shandong; another of a smaller size and simpler design, excavated from a Han tomb in Bazhang village,
Hebei province, now in the Cangzhou Museum, Hebei. See also a gilt-bronze bird with turquoise inlay,
catalogued as a peacock, formerly in the Avery Brundage Collection, now in the Asian Art Museum of
San Francisco, published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in
the Avery Brundage Collection, Tokyo, 1974, no. 16.

Compare also a Han dynasty bronze lamp, made in the form of a phoenix with its wings spread and tail
curled upward, grasping between its beak a circular oil tray, excavated from the Han tomb in Mancheng,
Hebei province, published in Mancheng Hanmu fajue baogao [Excavation report of the Han tomb in
Mancheng], vol. 2, Beijing, 1980, pl. XXIV, together with an elaborate hardstone-inlaid gilt-bronze twin
cup, made with a phoenix standing in the middle, pl. XXV; and another Han green-glazed pottery lamp,
decorated with a phoenix similarly modelled holding a pearl in its beaks, published in Seiichi Mizuno, op
cit., pl. 171.

本品漢代銅鎏金朱雀極其珍罕，據記載並無相近作例 曲山出土，現藏於山東平度市博物館；尚有一例，尺
可比，唯可參考一相類例，尺寸較小，斷代西漢， 寸較小，紋飾亦較簡，出土自河北省八丈村漢墓，
喙亦銜珠，攏翅，尾部刻畫更為細緻繁縟，曾展於 現藏於河北滄州博物館。舊金山亞洲藝術博物館收
《Ancient Chinese Bronzes》，J.J. Lally & Co.， 藏一銅鎏金崁綠松石例，出自艾弗里•布倫戴奇收
紐約，2011年，編號20。 藏，該館標其為孔雀，載於 René-Yvon Lefebvre
d’Argencé，《Chinese, Korean and Japanese
本品後部見一小孔，表明或曾有實用之處。朱雀，古 Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection》，
時亦稱鳳凰，與青龍、白虎、玄武合稱四靈（又稱四 東京，1974年，編號16。
象），常見於漢代裝飾。
另比一漢代銅燈例，燈身作朱雀振翅狀，尾部上翹，
參考一奩例，蓋頂飾銅鎏金鳳凰，斷代漢朝早期，曾 喙銜圓形油盤，河北省滿城漢墓出土，載於《滿城漢
展於水野清一，《天理参考館図錄》，奈良，1967 墓發掘報告》，冊下，北京，1980年，圖版XXIV，
年，圖版74；另比一銅朱雀例，振翅，1959年河北 同文並載一嵌寶銅鎏金朱雀銜環盃例，圖版XXV；
定縣北莊漢墓出土，載於〈定縣北莊漢墓出土文物 再比一例，漢代綠釉陶燈，燈盤上塑朱雀，作振翅飛
簡報〉，《文物》，期12，圖版1，圖3，其標註為 翔狀，喙亦銜珠，載於水野清一，前述出處，圖版
銅器蓋飾件；再比一類例，2003年山東省平度市六 171。

19 MARCH 2019 SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK 107