Page 37 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

Notable for its long inscription, the present zun is a rare and
900 BC), the most popular form of zun, as suggested by
outstanding example of its type. The inscription reads ‘Hu Zhu Fenghan, was the type with a pear-shaped body (see op.
made this precious vessel for Father Yi, to be treasured for cit., p. 1288), such as the Feng zun, excavated in Zhuangbai
ten thousand years, and for the eternal use of his sons and village, Fufeng county, Shaanxi province, and illustrated in
grandsons’, with a clan symbol at the end. In the Chinese Li Boqian, op. cit., pl. 451. Based on the aforementioned
tradition, archaic bronzes are often named after their owners. examples, the present zun is more likely from the same
The owner of this vessel is named Hu 虎 (tiger). This bronze, period as the one discovered in the Yuntang village, which
therefore, is called Hu zun or ‘Tiger’ zun. would suggest the owner of our vessel, Hu, may have lived
Hu came from a mysterious clan, which appears to have been between the late King Zhou Kang and King Zhou Zhao period.
active during the late Shang to early Western Zhou dynasty. As in many cultures, the tiger in the Chinese tradition
Surviving vessels from this family are extremely rare. Only represents power and strength. In ancient China, the
one other example is recorded, also a bronze zun, formerly in character hu was used to describe brave military officials
the collection of Wang Yirong (1845-1900), Liu E (1857-1909), (see Zhong Lin, Jinwen jiexi dazidian [Explanatory dictionary
and Liu Tizhi (1879-1962), attributed to the late Shang or of archaic bronze inscriptions], Xi’an, 2017, p. 602). One of
early Western Zhou dynasty. The vessel is known only from the most powerful vassal states of the Western Zhou dynasty,
its line drawing and the rubbing of its inscription, published the Guo state 虢國, which produced generations of important
in Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang military generals to protect and defend the Zhou empire, is
jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes believed to revere the tiger (see Liang Ningsen and Zheng
from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], vol. 20, Shanghai, 2012, Jianying, Guo guo yanjiu [Study of the Guo state], Zhengzhou,
no. 11447. 2007, pp 26 and 27). During the mid-Western Zhou dynasty,
another Hu, recorded from the inscriptions of the Hu gui
While the identity of Hu is yet to be determined, a detailed
discussion on the dating of this vessel may provide more cover 虎簋蓋 and Shi Hu gui 師虎簋, is known to have served
insight. The form of the present zun, often referred as gu xing as the shi 師 of the Zhou court (Wu Zhenfeng, Jinwen
zun (gu-shaped zun), began to gain popularity during the renming huibian [Compilation of the names from bronze
later stage of Yinxu (see Zhu Fenghan, Zhongguo qingtongqi inscriptions], Beijing, 2006, pp 200 and 201). Shi was a top
zonglun / A Comprehensive Survey of Chinese Bronzes, vol. II, official title during the Zhou dynasty with important military
Shanghai, 2009, p. 989). Our vessel, however, is clearly not a responsibilities (see Li Xueqin, ‘Xi Zhou zhongqi qingtong qi
late Shang creation. The beast masks decorating the center de zhongyao biaochi [Important comparable examples of
of the present zun are flanked by pairs of bird motifs, which is Western Zhou bronzes]’, Zhongguo Lishi Bowuguan guankan
a typical characteristic of Western Zhou design, as noted by [Journal of the History Museum of China], Beijing, 1979, p.
Wang Shimin, Chen Gongrou, and Zhang Changshou, Xizhou 31). Based on the above evidence, it is possible that Hu, the
qingtongqi fenqi duandai yanjiu / A Study of the Periodization owner of the present vessel, was someone with a prominent
and Dating of Western Zhou Bronzes, Beijing, 1999, p. 244. military association during his period.
The present vessel is cast with an eighteen-character
Gu xing zun continued to be made during the Western Zhou
dynasty. Among the archeological examples from this period, inscription, which is very rare for zun of this type. A similar
a closely related zun of the same size and with a very similar bronze zun of a smaller size in the Shanghai Museum,
decoration and form as the present vessel, is recorded to Shanghai, inscribed with eleven characters, is known,
have been excavated in Yuntang village, Fufeng county, published in Wu Zhenfeng, op. cit., vol. 21, 2012, no. 11734.
Shaanxi province, in 1976, now in the Zhouyuan Museum, Most zun of this type have much shorter inscriptions,
Baoji, published in Li Boqian, ed., Zhongguo chutu qingtongqi usually only a few characters. For examples, see a very
quanji / The Complete Collection of Bronzes Unearthed in similar one with three characters, excavated in Huangshan
China, vol. 16, Beijing, 2018, pl. 281. This vessel was discussed city, Anhui province, published in Li Boqian, op. cit., vol. 8,
by Zhu Fenghan in his book as a new style that emerged pl. 70; another, inscribed with two characters, Fu Wu, in the
during the later period of King Zhou Kang and King Zhou Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum, Kyoto, illustrated in Quanwu
Zhao, for whom reign dates of c. 1020 - c. 996 BC and c. toushang [In-depth appreciation for the bronzes in the
995 - c. 977 BC, respectively, have been proposed (see Zhu Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum], Beijing, 2015, p. 198, pl. 65;
Fenghan, op. cit., pp 1269 and 1271). The popularity of this and a third, cast with a three-character inscription, in the
new style declined in the proceeding reigns. By the reigns of Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Chen Peifen, Xia
the King Zhou Mu (proposed reign dates c. 976 – c. 922 BC) Shang Zhou qingtongqi yanjiu [Study of archaic bronzes from
and the King Zhou Gong (proposed reign dates c. 922 – c. Shang, Shang and Zhou dynasties], Xizhou vol. 1, Shanghai,
2004, p. 257.
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