Page 102 - Christies King St. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART

Carl Kempe (1884-1967) in 1918
Carl Kempe先生（1884-1967)，攝於1918年

PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN LADY

155

A RARE AND SMALL GILT-BRONZE MODEL OF A RHINOCEROS
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

唐 鎏金銅犀牛

The recumbent beast is delicately modelled with the feet neatly tucked
under the body. The exterior is extensively incised with semi-circular notches
emulating the natural hide, and is highlighted in gilt.

3Ω in. (9 cm.), ftted boxwood box and cover

£30,000-50,000 $46,000-76,000 來源:歐洲私人珍藏；瑞典藏家Carl Kempe先生（1884-
€41,000-68,000 1967）舊藏，家傳至今

PROVENANCE: 在中國藝術史上，特別是唐代藝術作品中，犀牛實為非
常罕見的主題。Avery Brundage珍藏的一件晚商朝犀牛
The collection of Carl Kempe (1884-1967) and thence by descent to the current 尊，收錄於1966年三藩市出版，R. Y. Lefebvre d’Argencè
owner. 撰寫的《The Ancient Chinese Bronzes》， pl.XIX。另，一
出自陝西興平縣的東周晚期/西漢大尊於1980年紐約大都
It is very rare to fnd depictions of the rhinoceros in Chinese art, especially in 會博物館《The Great Bronze Age of China》展覽展出，收
the Tang Dynasty. Earlier depictions include the late Shang period rhinoceros 錄於展覽目錄第93期。
zun in the Avery Brundage Collection, illustrated by R.Y Lefebvre d’Argencè,
The Ancient Chinese Bronzes, San Francisco, 1966, pl. XIX, and another large 至唐， 犀牛已滅絕了約一千年， 其圖像仍然留存民
zun (22√in. long) from the late Eastern Zhou/Western Han Dynasty, found in 間。Kempe珍藏中有一對銀色的碗展示了極罕有的犀牛裝
Xingping Xian, Shaanxi province, included in the exhibition, The Great Bronze 飾圖案，註錄於1953年斯德哥爾摩出版，Bo Gyllensvärd
Age of China, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, New York, Catalogue, 撰寫，《Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collec-
no. 93. tion》，第120號。唐高祖的陵前置有一對大型犀牛石
像，此雕塑現藏於陝西歷史博物館，收錄於Barry Till 及
By the Tang period the rhinoceros had been extinct in China for about a Paula Swart撰寫於大維多利亞藝術畫廊1998 年舉辦的
thousand years. However the image persisted, if rarely, and can be seen as a 《Images from the Tomb: Chinese Burial Figurines》展覽目
decorative motif on a pair of silver bowls in the Kempe Collection, illustrated 錄，第98頁 ix。
by Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection,
Stockholm, 1953, no. 120. 另有一件造型相似但經不同紋飾處理的犀牛於 1996年3
月28日紐約佳士得拍賣，拍品第273號。另一例為一件
A rhinoceros was one of the large stone animals lining the spirit road of the 唐代犀牛於2007年11月6日倫敦國王街拍賣，拍品第141
frst Tang emperor, Gao Zu. This sculpture is now in the Shaanxi Provincial 號。
Museum, illustrated by Barry Till and Paula Swart in the Catalogue for the
exhibition, Images from the Tomb: Chinese Burial Figurines, Art Gallery of
Greater Victoria, 1988, p. 98, fg. ix.

A similar fgure of a rhinoceros but with slightly diferent treatment of the
skin was sold at Christie’s New York, 28 March 1996, lot 273. Also compare
the present lot to another model of a rhinoceros, dated to the Tang Dynasty,
sold at Christie’s King Street, 6 November 2007, lot 141.

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