Page 91 - Status & Ritual Chinese Archaic Bronzes

This type of unusual bronze ewer with bird fnial was an innovation of the
late Western Zhou and early Spring and Autumn period. A round, fat body
decorated with geometric design in intaglio, raised on four small feet marked a
departure from earlier round-bodied he, as discussed by Wang Tao in Chinese
Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, no. 23.
A comparable piece is illustrated by Umehara in Nihon Shucha Shina Kodo
Seika, Osaka, 1961, vol. IV, pl. 333; The main decorative elements of these
pieces are similar: a high-relief animal head handle, and stylised scroll design,
however the bird-shaped fnial surmounts a removable lid. See also the ritual
bronze wine vessel illustrated by C. Deydier in Chinese Bronzes from the
Meiyinyang Collection, Hong Kong, 2013, vol. I, Annexe, pp.40-41.
Other Western Zhou ‘bird’ wine ewers can be seen in the Shaanxi History
Museum, excavated from Qijia, Fufeng, or another well-known ‘bird’ ewer
excavated at Tianma Qucun, see Li Xixing The Shaanxi Bronzes, Xi’an, 1994,
p. 239. However these examples difer in scale and ornamentation, resting
on higher legs, all with removable covers. The miniature scale and fused bird
fnial ‘cover’ of the present lot are unusual, and perhaps denote this piece as
a mingqi funerary vessel used symbolically in burial, rather than a vessel used
for wine rituals.
來源:
Nishimura舊藏，於1969年4月11日前購入
於1982年6月前購自日本東京古董商Seikodo
重要歐洲私人珍藏
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