拍賣筆記 vol.347 佳士得紐約2026：165.1萬美元（1265萬港元）售出，唐鎏金銅走龍，梅耶、洛克斐勒三世 - Christie’s NY 2026, A Very Rare And Important Gilt-Bronze Figure Of A Striding Dragon, Mayer, Rockefeller III Collection Sold for US$1.651

梅耶傳承再次發力，洛克斐勒三世加持，唐代鎏金走龍1265萬港元售出。傳承顯赫的小精品市場再次爆發。遠超15萬至25萬美元的估價區間，刷新此類小型唐代鎏金銅器近年國際市場的高點。

此龍長僅5½英寸（14厘米），卻憑藉顯赫收藏傳承與早期學術背書，展現出中國古代小精品在西方老藏市場的強勁溢價能力。物件最早出自美國著名中國藝術收藏家Frederick M. Mayer（1899-1974）舊藏，1974年已在倫敦佳士得上拍（編號143）。其後流入約翰·戴維森·洛克斐勒三世伉儷珍藏，並於1992年由家族傳承至今。本次出自Sandra Ferry Rockefeller珍藏。

該器曾多次參與重要展覽並被權威圖錄收錄：1954年紐約華美協進社「Small Sculpture Shang through Sung Dynasties」展（編號36），同年威尼斯總督府「中國藝術」展（編號159）；1975-1976年再度於華美協進社「Art of the Six Dynasties」展出（頁61，編號37）。這些半世紀前的國際學術亮相，為其真實性與藝術價值提供了堅實佐證。

拍品描述特別指出，其造型與1979年西安大明宮出土的唐代鎏金走龍相近，體現唐代龍形象的雄健威嚴，兼具宇宙觀中的陽剛、皇家象徵與辟邪功能。學界亦聯繫唐玄宗時期道教「投龍簡」儀式，認為此類小型鎏金銅龍可能用於皇家祭祀或鎮守建築。類似例子可見明尼阿波利斯藝術博物館藏品，以及更早的漢代或六朝時期銅龍。

在當前市場環境下，此件成交再次印證：中國早期鎏金銅器的小精品板塊，正受到西方頂級老藏傳承的強力支撐。Mayer-洛克斐勒這一連貫且顯赫的來源鏈，不僅提升買家信心，也為亞洲藏家提供了可追溯的歷史坐標。小尺寸、精工細作、學術記錄完整的唐代銅器，正成為國際拍場中兼具文化象徵與收藏便利性的熱門選擇。

市場啟示：傳承、展覽出版與稀有性三者結合，仍是決定此類拍品溢價的核心因素。當保守估價遇上多方競投，溢價倍數往往超出預期，反映出高端中國藝術在紐約等國際平台持續受到認可。

參考王秋生財新專欄文章：《帮我买下整场吧！佳士得伦敦1974年梅耶专场拍卖风云｜国际拍场》

珊卓拉·費瑞·洛克斐勒珍藏之約翰·戴維森·洛克菲勒三世伉儷舊藏中國藝術

唐 鎏金銅走龍

TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

估價

美元 150,000 – 美元 250,000

Price realised USD 1,651,000

5 ½ in. (14 cm.) long

來源

Frederick M. Mayer (1899-1974) 珍藏

Frederick M. Mayer珍藏中國藝術，倫敦佳士得，1974年6月24-25日，拍品編號143

約翰·戴維森·洛克菲勒三世伉儷珍藏，紐約

自上述傳承至本藏家，1992年

出版

Chinese Art Society of America，《Small Sculpture Shang Through Sung Dynasties》，紐約，1954年，編號36

J.-P. Dubosc，《中國藝術》，威尼斯，1954年，編號159

華美協進社，《Art of the Six Dynasties》，紐約，1975年，頁61，編號37

展覽

紐約，華美協進社，「Small Sculpture Shang through Sung Dynasties」，1954年，編號36

威尼斯，總督府，「中國藝術」，1954年

紐約，華美協進社，「Art of the Six Dynasties」，1975年10月29日-1976年2月2日，編號37

This spectacular and powerfully depicted gilt-bronze striding dragon is similar to one of Tang date of slightly larger size (18 cm. long) unearthed in 1979 from the site of Daming Palace in Xian City and now in the Xian Museum. See C. Michaelson, Gilded Dragons, London, 1999, p. 92, no. 53. (Fig. 1) In her discussion of another related Tang gilt-bronze dragon, but shown in a descending posture, unearthed in 1975 in Caochangpo, Xian, Shaanxi province, Michaelson notes, pp. 91-92, “This dragon embodies a virility and majesty which is entirely commensurate with its place in Chinese cosmology,” and that it likely served as a guardian figure as representations of dragons are traditionally buried in foundations of buildings to ward off evil spirts. The author further notes, “The Chinese dragon gradually became an insignia of royalty and dominion. It came to represent the emperor, the son of heaven…The dragon is also seen as a male symbol, one of vigour and fertility and therefore yang, as opposed to the female yin. It is the fifth creature in the Chinese zodiac and represents the East, the region of sunrise, of fertility, of spring rains. It is therefore a force for good.”

A gilt-bronze dragon of smaller size (10.3 cm. long) with similarly rendered scales, but shown in a leaping posture, is in the Minneapolis Museum of Art, gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, acc. no. 98.173, where it is dated to the 9th century (https://collections.artsmia.org/art/12028/dragon-china). The curator notes that small bronze dragons of this type were likely made for the ritual tou longjian (tossing dragons and tallies). The Tang Emperor Xuanzong was a fervent Daoist and dispatched envoys each year to perform this ritual, where these dragons were thrown into holy sites along with prayers, in order to communicate with gods.

A pair of gilt-bronze dragons dating to the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) which are also shown striding, but lack the scales seen on the current figure and have a more robust build, is in the Harvard Art Museums and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, Cambridge, 1969, no. 54. A further Han-dynasty example is in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and illustrated in R. E. Taggart ed., Handbook of the Collection in William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, 1959, p. 176 (bottom right). See, also, another gilt-bronze dragon of this earlier type sold in the sale Junkunc: Arts of Ancient China, Sotheby’s New York; 19 March 2019, where it was dated to the Six Dynasties period (AD 220-589).

Property of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd from the Collection of Sandra Ferry Rockefeller

A VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF A STRIDING DRAGON

TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

Estimate

USD 150,000 – USD 250,000

Price realised USD 1,651,000

5 ½ in. (14 cm.) long

PROVENANCE

Frederick M. Mayer (1899-1974) Collection.

The Frederick M. Mayer Collection of Chinese Art; Christie's London, 24-25 June 1974, lot 143.

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York.

By descent from the above to the late owner, 1992.

LITERATURE

Chinese Art Society of America, Small Sculpture Shang Through Sung Dynasties, New York, 1954, no. 36.

J.-P. Dubosc, Mostra d'Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954, no. 159.

China Institute in America, Art of the Six Dynasties, New York, 1975, p. 61, no. 37.

EXHIBITED

New York, China House Gallery, Small Sculpture Shang through Sung Dynasties, 1954, no. 36.

Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Mostra d'Arte Cinese, 1954.

New York, China Institute in America, Art of the Six Dynasties, 29 October 1975-2 February 1976, no. 37.