拍賣筆記 vol.347 佳士得紐約2026：35.56萬美元售出，西漢青銅錯金銀鳥獸紋弩機 - Christie’s NY 2026, A Very Rare And Important Gold And Silver-Inlaid Bronze Crossbow Mechanism, Nu, Sold for US$355,600

錯金銀帶鳥獸圖，絕對的頂級器物。美秀博物館藏有類似母題的器物，90年代由經紀人向Eskenazi購買。

首陽齋珍藏高古中國青銅器

西漢 青銅錯金銀鳥獸紋弩機

WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-8 AD)

成交價

美元 355,600

估價

美元 150,000 – 美元 250,000

4 7⁄16 in. (11.2 cm.) long, cloth box

來源

購於香港，1980年代末

首陽齋，紐約

出版

周亞，馬今洪，胡嘉麟編，《首陽吉金：胡盈瑩、范季融藏中國古代青銅器》，上海，2008年，頁188-91，編號70

《首陽吉金：胡盈瑩、范季融藏中國古代青銅器》，寧波，2009年，頁44

展覽

「首陽吉金：胡盈瑩、范季融藏中國古代青銅器」，2008年10月至2011年1月巡展於上海，上海博物館；香港，香港中文大學文物館；寧波， 寧波博物館；芝加哥，芝加哥藝術博物館，編號70

首陽弩機，施金銀錯嵌，風采燦然，且保存殊完，誠為異品。早期青銅弩機，大抵素面無飾；若此般繁縟精工者，見於著錄者寥寥，可與首陽例比肩者，僅存一器。是為江蘇大青墩泗水王陵所出弩機，今藏南京博物院，世稱「天下第一弩」（圖一）。彼器郭頂亦見金箭逐雁圖，意匠精絕。

本器所擇仙鶴、鴻雁、奔鹿、獵豹暨白虎諸象，皆本於射獵之事，漢及魏晉書屢載其例。潘岳《射雉賦》寫射雉；班固《西都賦》敘天子游獵之盛，召水禽而墜雙鵠；餘如鶉、鴨、鵠之神射，亦不絕於書。此實承古弋射法，即以繩貫矢，射空際之鳥，而雁為貴禽。《周禮》定「六禽」為雁、鶩、鷃、雉、鳩、鴿，皆可供饌，益見古人射獵，旨在可食之禽。是故觀此弩機，其錯嵌非徒華飾，實寓武藝、瑞象與貴族遊獵於一器。論弩飾之演變，可參鍾雅薰〈弩蛇與華鳥—談弩的裝飾〉，《故宮文物月刊》，臺北，2023年1月，頁24-37。

弩之創起，可溯自戰國初（約公元前475–376年）。至漢，形制與發機皆臻定型。凡一弩之全，具弩機、木臂與弓三者。漢制弩機多合六件，即牙、望山、懸刀、鈎心、雙樞及郭。牙與望山多鑄為一體；懸刀司發；鈎心連牙與望山以通懸刀；雙樞固之於臂；郭則外覆諸構。上弦之時，挽弦至牙扣合，置矢於木臂上槽，循望山校準，扳懸刀，牙退，弦發，矢出。先秦之世，弩在遠射兵器中居首。

Early Chinese Bronzes from the Shouyang Studio

A VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE CROSSBOW MECHANISM, NU

WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-8 AD)

Price realised

USD 355,600

Estimate

USD 150,000 – USD 250,000

WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-8 AD)

4 7⁄16 in. (11.2 cm.) long, cloth box

PROVENANCE

Acquired in Hong Kong, late 1980s.

The Shouyang Studio, New York.

LITERATURE

Zhou Ya, Ma Jinhong, and Hu Jialin ed., Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Shouyang Studio: The Katherine and George Fan Collection, Shanghai, 2008, pp. 188-91, no. 70.

Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Shouyang Studio: The Katherine and George Fan Collection, Ningbo, 2009, p. 44.

EXHIBITED

Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Shouyang Studio: The Katherine and George Fan Collection, October 2008 - January 2011: Shanghai, Shanghai Museum; Hong Kong, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Ningbo, Ningbo Museum; Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, no. 70.

The Shouyang crossbow mechanism is exceptional for its elaborate gold and silver-inlaid decoration and its excellent state of preservation. The great majority of early bronze crossbow mechanisms are plain and undecorated, and the Shouyang example is one of only two known examples featuring such lavish inlaid decoration. The other example is the celebrated inlaid mechanism excavated from the Han-dynasty tomb of the King of Sishui at Daqingdun, Jiangsu province, now in Nanjing Museum, and frequently described as the 'First of All Crossbows' (Tianxia di yi nu). (Fig. 1) On the Nanjing example, the top of the crossbow case also depicts a golden arrow in pursuit of two geese in flight.

The deliberate choice of cranes, geese, deer, leopard, and the White Tiger situates the Shouyang crossbow within a long literary and practical tradition of avian and game hunting with bows and crossbows. Han and Wei–Jin texts repeatedly document such pursuits: Pan Yue in his She Zhi Fu [Rhapsody on Shooting the Pheasant] describes the pheasant hunt; Ban Gu’s Xi Du Fu [Rhapsody on the Western Capital] extols the magnificence of the imperial hunt, including the summoning of waterfowl and the felling of paired swans; while other sources refer to the accurate shooting of quail, ducks, and swans. These practices trace back to the older art of yishe, shooting an arrow strung with a rope at birds in flight, in which the goose ranked among the most valued quarry. The texts in Zhou Li [Rites of Zhou] defines the liuqin (six birds) of goose, duck, quail, pheasant, dove and pigeon as table fare, underscoring that the principal objects of hunting were edible fowl. Set in this larger historical context, the inlay on the present mechanism reads not merely as ornament, but also as a dense emblem linking martial skill, auspicious creatures, and elite leisure. For an in-depth discussion on the evolvement of decorations on crossbows, see Jhong Ya-syun, Serpents and Splendid Birds: On the Decoration of Crossbows, The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, Taipei, January 2023, pp. 24-37.

The invention of the crossbow (nu) can be traced to the early Warring States period, circa 475-376 BC. By the Han dynasty its form and trigger mechanics had become standardized. The complete weapon comprises three principal elements: the trigger mechanism (nuji), the wooden stock (mubi), and the bow stave (gong). The Han crossbow typically integrates six interlinked parts: the 'tooth' (ya), the 'sighting block' (wangshan), the trigger or 'hanging knife' (xuandao), the coupling hook (gouxin), a pair of pivots (shu), and the housing or case (guo). The ya and wangshan are most often cast as a single unit; the xuandao governs release; the gouxin links the tooth and sight assembly to the trigger; the two pivots secure the mechanism to the stock; and the housing encloses the assembly. To cock and load, the archer draws the string back until it catches on the ya; an arrow is laid in the channel along the top of the stock and aligned with the wangshan; a pull on the xuandao retracts the ya, releasing the string and propelling the arrow. The crossbow was the most formidable long-range projectile weapon in early China.