拍賣筆記 vol.455 蘇富比紐約2026：東周青銅虎形飾，Schoenlicht、梅耶收藏 - Sotheby’s New York 2026, An Archaic Bronze Tiger-Form Fitting, Schoenlicht, Mayer Collection, Eastern Zhou Dynasty

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這件銅虎前不久還在香港戴克成的畫廊被盜上了新聞，想必已經失而復得，從拍賣公司的「Import Tariff」提示來看，這件器物應該是近期因拍賣原因進入美國。這件器物來自著名的Alfred Schoenlicht (1876-1955) 收藏，這位藏家是1935年倫敦藝展的重要參展私人藏家，其收藏收錄於H.F.E. Visser，《Asiatic Art in private collections of Holland and Belgium》，紐約及阿姆斯特丹，1948年。本品為圖版68，編號128。隨後，這件器物進入了著名的Frederick M. Mayer (1899-1974) 收藏，梅耶大名鼎鼎，賽克勒曾委託倫敦著名古董商埃斯肯納齊（Giuseppe Eskenazi）在1974年專場拍賣上嘗試買下全場，參見王秋生發表在財新的專欄文章《幫我買下整場吧！佳士得倫敦1974年梅耶專場拍賣風雲｜國際拍場》。展覽紀錄方面，1947-1948年有波士頓美術館的借展紀錄，並在1952年於紐約中國藝術館的《Art of the Late Eastern Chou》展覽中展出，編號11。

本件銅虎拍品傳承極為顯赫，鏈條極為清晰，特別是有早年的Alfred Schoenlicht (1876-1955) 收藏著錄加分不少。另外有被盜的傳奇，一般來說，藝術品被盜後的價格都會上升。參考倫敦鐵路工人退休基金專場賣出的唐三彩黑馬（1989年倫敦蘇富比 Lot 56），曾在香港預展時被盜，後由日本著名古董商下條啟一代替客人以374萬英鎊購藏。參見王秋生發表在財新專欄的文章《一個鐵路退休基金如何重塑中國古藝價值｜國際拍場》

根據報導：法國青銅器古董商戴克成（Christian Deydier）位於香港的畫廊於 2025 年 11 月 22 日不幸遭遇竊盜案。被盜器物為此次上拍的兩件拍品，本品（東周銅虎）以外，還有一件西周象尊。這起事件當時在古董文物圈引發了極大的震撼。

An exceptional and rare archaic bronze tiger-form fitting, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period

東周 青銅虎形飾

Import Tariff

Live auction begins on:

2026 September 16, 09:00 PM HKT

Estimate

120,000 - 150,000 USD

Description

Length 6½ in., 16.5 cm

描述

Length 6½ in., 16.5 cm

狀況報告

整體品相良好。右後腿見斷損經重接，尾部見斷損經重接。下顎見修，面部右側見修，另見相應微細裂紋。

出處

Alfred Schoenlicht (1876-1955) 收藏

Frederick M. Mayer (1899-1974) 收藏

倫敦佳士得1974年6月24日至25日，編號207

東方青銅器有限公司，倫敦，1991年

法國私人收藏

展出

波士頓美術館，1947至1948年（借展）

《Art of the Late Eastern Chou》，中國藝術館，紐約，1952年，編號11

著錄

H.F.E. Visser，《Asiatic Art in private collections of Holland and Belgium》，紐約及阿姆斯特丹，1948年，圖版68，編號128

《The Arts of the Warring States and Han Period》，東方青銅器有限公司，倫敦，1991年，編號33

This bronze tiger was in the news only recently, after it was stolen from Christian Deydier’s gallery in Hong Kong. It has since, one assumes, been recovered. The auction house’s “Import Tariff” notice further suggests that the piece entered the United States only lately, in connection with the present sale.

The bronze comes from the distinguished collection of Alfred Schoenlicht (1876–1955), an important private lender to the 1935 International Exhibition of Chinese Art in London. The collection is published in H. F. E. Visser, Asiatic Art in Private Collections of Holland and Belgium, New York and Amsterdam, 1948, where the present piece appears as pl. 68, no. 128. It later entered the celebrated collection of Frederick M. Mayer (1899–1974). Mayer’s name still carries great weight: Arthur M. Sackler is said to have asked the leading London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi to attempt to buy the entire 1974 single-owner sale. See Wang Qiusheng’s Caixin column, “Buy Me the Whole Sale! The 1974 Frederick M. Mayer Sale at Christie’s London.”

The exhibition history is equally early and well documented. The tiger was on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1947–48, and was shown in 1952 at China House, New York, in Art of the Late Eastern Chou, no. 11.

The provenance is therefore unusually distinguished and unusually clear. The early Schoenlicht publication, in particular, adds real weight. There is, besides, the romance of a theft: works of art that have been stolen and recovered often rise in the market thereafter. A useful parallel is the black-glazed Tang sancai horse from the British Rail Pension Fund (Sotheby's London, 1989, lot 56), which was stolen during the Hong Kong preview and later purchased, on a client’s behalf, by the eminent Japanese dealer Keiichi Shimojo for £3.74 million. See Wang Qiusheng’s Caixin column, “How a Railway Pension Fund Recast the Value of Ancient Chinese Art.”

Condition Report

In general good condition. There is a restored break to the right hind leg and the tail. Restoration to the jaw and right side of the face, with associated minor cracks.

Provenance

Collection of Alfred Schoenlicht (1876-1955).

Collection of Frederick M. Mayer (1899-1974).

Christie’s London, 24th-25th June 1974, lot 207.

Oriental Bronzes Ltd., London, 1991.

French Private Collection.

Exhibited

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1947-1948 (on loan).

Art of the Late Eastern Chou, China House, New York, 1952, cat. no. 11.

Literature

H.F.E. Visser, Asiatic Art in private collections of Holland and Belgium, New York & Amsterdam, 1948, pl. 68, no. 128.

The Arts of the Warring States and Han Periods, Oriental Bronzes Ltd., London, 1991, cat. no. 33.

蘇富比資料：

本青銅虎古樸雄偉，神采奕奕，正由年代高古而益見其妙，乃二十世紀初流入西方少數重要青銅虎形飾當中佳品。

本器形制獨特，尺寸不算巨大，然而氣魄雄健，比較其他作例，可推斷原應附屬一件尺寸更為龐大之大型青銅器，斷代東周晚期。比較一例，或後加嵌金，今藏華盛頓 National Museum of Asian Art，並著錄於蘇芳淑，《Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，紐約、Washington D.C.，1995年，圖版43；同書並列二例，圖43.1及43.3，後者藏於 Hamburg Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe（館藏編號1970.119）；再比一例，與本品相近，美國聖路易斯藝術博物館（藏品編號 63:1953）珍藏，圖 43.2（圖一）。蘇芳淑論述，此類大型飾皆與青銅器主體分開鑄製，其銅合金成分亦與主器顯著有別。其內側作平面，下頜處並留有銜接主器器足之痕跡。

左至右:

圖一 東周 春秋 青銅虎形飾 © 聖路易斯藝術博物館

圖二 東周 春秋 青銅虎形飾 © 明尼阿波利斯美術館

圖三 東周 春秋 青銅虎形飾，售於巴黎蘇富比2015年12月16日，編號40

Visser於1948年發表文章，引述荷蘭及比利時收藏家之珍藏，其中包括本品，相信在文章發表之前已久藏西方；另有前述聖路易斯收藏作例，以及數件形制相近之大型虎形飾，亦約於1930至1940年代相繼流入西方，皆出於同一批青銅重器。此組作例包括西雅圖藝術博物館 Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection 所藏一例，館藏編號45.Ch6.2，圖載《Asiatic Art in the Seattle Art Museum》，西雅圖，1973年，圖版77；Pillsbury Collection 舊藏三例，今存於明尼阿波利斯藝術學院，館藏編號50.46.70、79.1及79.2（圖二）；又有大維威爾舊藏一例，曾載於《L'Evolution des Bronzes Chinois Archaïques》，Musée Cernuschi，巴黎，1937年，編號42，後售於巴黎蘇富比2015年12月16日，編號40（圖三）。盧芹齋《Exhibition of Early Chinese Bronzes》記載一例，更可能即前述諸例之一，紐約，1939年，編號63。

此青銅虎經百餘年珍藏摩挲，包漿滑熟，與其他來源顯赫之青銅器頗為相近，其色澤經歷年善護而轉深，清宮舊藏諸器亦有此貌。此式虎形飾六件，雖尚未能確證原屬於任何現存青銅器，然而當曾為雍正皇帝所藏，飾於其所藏成對二器之足。該二器見於今藏倫敦大英博物館《古玩圖》手卷（館藏編號PDF,X.01，圖四）。

此器自高古至今，由青銅器承足至為帝室珍玩，又為文人考鑒之物，始終卓然雄健，歷久彌新。

Swirling with life despite – or indeed because of – its antiquity, this magnificent tiger belongs to a small group of important bronze tigers that made their way to the West in the early twentieth century.

Comparison with other examples of this remarkable form suggests that the Schoenlicht Tiger – an object of immense sculptural power even on this scale – may have once formed part of an even more monumental bronze vessel of a late Eastern Zhou dating. One such vessel, possibly inlaid with gold at a later date, is preserved in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington and illustrated in Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York and Washington D.C., 1995, pl. 43, alongside two comparable vessels, figs 43.1 and 43.3, the latter in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (accession no. 1970.119) , and a closely related tiger in the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis (accession no. 63:1953) fig. 43.2 (Fig. 1). As So notes, these monumental supports are cast as individual pieces independent of the main vessel and with vastly different alloy compositions, with a flat, inward-facing surface and marks below the lower jaw that indicate some means of joining them to the foot of the vessel.

LEFT TO RIGHT:

FIG. 1 AN ARCHAIC BRONZE TIGER-FORM TTING, EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD © ST. LOUIS ART MUSEUM, ST. LOUIS

FIG. 2 AN ARCHAIC BRONZE TIGER-FORM TTING, EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD © MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART, MINNEAPOLIS

FIG. 3 AN ARCHAIC BRONZE TIGER-FORM TTING, EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD, SOLD AT SOTHEBY’S PARIS, 16TH DECEMBER 2015, LOT 40.

Aside from the Schoenlicht Tiger, likely preserved in the West since well before its appearance in Visser’s seminal 1948 summary of Dutch and Belgian collectors, and the aforementioned St. Louis Tiger, a further handful of related monumental tigers appear to have arrived simultaneously in the West during the 1930s and 1940s, possibly derived from the same original vessels. This select group includes one tiger from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle (accession no. 45.Ch6.2) illustrated in Asiatic Art in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1973, pl. 77; three from the Pillsbury Collection, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (accession nos 50.46.70, 79.1 and 79.2) (Fig. 2); and one from the collection of David David-Weill included in L'Evolution des Bronzes Chinois Archaïques, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, 1937, cat. no. 42 and later sold in our Paris rooms, 16th December 2015, lot 40 (Fig. 3). A further example, or more likely one of the aforementioned, was also sold from the stock of the renowned dealer C. T. Loo, included in his Exhibition of Early Chinese Bronzes, New York, 1939, cat no. 63.

Timeworn by more than a century of treasured ownership and touching, the patina of the present tiger is not dissimilar to other storied bronzes, darkened through years of careful preservation, including those preserved in the Qing Imperial Collection. While yet to be traced to any extant bronze vessels, six tigers fittings of this design indeed appear to have been among the treasured possessions of the Yongzheng Emperor, adorning the feet of two matching vessels in his collection illustrated in the Guwan tu (Pictures of Ancient Playthings) scroll preserved in the British Museum, London (accession no. PDF,X.01) (Fig. 4).

FIG. 4 GUWAN TU [PICTURES OF ANCIENT PLAYTHINGS], QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD © THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

From antiquity to today, from ancient supports to imperial treasures to objects of scholarly fascination, the Schoenlicht Tiger has remained a constant — its beauty and vigour unchanging through the millennia.