拍賣筆記 vol.496 蘇富比香港2026：商代殷墟檀香山斝，銘文「元」，萬古之幽專場 - Sotheby’s HK 2026, The Honolulu Jia, Inscribed ‘Yuan’, Shang Dynasty
傳承顯赫，來自檀香山藝術學院，原名「檀香山斝」，傳承清晰，來源明確。此斝一直以來都是1000萬美金級別以上的器物，此次上拍，定2000-3000萬港元，偏低估。（SACA觀察，2026.10.23）
商代殷墟檀香山斝
商代晚期 安陽殷墟
The T.Y. King Jia, a highly important and exceptionally large archaic bronze royal wine vessel, Late Shang dynasty, early Yinxu (Anyang) period, 14th–13th century BC
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Estimate
20,000,000 - 30,000,000 HKD
Description
cast to the interior of the vessel with an inscription reading Yuan
wood stand, double Japanese wood box
h. 47.8 cm
銘文：元
木座印文：東武劉燕庭氏審定金石文字
來源
劉喜海（1793–1852年）收藏
T. Y. King（金才記）收藏，上海
檀香山藝術學院收藏，夏威夷，編號 3810
Wahl-Rostagni 收藏，羅馬
展覽
檀香山藝術學院，檀香山，夏威夷
《Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels, Gilt Bronzes and Early Ceramics》，戴克成／Oriental Bronzes Ltd，倫敦，1986年6月，編號5
《Exposition Inaugurale》，Galerie Christian Deydier，巴黎，2008年
《The Yuan Jia / The Honolulu Jia》，國際古玩展，Galerie Christian Deydier，香港，2016年5月28至31日。
出版
劉喜海，《長安獲古編》，1852年，編號1–30（著錄銘文）
方濬益，《綴遺齋彝器款識考釋》，1894年，編號24–22（著錄器物與銘文）
羅振玉，《殷文存》，1917年，下卷，頁30（著錄銘文）
容庚，《金文編》，1925年，卷4–9（著錄銘文）
羅振玉，《三代吉金文存》，1937年，編號13–47–2（著錄銘文）
陳夢家，《美帝國主義劫掠的我國殷周銅器集錄》，北京，1962年，編號A305及R175（著錄器物與銘文）
水野清一，《東洋美術第五卷：銅器》，東京，1968年，卷5，圖版20（著錄器物）
陳夢家，《殷周青銅器分類圖錄》（美國所藏中國銅器集錄），東京，1977年，上卷，頁64，編號A305及頁206，銘文 R175；下卷，頁 596，編號A305（著錄器物與銘文）
巴納（Noel Barnard）與張光裕，《中日歐美澳紐所見所拓所摹金文彙編》，台北，1978年，卷7，編號1264（著錄器物與銘文）
周法高，《三代吉金文存補》，1980年，編號175
孫稚雛，《金文著錄簡目》，北京，1981年，頁268，編號3894（著錄銘文）
嚴一萍，《金文總集》，台北，1983年，卷6，頁2384，編號4247（著錄器物與銘文）
林巳奈夫，《殷周時代青銅器之研究》（殷周青銅器綜覽一），東京，1984年，卷1，頁196，圖版59（著錄器物與銘文）
戴克成，《Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels, Gilt Bronzes and Early Ceramics》，倫敦，1986年，編號5（著錄器物）
《海外遺珍：銅器二》，台北，1988年，編號 21（著錄器物）
吳鎮烽編，《陝西金文彙編》，卷下，西安，1989年，編號241（著錄銘文）
中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成》，卷15，北京，1993年，編號9108（著錄銘文）
戴克成，《Les Bronzes Archaïques Chinois》，卷一：夏與商，巴黎，1995年，頁101（著錄器物）
李學勤與艾蘭（Sarah Allan），《歐洲所藏中國青銅器遺珍》，北京，1995年，圖版22（著錄器物）
中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成釋文》，卷5，香港，2001年，編號9108（著錄銘文）
陳豫，《玉華閣金文》（收錄於《金文文獻集成》），2005年，編號306–1
王心怡編，《商周圖形文字編》，北京，2007年，頁1，編號1（著錄銘文）
戴克成，《Exposition Inaugurale》，巴黎，2008年，頁4–7（著錄器物）
劉雨等，《商周金文總著錄表》，北京，2008年，編號9947（著錄銘文）
埃斯卡納齊，薛好佩整理，《中國藝術品經眼錄：埃斯卡納齊的回憶》，倫敦，2012年，中譯版，上海，2015年，2017年再版，頁180，圖版13（著錄器物）
吳鎮烽，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，上海，2012年，卷20，頁5，編號10883（著錄器物與銘文）
嚴志斌編，《商代青銅器銘文分期斷代研究》，北京，2014年，頁256，編號4448（著錄銘文）
張天恩編，《陝西金文集成》，卷12，西安，2016年，編號1385（著錄銘文）
嚴志斌，《商代青銅器銘文研究》，上海，2017年，頁560，編號4448（著錄銘文）
祀天威儀金才記舊藏青銅元斝
元斝堪稱古代王權、禮制與威儀的象徵，其器身下接三稜錐足，挺拔而立，器腹配以弧形鋬，曲線優雅流暢，口沿再上承兩根大柱帽，可謂商代晚期鑄造工藝的代表傑作。無論是其碩大體積和罕見形製，抑或其近乎孤例的銘文，乃至精妙浮凸的器身紋飾，種種特質皆使本「元斝」於至今現身拍場的同類器物中脫穎而出，成為舉足輕重的青銅珍品之一；這件藏於傳奇古董商號金才記的元斝傳承有序，近二百年來歷經公私流轉收藏，也屢見於各類圖錄文獻。
本器下有三足，一側有寬大的鋬方便持握，上接兩耳用於提放，如此結構在青銅器鑑賞學中稱為「斝」。斝器始見於公元前二千紀中葉，以中原二里頭文化晚期為源，並在隨後數百年間成為朝代禮制中不可或缺的青銅重器，至西周中期，隨著穀物酒釀在天子、宗伯的禮樂活動中之角色有所轉變，斝類器物漸告式微，遂至絕跡。斝在封建禮樂中的具體功用早已無法追溯，千百年來也一直是學者探討的課題，從典籍 《周禮》記載到現代學術研究，至今未有定論。惟綜合各類文獻史料可知，斝在禮制中具極高地位，似乎專用於較為隆重而不常舉行的禮祭大典，以行奠酒之禮，不作直接飲用的酒器，因此有別於一般較為常見帶流嘴的「爵」。鑑於其尊貴的禮樂背景與複雜的工藝形製，斝器獲歸類為最為罕見的商周青銅器類別之一；目前已知的相關存世器物僅約三百件，其中逾百件皆為近年新出土的考古文物。
本器鑄造用上青銅時代工匠可得範圍內最上乘的銅合金，用料精良，顯然是出自商代青銅鑄造工藝最鼎盛的階段。具體而言，其鋬與足的形制表明本器製於安陽時期之初，即殷墟一期。其古樸的鋬制與素面無紋的足部，反映了商代早期二里崗時期（公元前十六至十四世紀）的遺風，這與殷墟時期典型的高浮雕紋飾形成了對比。約在公元前十四世紀末，商代第二十任君主盤庚遷都至殷，即今河南安陽，此遷都之舉使商朝基業得以延續，並迎來了長達三百多年相對昌盛的國勢和都邑盛況，這一直維持至公元前約1046年西周興起。在武丁（卒於約公元前1192年）及其後諸王在位之時期，見甲骨文及考古文獻記載，商朝國力鼎盛，軍事和技術實力達到巔峰；作為如此權勢財富的相應象徵，商朝發展出了燦爛而昌盛的禮樂文明，工精技良的青銅禮器更是其精粹的體現。
元斝以中國古代傳統的範鑄法鑄造而成：即先製作大型的陶範分塊，以便在表面施加繁複的紋飾，之後再將各部分合鑄為一體，其鑄造之精良足以代表商代晚期工藝鼎盛之際的頂尖造詣。元斝既承襲商代早期中原地區設計中那份威武雄奇的氣勢，但其恢宏姿態又展現出一種近乎帝王風範、前所未見的肅穆莊嚴感，懾人威勢不言而喻。其器身各處無不蘊藏力量和生機，雲雷紋方折回旋，饕餮紋樣眼神不怒自威，扉棱與三足挺拔分明，頸部與鋬部線條優雅；加之器身碩大，在鑄工上顯然歷經了極其艱鉅的工程，才能鑄造出如此元斝。
本元斝無疑是現存私人收藏中最為重要的古青銅器之一，其傳承顯赫有序，表面烏黑暗綠的銅鏽豐潤深沉，見證歲月沉澱之美。除中國公立博物館的所藏器物（尤其是北京和台北的故宮博物院的館藏）之外，存世且擁有十八世紀來源的青銅器舉世罕見。本器最早見於清朝學者兼官員劉喜海（1793–1852年）的珍藏，並輯錄於其獲古編中，書中收錄了他在長安（即今西安）所蒐得之器物；劉喜海耽溺金石學研究與青銅器鑑藏，其痴迷沉醉的程度甚至被視為他遭罷官的原因之一。劉氏籍貫山東諸城，為嘉慶、道光、咸豐年間享負盛名的金石學家，他對青銅器銘文、石刻及錢幣學的研究，至今依然深刻影響我們在這些領域的當代認知。至二十世紀初，本元斝流入著名上海古董商金從怡（T.Y. King，1904年生）之手；金氏曾向歐美眾多頂尖博物館、古董商及私人藏家供應中國藝術珍品，其中本器即由其轉手，入藏夏威夷檀香山藝術學院（今檀香山藝術博物館），其後也由該館釋出。
這件高度達四十多公分的元斝屬迄今流入市場體積最大的斝之一，而極少數更巨大的同類器物，幾乎皆出自近年考古發掘或由公立博物館收藏。這些斝的器身大多採用類似的三層紋飾佈局：腹飾兩層饕餮紋樣，上承一層三角垂葉「蟬紋」；惟頂飾柱帽、鋬部及足部紋飾等細節上略有差異。事實上，體積較小的斝，尤其是器腹圓鼓者，似乎曾廣泛製作予商代的王公貴胄所用，而如本器般體積碩大、紋飾繁複的重器，則僅見於天子皇室最為尊貴的禮儀場合。
若論同類可比的斝器，最重要的存世器群無疑出自安陽的婦好墓。婦好是前述商王武丁之王后，卒於約公元前1200年。其墓未遭盜掘近乎完好，因而具極高的考古價值，墓中隨葬品奢華豐厚，讓後世得以一窺商代王室公卿所擁有的禮器之豐盛、工藝之精妙及種類之繁多。婦好墓共出土了十二件斝，其中七件均具圓腹截面、碩大體積及三層紋飾佈局，與本器極為相似。在這七件器物中，有五件似乎同屬一組體積更為巨大的斝類器物，包括銘文為「婦好」的M5:751；「司□母」的M5:857和860；以及「亞其」的M5:1197和861；而其餘兩件無銘文的斝（M5:781和782）曾同獲輯錄於《殷墟婦好墓》一書（北京出版，1980年，圖版38），其高度分別為48.4公分和42.1公分；兩者鑄工卓越，氣勢恢宏，足與本器媲美，惟其獸形鋬與紋飾足部的鑄造風格更為厚重。
從婦好墓出土的一對大型斝可見，紋飾風格相近的斝似乎不乏成對鑄造，惟歷經數千年流傳，原本成雙之器幾乎皆已離散。若論與本器尺寸相若（高45.8公分）、鑄工及銅鏽皆極為相似的成對實例，可參見東京出光美術館所藏的一對「爰」斝（見《出光美術館藏中國古代珍品》，東京出光美術館，1989年，圖版38）。此外，另可比較兩件同署「象」族徽且尺寸幾乎一致（高43公分）的斝，兩件極有可能是原本成對、後被拆散的器物，它們現分藏於日本奈良寧樂美術館及美國舊金山亞洲藝術博物館（前者見梅原末治編，《日本搜蒐儲支那古銅精華》，第三卷，大阪，1961年，圖版CCXL；後者館藏編號B60B79，見羅伯特·貝格利著（Robert W. Bagley），《賽克勒藏商代青銅禮器》（Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections），華盛頓，1987年，第96頁，圖105）。
近年來，市場上僅見另一件氣勢恢宏、工藝品質及尺寸（高約49公分）均與本器媲美的斝。這件與本器極為相似的斝，最早輯錄於黃伯川（1880–1951年）的「尊古齋」舊藏；後入藏於著名的仇焱之珍藏，並在1980年12月16日於蘇富比倫敦拍賣上售出（拍品編號341）；其後入藏於美國莫爾斯伉儷（Earl and Irene Morse）珍藏；近年又在2023年2月24日於北京保利拍賣上再次易手（拍品編號5708），成交價逾3500萬元人民幣。
至於公共博物館所藏的同類器物，還可參考比較以下數例，包括：「箙」斝，山西省運城市聞喜縣河底鎮酒務頭村出土，現藏於山西青銅博物館，其高42公分，足部飾有素面長條狀鏤孔，鋬部飾有饕餮紋樣，與本器風格相近，該器輯錄於《山右吉金：聞喜酒務頭商代墓地出土青銅器精粹》（太原，2020年，第216頁）；「正」斝，1952年安陽出土，現藏於河南新鄉市博物館，其高44.7公分，輯錄於中國社會科學院考古研究所編著的《殷周金文整合》，北京，1984年，第9132號；一件具銘文的斝，現藏於美國波士頓美術館，其高42.2公分，館藏編號34.65；「車北」斝，現藏於美國堪薩斯城納爾遜阿特金斯藝術博物館，其高50.8公分，館藏編號58-9； 「戊」斝，現藏於美國華盛頓國立亞洲藝術博物館，其高52.8公分，館藏編號F1923.1a-b，輯錄於《弗利爾中國青銅器》（The Freer Chinese Bronzes），華盛頓，1967年，圖版20（其配對器物或見前引《殷周金文集成》，第9153號）；以及「臣」斝，現藏於瑞典斯德哥爾摩遠東古物博物館，其高50公分，館藏編號K-12202，同輯錄於《殷周金文集成》，第9122號。
本器所鑄之族徽銘文為研究商代歷史的珍貴史料，常被解作「元」或「子」字。其圖樣描繪了一位屈膝跪坐、雙手於胸前合十的男人，其姿態或代表虔誠信仰，亦可能與哀悼儀式相關，這類「側身人像」銘文由諾爾·巴納教授（Noel Barnard）與張光裕教授編為「B-5」型。此圖案有多種形態變體，時而頭戴分叉頭飾，時而手持禮器（見《中日歐美澳紐所見所拓所摹金文彙編》，第八卷，台北，1978年，第769–781頁）。
至目前為止，尚未見有其他正式記錄之青銅器鑄有與本器相同的銘文，不過相關族徽普遍存在多樣性形態，不排除因此掩蓋了潛在匹配的同銘器物。事實上，即使在同一件器物上，類似的跪坐人物也可能朝向不同方向，例如紐約布魯克林博物館收藏的一件青銅戈，其族徽人像即有此差異（見前引巴納及張光裕著，《中日歐美澳紐所見所拓所摹金文彙編》，編號1248）。另一件據信由山西省出土的斝現藏於北京保利藝術博物館，其尺寸（高50公分）和造型皆與本器甚為接近；而該器上的族徽被解作「先」字，同樣呈現側身人形，惟其頭戴分叉冠飾（線描圖見《《山右吉金：山西商周青銅器縱覽》北京，2019年，第一卷，圖版76）。此外，還有一件較小型的斝現藏於澳洲墨爾本維多利亞國家美術館，其年代亦屬安陽晚期且工藝精湛，器身表面亦刻有類似的側身跪坐人物族徽（見《澳洲與新西蘭之中國古代青銅器藏品》，維多利亞國家美術館，墨爾本，1975年，圖錄編號5；銘文拓本見第46頁，圖13.1；另見前引巴納教授及張光裕教授，《中日歐美澳紐所見所拓所摹金文彙編》，編號1265。）
Provenance
Collection of Liu Xihai (1793-1852)
Collection of T.Y. King, Shanghai
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, no. 3810
Wahl-Rostagni Collection, Rome
Exhibited
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels, Gilt Bronzes and Early Ceramics, Christian Deydier / Oriental Bronzes Ltd, London, June 1986, cat. no. 5.
Exposition Inaugurale, Galerie Christian Deydier, Paris, 2008.
The Yuan Jia / The Honolulu Jia, International Antiques Fair, Galerie Christian Deydier, Hong Kong, 28th - 31st May, 2016.
Literature
Liu Xihai, Chang’an huo gu bian [Record of antiquities acquired in Chang'an], 1852, nos 1-30 (inscription).
Fang Junyi, Zhui Yi Zhai yiqi kaoshi [Study of the ritual vessels in the Zhuiyi Studio], 1894, nos 24-22.
Luo Zhenyu, Yin wen cun [Surviving writings of the Yin dynasty], vol. xia, 1917, p. 30 (inscription).
Rong Geng, Jinwen bian [Glossary of bronze inscriptions], 1925, vols 4-9 (inscription).
Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wen cun [Surviving writings from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties], 1937, no. 13-47-2 (inscription).
Chen Mengjia, Meidiguozhuyi jielue de woguo Yin Zhou tongqi jilu [Compilation of Yin and Zhou archaic bronzes in America], Beijing, 1962, no. A305 and R175.
Seiichi Mizuno, Toyo Bijutsu: Doki / Asiatic Art in Japanese Collections: Chinese Archaic Bronzes, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1968, pl. 20.
Chen Mengjia, Yin Zhou qingtongqi fenlei tulu / A Corpus of Chinese Bronzes in American Collections, Tokyo, 1977, vol. shang, p. 64, no. A305, and p. 206, inscription R175; vol. xia, p. 596, no. A305.
Noel Barnard and Cheung Kwong-Yue, Rubbings and Hand Copies of Bronze Inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, European, American and Australasian Collections, Taipei, 1978, vol. 7, no. 1264.
Zhou Fagao, Sandai jijin wen cun bu [Supplement to the surviving writings from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties], 1980, no. 175.
Sun Zhichu, Jinwen zhulu jianmu [Concise list of recorded bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 1981, p. 229, no. 3894 (inscription).
Yan Yiping, Jinwen zongji [Corpus of bronze inscriptions], vol. 6, Taipei, 1983, p. 2384, no. 4247.
Minao Hayashi, In Shu jidai seidoki no kenkyu (In Shu seidoki soran ichi) / Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes, vol. I, Tokyo, 1984, p. 196, pl. 59.
Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels, Gilt Bronzes and Early Ceramics, London, 1986, cat. no. 5.
Hai-Wai Yi-Chen / Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Bronze II, Taipei, 1988, no. 21.
Wu Zhenfeng, ed., Shanxi jinwen huibian [Collection of archaic bronze inscriptions from Shanxi], vol. 2, Xi'an, 1989, no. 241 (inscription).
The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yin Zhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 15, Beijing, 1993, no. 9108 (inscription).
Christian Deydier, Les Bronzes Archaïques Chinois, vol. I: Xia & Shang, Paris, 1995, p. 101.
Li Xueqin and Sarah Allan, Chinese Bronzes: A Selection from European Collections, Beijing, 1995, pl. 22.
The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yin Zhou jinwen jicheng shiwen [Interpretations of the compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 5, Hong Kong, 2001, no. 9108 (inscription).
Chen Yu, Yu hua ge jinwen [Bronze inscriptions from the Yuhua Pavilion], Jinwen wenxian jicheng ben, 2005, no. 306-1.
Wang Xinyi, ed., Shangzhou tuxing wenzi bian [Dictionary of the pictograms from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], Beijing, 2007, p. 1, no. 1 (inscription).
Christian Deydier, Exposition Inaugurale, Paris, 2008, pp. 4-7.
Liu Yu et. al., Shangzhou jinwen zong zhulubiao [Comprehensive list of recorded Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2008, no. 9947 (inscription).
Giuseppe Eskenazi and Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand: The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, p. 180, pl. 13.
Wu Zhenfeng, Shang Zhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], vol. 20, Shanghai, 2012, p. 5, no. 10883.
Yan Zhibin, ed., Shangdai qingtongqi mingwen fenqi duandai yanjiu / The Dating Study of Bronze Inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty, Beijing, 2014, p. 256, no. 4448 (inscription).
Zhang Tianen, ed., Shaanxi jinwen jicheng [Compendium of bronze inscriptions in Shaanxi], vol. 12, Xi'an, 2016, no. 1385 (inscription).
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A Monument of Power and RitualThe T.Y. King Jia
A monument of ancient power, ritual and might; standing poised on three splayed legs, the graceful curve of its body accentuated by a curved handle and mounted by two substantial finials, the present vessel is a masterpiece of Late Shang dynasty craftsmanship. A rare and extraordinary vessel, from its size and form to its seemingly unique inscription and design rippling with life, the T.Y. King jia is among the most important of its type ever to come to auction, preserved and published in public and private collections for almost two centuries.
Of tripod form with a generous handle and two finials by which to lift it, the present design is known to connoisseurs as a jia 斝. Emerging at the end of the Erlitou period around the middle of the second millennium BCE, these vessels formed a crucial part of royal rituals for the ensuing centuries until their disappearance in the mid-Western Zhou dynasty as the role of fermented grain alcohol shifted among kings and ritual practitioners. The specific function of the jia in royal rituals has been all but lost to history and has continued to be debated in the ensuing millennia – from the Rites of Zhou to the scholarship of today. What seems clear from the amalgamation of these sources, at least, is the particularly prestigious nature of jia which seem to have been used for more infrequent official ceremonies involving libations poured or sprinkled on the ground, rather than drunk as was the case with more common spouted jue vessels. Given their elite context and complex forms, jia are among the rarest of Chinese archaic bronze vessels, with only around three hundred examples known to survive today, of which more than a hundred are only the results of recent excavations.
Cast from the highest quality copper-alloy available to a Bronze Age craftsman, the present jia is clearly attributable to the height of Shang dynasty production during the Anyang Period. Specifically, the shape of the handle and the legs indicate that it was made in the early Anyang period known as Yinxu phase I. As scholars have noted, the primitive shape of the handle and the absence of decoration on the legs reflect the heritage of the early Shang Erligang period (16th–14th century BCE), contrasting with the high relief decoration that is typical of the Yinxu period. Around the late fourteenth century BCE, the twentieth King of Shang, Pan Geng, is said to have moved the capital of the dynasty to the city of Yin (now known as Anyang) in modern-day Henan. This move would preserve the Shang for another three centuries of relative prosperity and metropolitan grandeur until the arrival of the Western Zhou around the year 1046 BCE. By the reign of Wu Ding (d. ca. 1192 BCE) and his successors, recorded and praised in oracle bone inscriptions and the archaeological record, the Shang state had reached the very height of military and technological might, and, symbolic of this power and wealth, produced a rich and magnificent ritual tradition typified by the finest of bronze wares.
Assembled using the classical piece-mould technique in which complex surface designs were applied using clay moulds to large sections later joined into one, the present jia represents the highest quality of work produced at this zenith of Late Shang craftsmanship. With the imposing ferocity of earlier Shang designs from the Central Plains but featuring an austere, almost regal, nature unprecedented in its majesty, the jia exudes a tangible sense of power. Each surface painstakingly filled with vigour and motion – from the scrolling leiwen keyfrets to the imposing eyes of the taotie masks; from the sharpness of the side flanges and legs to the elegance of the neck and handles – the construction of the present jia would have represented a mammoth task for its casters, particularly at its enormous scale.
This jia is undoubtedly one of the most important archaic bronze vessels still preserved in private hands with an extraordinary line of provenance, palpable in its rich green-black patina. Outside of vessels preserved in Chinese public institutions – particularly the Palace collections of Beijing and Taipei – surviving bronze wares with eighteenth century provenance are exceedingly rare. Illustrated in his catalogue of wares acquired in Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an), the jia is first recorded in the collection of scholar-official Liu Xihai (1793-1852), whose indefatigable devotion to epigraphy and bronze collecting appears to have been among the causes for his dismissal from public office. A native of Zhucheng, Liu is among the most celebrated epigraphers of the Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xiangfeng reigns whose research into bronze and stone inscriptions and numismatics continues to impact our contemporary understanding of the field. By the early twentieth century, the jia had passed into the hands of the famous Shanghai dealer T.Y. King (Jin Congyi, b. 1904), who supplied many of the leading museums, dealers and collectors of the West, including, in this case, the Honolulu Academy of Arts (now Honolulu Museum of Art) in Hawaii, from whence it was deaccessioned.
Towering at 47.8 centimetres, the present vessel represents one of the largest jia ever to come to market, with almost all larger examples only uncovered in recent archaeological excavations or preserved in public institutions. Almost all of these jia feature similar three-register body designs, with two bands of taotie decoration surmounted with a band of triangular ‘cicada’ blades, but differ somewhat in the details of their finials, handles and leg decoration. Indeed, while smaller jia, particularly those of bulbous form, appear to have been produced for a broader swathe of Shang high society, examples of this magnificent size and complex design appear only to have been produced for the most elite royal contexts.
Undoubtedly the most important surviving trove of comparable jia is represented by the tomb of Fu Hao, wife of the aforementioned King Wu Ding, who died circa 1200 BCE. Of invaluable archaeological importance in its seemingly undisturbed state, the lavishly adorned tomb provides an insight into the splendour, extraordinary quality, and range of ritual wares available to the highest royal echelons of Shang society. In total, excavations of the tomb garnered twelve individual jia, of which seven bear extremely close resemblances to the present example in their round cross-section, enormous size and three-band decoration. While five of the seven appear to belong to a distinct group of even larger jia (The jia marked ‘Fu Hao’ M5:751; the pair marked Si □ Mu, M5:857 and 860; and the pair marked Ya Qi, M5:1197 and 861), two apparently unmarked vessels are particularly of note here for their close resemblance in size and quality to the present masterpiece. Illustrated together in Yinxu Fu Hao mu / Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, pl. 38, these jia (M5:781 and 782) measure 48.4 cm and 42.1 cm respectively and share the extraordinary casting quality and magnificence of the present but bear more heavily cast zoomorphic handles and patterned feet.
As evidenced by the Fu Hao pair, large jia of related design seem not infrequently to have been produced in pairs, though these have almost all been separated over the millennia. For a preserved pair of very similar size (45.8 cm), fine casting and patina to the present, compare the pair of Yuan 爰 Jia in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, included in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 38. Also compare two jia of shared ‘elephant’ clan sign and near identical size (43 cm), almost certainly a split pair, preserved respectively in the Neiraku Museum of Art, Nara (see Sueji Umehara, Nihon shūcho Shina kodō seikwa / Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Japan, vol. 3, Osaka 1961, pl. CCXL) and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (accession no. B60B79; see Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, 1987, p. 96, fig. 105).
In recent years, only one other Jia of this magnificent form, quality and comparable size (ca. 49 cm) appears to have come to market. First recorded in the Zunguzhai Collection of Huang Bochuan (1880-1951), this closely related jia was sold in our London rooms from the famed collection of Edward T. Chow, 16th December 1980, lot 341, entered the collection of Earl and Irene Morse and was sold again more recently at Poly Beijing, 24th February 2023, lot 5708, for over 35 million RMB.
For further examples of related designs preserved in public institutions, also compare the Fu 箙 Jia (42 cm), closely related with plain slit-decorated legs but a taotie handle, uncovered from Jiuwutou Village, Hedi Town, Wenxi County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province and now in the Shanxi Bronze Museum, illustrated in Shan you ji jin: Wen xijiu wu tou Shangdai mudi chutu qingtongqi jingcui [Shanxi bronze: Exquisite bronze artifacts unearthed from the Shang dynasty cemetery at Jiuwutou, Wenxi], Taiyuan, 2020, p. 216; the Zheng 正 Jia (44.7 cm), excavated from Anyang in 1952 and preserved in the Xinxiang City Museum, recorded in The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 1984, no. 9132; an inscribed jia (42.2 cm) in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accession no. 34.65); the Che Bei 車北 Jia (50.8 cm) in the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City (accession no. 58-9); the Wu 戊 Jia (52.8 cm) in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington (accession no. F1923.1a-b), in Pope, Gettens, Cahill and Barnard, The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Washington, 1967, pl. 20 (its pair possibly recorded in The Institute of Archaeology, op. cit., no. 9153); and the Chen 臣 Jia (50 cm) in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm (accession no. K-12202; ibid., no. 9122).
The present masterpiece is also an invaluable historical resource in its inscribed clan sign, variously associated with the characters yuan 元 or zi 子. Depicting a man kneeling with his hand joined before him, perhaps in religious devotion or mourning, this motif of “a man viewed from the side” is identified by Noel Barnard and Cheung Kwong-Yue by the code B-5 and appears in various forms, sometimes with a forked headdress and/or carrying ritual objects (see Rubbings and Hand Copies of Bronze Inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, European, American, and Australasian Collections, Taipei, 1978, vol. 8, pp. 769–781).
To date, no other bronze vessels appear to be published bearing the same inscription as the present, though a general heterogeneity in related clan marks could obscure a possible match. Indeed, similar kneeling figures are attested facing in different directions even on the same vessel; see a ge dagger-axe in the Brooklyn Museum, New York, in Barnard and Cheung, op. cit., no. 1248. A jia of closely related size (50 cm) and design, apparently uncovered in Shanxi province and preserved in the Poly Art Museum, Beijing, features a clan sign identified with the character xian 先 and similarly resembles an anthropomorphic side-view but with a forked headdress, illustrated with a line drawing in Shan you ji jin: Shanxi Shang Zhou qingtongqi zonglan [A comprehensive overview of Shang and Zhou Bronzes in Shanxi], Beijing, 2019, vol. 1, pl. 76; and a smaller jia of similar Late Anyang dating and fine quality in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, bears a related clan mark of a kneeling side-on figure; see Archaic Chinese Bronzes in Australian and New Zealand Collections, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1975, cat. no. 5, rubbing of inscription on p. 46, fig. 13.1 (and Barnard and Cheung, op. cit., no. 1265).
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