青銅筆記 vol.33 埃斯肯納齊：666.1萬美元售出，西周早期青銅伯矩簋 - Eskenazi, Archaic Bronze Vessel of Bo Ju Gui, Early Western Zhou Dynasty

這是一件極為重要的西周早期鑄造青銅禮器簋，約製成於公元前1000年，器內鑄有委託鑄造者——貴族「伯矩」之名。伯矩曾訂製多件不同類型的青銅器，均銘有其名，而此簋可謂其中最精美的一件。在近代，其來源可追溯至19世紀中國最重要的青銅收藏家與鑑賞家之一——潘祖蔭（1830–1890）。

最近成交於2013年9月17日（上一次1993），蘇富比紐約朱利思·埃伯哈特專場，成交價661.1萬美元，之後再由埃斯肯納齊經手售出。

The fully illustrated catalogue accompanying the exhibition notes that Bo Ju ordered a series of bronze vessels of various types, all inscribed with his name, among which this gui is arguably the finest example. In modern times, its provenance can be traced back to one of the most important bronze collectors and connoisseurs of nineteenth-century China, Pan Zuyin (1830–1890).

伯矩（Bo Ju）是西周早期（約公元前11世紀中至10世紀初）燕國的一位重要貴族，「伯」為排行（長子或兄長之意），「矩」為其私名。他不是周王室直系宗親，而是燕國地方貴族，家族可能帶有商遺民背景，在周初封建燕國的過程中扮演重要角色。

伯矩簋最早見於19世紀中期王味雪收藏，後入潘祖蔭攀古樓。民國時期經上海金才記古玩行，1946年售予歐洲藏家，1993年倫敦蘇富比拍賣，後經國際著名古董商埃斯肯納齊推出並出版專門圖錄。

作寶彝簋（伯矩簋）

青銅禮器

西周早期，公元前11–10世紀

估價：2,000,000 – 3,000,000 美元

成交價：6,661,000 美元

此簋鑄造精良，承以方座，圓腹兩側以高浮雕飾大型饕餮紋，凸眼呈矩形窄縫瞳孔，周圍環以彎曲獠牙、耳部及鉤曲狀角，紋飾被精美鳥形扉棱一分為二。圈足飾對向夔龍，具「瓶形」角，並以四個較小的鉤形扉棱相隔。侈口上設一對碩大環耳，耳作鳥形，具鉤喙與彎曲翅膀，高腿與尾部向下延伸，鳥冠呈強健獸首狀，尖耳張口咬住向上彎曲的扉棱。方座一體鑄成，上部四角飾小型牛面紋，四側中央飾大型饕餮紋，角上覆鱗片，凸眼、雙獠牙、尖葉形耳，其間飾對向高冠捲尾鳥紋，爪部清晰，全器以細密雷紋為地。器底內鑄三字銘文「作寶彝」。

表面：呈橄欖綠色銅綠。

來源

1948年，上海古董商 T.Y. King

H.E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos 收藏（希臘駐華大使）

J.J. Lally & Co., New York

（2013以後，Eskenazi, London）

展覽

1954年，威尼斯宮殿「中國藝術展」（Mostra d'Arte Cinese），圖錄編號50。

文獻

Jean-Pierre Dubosc，《Mostra d'Arte Cinese》，威尼斯，1954年，頁31，編號50。

狀況

方座四角有數道裂紋；座上饕餮紋一角有細小裂紋，長約1英寸（2.5 cm）；座上饕餮紋與鳥紋之間有裂紋，長約3英寸（7.5 cm）；兩耳與器身接合處有細小裂紋。裂紋處有修補塗層，狀況與其年代相符。X光檢查顯示底部分布五個墊片。方座內部及底部有硬化泥土殘留。

主要考古與銘文證據

目前已知帶有「伯矩」銘文的青銅器約有20多件（一說22件），主要出土或傳世於以下器類：

• 伯矩鬲（首都博物館鎮館之寶，國家一級文物）：1975年（或1974年）出土於北京房山區琉璃河遺址M251號墓。這是西周燕國貴族墓葬。器物以高浮雕牛頭紋（或稱牛首紋）為主要裝飾，極為雄偉精美，被譽為「中國最美青銅器之一」。蓋內與器頸內壁有相同銘文（15字，對銘）：「在戊辰，匽（燕）侯賜伯矩貝，用作父戊尊彝。」

  
  

  意思是：在某年戊辰日，燕侯賞賜伯矩貝幣（當時的貨幣），伯矩用這筆賞賜鑄造此鬲，用來祭祀/紀念其父親「父戊」。這件器物不僅藝術價值極高，還直接證明琉璃河遺址就是西周燕國的早期都城所在地，為北京建城史提供了實物證據（北京建都史可追溯至3000多年前的西周初年）。

• 伯矩簋（即您之前提到的埃斯肯納齊展出的那件方座簋）：西周早期，約公元前1050–975年。器內鑄有伯矩之名，造型雄偉，飾以高浮雕饕餮紋（尤其是方座四角的特殊牛角饕餮佈局），藝術風格獨特。曾為晚清著名收藏家潘祖蔭（攀古樓）舊藏，近代經上海古董商T.Y. King等流轉，1993年在倫敦蘇富比拍賣，後經埃斯肯納齊（Eskenazi）推出。這件簋被視為西周早期方座簋中的精品之一，與另一件「作寶彝簋」在紋飾風格上非常接近（同樣方座四角置饕餮），但兩器可能出自不同作坊。

其他器物：還包括伯矩盤、伯矩甗、伯矩壺等，多數與琉璃河燕國遺址或燕國相關。這些器物共同構成一個「伯矩」青銅器群，顯示其家族有較強的經濟實力和鑄造能力。

圖錄註釋

方座簋的出現，是西周早期青銅禮器形制發展中的重要特徵之一。在商末周初，禮器有時置於“禁”上以提升高度，用於祭祀儀式。進入周代後，食器如簋開始一體鑄造方座。此類形制似為當時社會精英階層所偏好，常標誌擁有者的社會地位。

最著名的西周方座簋之一為天亡簋（Tian Wang Gui），19世紀中葉出土於陝西岐山縣，現藏中國國家博物館。西周最早有明確紀年的青銅器為利簋，亦為方座簋，1976年出土於陝西臨潼一窖藏，其銘文記載周武王於甲子日克商，歲星當空（相當於公元前1046年正月二十日）。2012年6月，陝西省考古研究院在寶雞市石鼓山發掘一處西周早期高級貴族墓葬，出土青銅器中亦包括方座簋。雖然陝西、甘肅、河南、山東、遼寧、江蘇等地均有方座簋出土，但其原型很可能源自周原地區（寶雞）。

細觀此作寶彝簋，最醒目的特徵在於饕餮紋的特殊佈局：牛角形面具置於方座四角中央，而非常見的側面。此設計改變了觀賞視角，賦予器物更強烈的三維雕塑感，為其他器物所罕見。面具凸眼、鼻孔、彎曲獠牙、耳部及凸起牛角，形象生動而有力。此種角部置於方座四角的設計極為稀有，目前所知僅有少數幾例。

可資比較的例子包括：1981年陝西寶雞紙坊頭村強伯墓出土的兩件西周早期方座簋（見《中國文物精華大辭典·青銅卷》，上海，1992年，頁111，編號0388、0389），其饕餮紋同樣置於方座四角。第三例為堪薩斯城納爾遜-阿特金斯藝術博物館藏品（年代尚有爭議）。第四例即1993年6月8日倫敦蘇富比拍賣的伯矩簋。

方座簋傳世數量極少。根據張懋鎔《西周方座簋研究》，現存各類西周方座青銅簋約六十件，年代從西周早期延續至晚期，多數收藏於世界各大博物館。北京故宮博物院、臺北故宮博物院、華盛頓弗利爾美術館、哈佛藝術博物館（前福格美術館）、明尼阿波利斯藝術館（Pillsbury遺贈）、芝加哥藝術學院（Buckingham收藏）、紐瓦克博物館、京都住友收藏、神戶白鶴美術館等均藏有早期精品。裝飾紋樣豐富多樣，包括饕餮紋、夔龍、鳥紋、象紋、複合動物紋、豎棱及波狀紋等。

與作寶彝簋最值得比較的，是前述伯矩簋。兩者方座四角同樣飾有醒目的饕餮紋，但伯矩簋的饕餮具心形角，饕餮紋尾部轉化為鳥首，圈足上的雙體蛇紋亦與本器不同。這些差異顯示兩器雖同屬西周早期，卻可能出自不同作坊。伯矩簋為居於周王朝東北燕地的貴族伯矩所製，而作寶彝簋的風格則更接近周人祖地寶雞一帶。

伯矩簋曾為著名收藏家潘祖蔭舊藏，1946年經上海古董商 T.Y. King 售予歐洲藏家。作寶彝簋則於兩年後的1948年，同樣經 T.Y. King 售予希臘駐華大使 H.E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos。在潘祖蔭青銅收藏清單中，曾記錄一件「作寶彝簋」，很可能即為本器。

Archaic Bronze Food Vessel

Early Western Zhou period, c.1050 - 975 BC

A highly important cast bronze ritual vessel (gui) made around 1000 BC inscribed with the name of the aristocrat who commissioned it, Bo Ju.  The fully illustrated catalogue that accompanies the exhibition explains that Bo Ju ordered a number of vessels of different types that bear his name of which the gui is arguably the finest.  In modern times its provenance can be traced back to Pan Zuyin (1830 - 1890), one of the leading bronze collectors and connoisseurs of nineteenth century China. 

Height: 23.8cm; Width (handle to handle): 30.5cm; Weight: 4.5kg

2013 September 17, Sotheby’s New York,

Sale Total: 16,786,000 USD Sale Number: N09026

THE ZUO BAO YI GUI A MAGNIFICENT AND IMPORTANT BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 11TH-10TH CENTURY BC

Estimate

2,000,000 - 3,000,000 USD

Sold

6,661,000 USD

the gui superbly cast raised on a square pedestal, the rounded body decorated on each side in high relief with a large taotie mask with raised eyes with rectangular slit pupils framed by curved fangs, ears and curved, hooked horns, bisected by elaborate bird-shaped flanges, the foot with confronted kui dragons with ‘bottle’ horns separated by four smaller hooked flanges, the everted rim set with a pair of massive loop handles in the form of birds with hooked beaks and curved wings, their tall legs and tails forming a pendent extension, their crest in the shape of a powerful animal head with pointed ears and an open jaw biting an upward bent flange, the integral square pedestal with small bovine masks in the four upper corners and large taotie masks on the sides, centered on each corner, with scale-covered horns, raised eyes, paired fangs and pointed leaf-shaped ears, separated by confronted birds with  tall crests and curled tails and claws, all reserved on a finely executed leiwen ground, a three-character inscription on the bottom inside the gui, reading zuo bao yi, the surface with an olive-green patina

Provenance

T.Y. King, Shanghai, 1948.

Collection of H.E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos.

J.J. Lally & Co., New York.

Exhibited

Mostra d'Arte Cinese, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 50.

Literature

Jean-Pierre Dubosc, Mostra d'Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954, p. 31, no. 50.

Condition

There are several cracks in four corners of the podium, one fine and minor crack in the horn of taotie mask on the podium approx. 1 in. (2.5 cm) long, one crack between the taotie mask and bird motif on the podium approx. 3 in. (7.5 cm) long and minor cracks on each handle where it joins the body. There are some overpaintings covering the cracks. The condition is consistent with its age. Under x ray examination there are five chaplets to the base. There are some hardened earth inside the podium and on the base.

In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.

Catalogue Note

The appearance of pedestaled vessels is one of several distinct developments in the form of ritual bronzes in the early Western Zhou dynasty. In the late Shang and early Zhou period, vessels were sometimes placed on stands (jin) in order to raise the height of vessels that were used in ritual. Coming into the Zhou period, food containers such as gui were cast with an integral podium. This particular form seems to have been favored by the elite class of society, and often indicated the social status of the owner.  One of the most celebrated Western Zhou bronzes is the Tian Wang Gui, a pedestaled gui unearthed in Qishan county, Shaanxi province in the middle of the 19th century, and now in the China National Museum, Beijing.  The earliest dated Western Zhou bronze is the Li Gui, also a pedestaled gui from a hoard in Lintong county, Shaanxi province, discovered in 1976; its inscription records the conquest of the Shang by King Wu of Zhou on the jiazi day when the Suixing (Jupiter) appearing on the sky (equivalent to the 20th day, first month of the year 1046 BC).  More recently, in June 2012, archaeologists from the Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology excavated an early Western Zhou tomb of a high ranking aristocrat in Shigushan, Baoji city, and a pedestaled gui was among the numerous bronze artifacts. Although there have been findings of pedestaled gui vessels in different provinces including Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Liaoning and Jiangsu, the prototype is likely to have originated from the Zhouyuan area (Baoji) in Shaanxi.

Taking a closer look at the present Zuo Bao Yi Gui, a striking feature must be noted.  Although a number of early ritual bronzes bear the distinctive taotie mask, the present example is highly unusual in the positioning of this motif: the bovine horned mask is centred on each of the four corners of the square base, rather than on the side facets.  This gives them a different viewing perspective and lends a three-dimensional sculptural quality to the vessel, lacking in others.  With the raised eyes, nostrils, curved fangs, ears and raised bovine horns, the mask is vivid and powerful.  This design is extremely rare, found only on very few other examples. Two pedestaled gui vessels dating to the early Western Zhou period were excavated from the tomb of Yu Bo in Zhifangtou village, Baoji city, Shaanxi province in 1981 and are illustrated in Zhongguo wenwujinghua dacidian, qingtong juan (Dictionary of gems of Chinese cultural relics: Bronzes), Shanghai, 1992, p. 111, nos 0388, 0389. Both gui have the taotie masks placed on the corners of the square base. A third example, the date of which has been debated, is in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and published in Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, A Handbook of the Collection, New York, 1993,  p. 278. The fourth example is the Bo Ju Gui sold in our London rooms on 8th June 1993, lot. 119 (fig. 1).

Pedestaled gui have survived in only small numbers. According to Zhang Maorong’s study Xizhou fangzuogui yanjiu (A research on the Western Zhou pedestaled gui vessel), there are only some sixty square pedestaled bronze gui vessels in various forms extant, ranging in date from the beginning to the end of the Western Zhou dynasty, the majority of them in major museums around the world.  There are several early examples in the collections of the Palace Museum in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Harvard Art Museum (formerly the Fogg Museum of Art) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Pillsbury Bequest), the Art Institute of Chicago (Buckingham collection), the Newark Museum, the Sumitomo Collection in Kyoto, and the Hakutsuru Art Museum in Kobe.  A wide range of motifs is seen on these vessels including in particular taotie mask, kui-dragons, birds, elephants, hybrid-animals, stylized vertical ribs and wavy patterns.

The most interesting comparison to the Zuo Bao Yi Gui is the above mentioned Bo Ju Gui.  Like the present example, it is also decorated with the striking taotie mask on the corners of its base. However, on the Bo Ju Gui the taotie mask has heart-shaped horns and the terminals of the taotie turning into bird heads, and the execution of the double-bodied serpent on the ring foot also differs from the present example.  These variations suggest that they were cast by different foundries, although they all date approximately to the early Western Zhou period.  The Bo Ju Gui was made for Bo Ju who resided in the territory of Yan, the northeast region of the Zhou Kingdom, and the present Zuo Bao Yi Gui seems stylistically closer to the Zhou ancestral land at Baoji.

The Bo Ju Gui came from the collection of the celebrated collector and connoisseur Pan Zuyin (1830-1890), and in 1946 was sold by the Shanghai antique dealer T.Y. King to a European collector. The Zuo Bao Yi Gui was also sold by T.Y. King, two years later in 1948, to H.E. Alexandre J. Argyropoulos, the Greek Ambassador to China.   In the inventory list of Pan’s bronze collection, there is a record of a Zuo Bao Yi Gui. That could possibly be the current piece.