青銅筆記 vol.51 西雅圖藝術博物館：商代青銅亞弜銘爵 - Seattle Art Museum, Bronze Jue Inscribed Yajiang, Shang Dynasty
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這件爵表面皮殼呈銀灰色光澤，推測其青銅合金中錫含量較高。造型屬商代晚期經典樣式，器身鑄有「亞」銘文，或謂「亞弜」。「亞」字族徽在商代晚期青銅器中並不少見，學界一般認為「亞」族與商王室關係較為密切，或屬武職貴族。無論如何，「亞」字銘的出現，對商代晚期青銅器而言無疑是重要加分，標誌著該器更接近商王權力核心的層級。
亞弜是晚商重要的王室分支族徽，字形取兩個弓並立之象。該族活躍高峰在殷墟文化第二期（武丁時期），甲骨與金文材料顯示其首領「弜」與商王武丁及王后婦好關係密切，婦好墓（小屯M5）即出土三件亞弜器（一鼎、二鐃）；學者考證其始祖可追溯至商王祖乙之後裔，屬王室旁支，並曾被封為侯。目前所見約四十七至四十八件亞弜青銅器，絕大多數屬殷墟早期，晚期明顯減少，反映其勢力在武丁以後逐漸式微，但仍延續至殷墟第四期。與外來東方軍事貴族「亞長」不同，亞弜更接近商王核心血緣集團，是典型的內服王室分支。
亞弜存世量數字與分期判斷資料來自王祁、岳洪彬2024年專文《商代亞弜族及亞弜銅器群研究》（刊於《江漢考古》2024年第2期）。
Eugene Fuller（尤金·富勒）藏家背景
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection 是西雅圖藝術博物館（Seattle Art Museum, SAM）最重要的早期收藏之一，約佔館藏近三分之一。
本人：Eugene Fuller（1858–1930），出生於麻薩諸塞州Wayland，哈佛大學與哈佛醫學院畢業。美國泌尿外科先驅，是最早成功施行耻骨上前列腺切除術（suprapubic prostatectomy）的醫生之一，曾任美國泌尿學會（AUA）第7任主席（1910年）。後人設有「Eugene Fuller Triennial Prostate Award」紀念他。
家庭：妻子Margaret Elizabeth MacTavish Fuller（1860–1953）自幼隨父遊歷亞洲，對東方藝術有濃厚興趣。兒子Richard Eugene Fuller（1897–1976）是地質學博士，與母親共同創立西雅圖藝術博物館（1933年），並長期擔任館長（無薪）。另一子Duncan亦為醫生。
收藏形成：家族財富主要來自Eugene的醫學與投資成就。Richard與Margaret以紀念父親的名義，將大量亞洲藝術品（尤其中國青銅、玉器、日本netsuke等）捐贈給博物館，形成「Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection」。這批藏品奠定了SAM亞洲藝術的基礎，並在1989年Michael Knight的《Early Chinese Metalwork in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum》中重點著錄（該「亞弜」爵即為封面與第2號）。
Jue (wine vessel)
Inscribed Yajiang
mid - late 2nd millennium BCE
China
Cast bronze, 7 7/8 x 7 in. (20 x 17.78 cm), Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 34.63
Exhibition History
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.
Published References
Knight, Michael, Early Chinese Metalwork in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1989, no. 2, pp. 3-6, illus. cover
Seattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures, London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007, p. 70
This jue exhibits a silvery-grey patina on its surface, suggesting a relatively high tin content in the bronze alloy. Its form is classic of the late Shang period, and it bears the inscription “Ya” could be yajiang (弜). Clan emblems of the “Ya” type are not uncommon among late Shang bronzes; they are generally regarded as belonging to lineages closely associated with the Shang royal house, possibly of military rank. Regardless of the precise function, the presence of a “Ya” inscription significantly enhances the status of a late Shang bronze, indicating an object closer to the core of royal power.
Yajiang JUE (亞弜)
The clan emblem Ya Gong (亞弜, sometimes abbreviated simply as Gong 弜), formed by the pictograph of two bows standing side by side, belongs to an important royal collateral lineage of the late Shang. Its period of greatest activity falls in Yinxu Phase II (the reign of King Wu Ding). Oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions indicate that the clan leader Gong maintained close ties with Wu Ding and his consort Fu Hao; three vessels bearing the Ya Gong mark (one ding and two nao bells) were in fact recovered from Fu Hao’s tomb (Xiaotun M5). Scholarly research traces the clan’s ancestry to descendants of King Zu Yi, placing it firmly within the royal house; its leader was further granted the title of hou (marquis). Of the roughly forty-seven to forty-eight known Ya Gong bronzes, the great majority date to the early Yinxu period, with a sharp decline in the later phases—evidence that the clan’s influence waned after Wu Ding’s reign, though it persisted into Yinxu Phase IV. In contrast to externally recruited military lineages such as Ya Chang, Ya Gong represents a classic example of an inner royal collateral house closely bound to the Shang king by blood.
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