漢代筆記 vol.17 藍理捷：錯金銅臥駱駝形鎮 - J.J.Lally, A Gold- Inlaid Bronze Camel-Form Weight

駱駝鎮十分罕見，當時藍理捷展出的2003年在全球範圍內都沒有同款的駱駝型銅鎮。這件錯金罕見，應該是戰國—漢的精品。

漢代張騫通西域後，駱駝被逐步引進漢地，其作為外來“奇畜”不為人知與熟悉，也缺少相應精湛造型的藝術品，與唐代出現的大量駱駝文物相比，漢代駱駝文物寥寥無幾。

錯金銅臥駱駝形鎮

西漢，公元前2至前1世紀

銅質厚重澆鑄，造型精妙絕倫，駱駝以靈動之姿臥伏，身軀陡然扭轉，昂首高舉，氣勢生動，四肢收攏，緊貼平滑的身側。駝峰、頭頂、粗眉等部位飾以錯金的線性毛髮紋，雙目嵌以金箔，神采奕奕。

銅面深沉黝黑，隱現紅色氧化銅（紅銅礬）與藍色石青的銅鏽，另有部分區域形成薄層的孔雀石綠斑痕。耳內與鼻腔凹陷處仍留存硃砂紅彩，色澤鮮明。器底內填以鐵與鉛的混合金屬，用以加重並起鎮物之用。

長：7.6 公分（3 英吋）

漢代藝術中，動物造型的鎮器是相當重要的一類，常見以老虎、熊、羊、鹿、鳳、龍等神獸或真實動物為形，形體緊湊精巧，富裝飾性與實用性並重，為工藝與功能合一之代表。然而，依現有出版記錄所見，尚未有西漢時期的銅鎮作駱駝臥伏之態者出現，本件或為目前唯一存世之例，極為罕見。

關於漢代鎮器的類型與功能，參見孫機《漢鎮藝術》，《文物》1983年第6期，第69頁。

駱駝，在文獻和漢簡中又稱作“橐駝”“駱駞”“駝”“橐它”“橐他”“橐佗”“橐”等等。駱駝在文獻中有不同的稱法。如《山海經·北山經》：“其獸多橐駝，其鳥多寓。”漢東方朔《七諫·亂》：“要褭奔亡兮，騰駕橐駝。”《史記·蘇秦列傳》：“燕代橐駝、良馬必實外廏。”漢陸賈《新語·道基》：“夫驢、騾、駱駞、犀、象、瑇瑁、琥珀、珊瑚、翠羽、珠玉，山生水藏，擇地而居。”《後漢書·梁慬傳》：“慬等出戰……乘勝追擊，凡斬首萬餘級，獲生口數千人，駱駝畜產數萬頭。”《後漢書·耿恭傳》：“建初元年正月，會柳中擊車師，攻交河城……獲生口三千餘人，駝、驢、馬、牛、羊三萬七千頭。”《晉書·索靖傳》：“﹝索靖﹞指洛陽宮門銅駝歎曰：‘會見汝在荊棘中耳！’”《漢書·百官公卿表上》：“又牧橐、昆蹏令丞皆屬焉。”顔師古注引應劭曰：“橐，橐佗。”在漢簡關於駱駝釋文中則多作“橐他”或“橐佗”，此不贅述。

漢代時，駱駝的廣泛使用主要還是在西北邊郡地區，中原內地較爲罕見，故遊歷天下見多識廣的司馬遷在《史記》中都認爲匈奴的駱駝爲“奇畜”。從文獻記載來看，漢時中原內地對駱駝的完整認知有個過程。據《逸周書·王會解》所記載，商時伊尹奉湯之命爲《四方獻令》中記載有北方崆峒、大夏、莎車、姑他等民族進獻橐駝、白玉、野馬等物。可見先秦時北方駱駝已經輸入中原地區。

The camel was referred to by a range of terms in ancient Chinese literature and Han dynasty manuscripts, including “tuótuó” (橐駝), “luòtuó” (駱駞), “tuó” (駝), “tuótā” (橐它), “tuóta” (橐他), “tuótuó” (橐佗), and “tuó” (橐), among others. These diverse appellations appear throughout early texts. For instance, the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing, “Northern Mountains” chapter) notes: “Among its beasts are many camels (橐駝), and its birds are mostly of the yù type.” In the Han dynasty fu-style prose attributed to Dongfang Shuo, Seven Remonstrances – Disorder (Qi Jian – Luan), we read: “Swift as the galloping yāoniǎo, harnessed to a camel (橐駝).”

Sima Qian, in his Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, “Biography of Su Qin”), writes: “Camels and fine horses of Yan and Dai must be housed in external stables.” Lu Jia, in Xin Yu (“Foundations of the Dao”), mentions: “Donkeys, mules, camels, rhinoceroses, elephants, tortoiseshell, amber, coral, kingfisher feathers, and pearls and jades—these are born in mountains or hidden in rivers, and each dwells in its native terrain.”

Other records such as the Book of the Later Han (Hou Hanshu) mention the military utility and plunder of camels in the northwest: “Liang Qin and his men went out to battle... pursued the enemy and claimed victory, beheading over ten thousand and capturing several thousand people, along with tens of thousands of camels and livestock.” (Hou Hanshu, “Biography of Liang Qin”) Likewise, in the Biography of Geng Gong, it is recorded: “In the first year of the Jianchu reign (76 CE), during a campaign at Liuzhong against the Cheshi kingdom and the siege of Jiaohé city... more than 3,000 prisoners were captured, along with 37,000 camels, donkeys, horses, cattle, and sheep.”

Further references include the Book of Jin (Jinshu, “Biography of Suo Jing”): “[Suo Jing] pointed at the bronze camels by the gates of the Luoyang Palace and sighed: ‘One day I shall see you buried in thorns and brambles.’” In the Book of Han(Hanshu, “Table of Officials”), it states: “The Office of Pasture and Stables is responsible for managing camels and kunti (a breed of horse).” Yan Shigu’s commentary, quoting Ying Shao, explains: “Tuo means camel (橐佗).”

In excavated Han wooden slips (bamboo-strip documents), the character for camel frequently appears as “橐他” or “橐佗”, which will not be elaborated on here.

During the Han dynasty, camels were primarily used in the northwestern frontier regions, while they remained relatively rare in the Central Plains. This explains why even the widely traveled and observant Sima Qian referred to camels as “extraordinary beasts” (奇畜) of the Xiongnu in his historical records. The literary corpus suggests a gradual process in which Central Plains society developed a fuller understanding of camels. According to the Lost Book of Zhou (Yi Zhou Shu, “Explanation of Royal Assemblies”), the Shang minister Yi Yin, on King Tang’s orders, compiled the Tribute Regulations of the Four Directions, recording that northern groups such as the Kongtong, Daxia, Shache, and Guta presented camels, white jade, and wild horses as tribute—evidence that camels from northern regions were introduced to the Central Plains as early as the pre-Qin period.

A GOLD- INLAID BRONZE CAMEL-FORM WEIGHT

Western Han Dynasty, 2nd-1st century B.C.

heavily cast and superbly modelled, the animal shown in a lively recumbent pose with body sharply turned and head held up at a dramatic angle, the legs tucked under and held in close to the smooth flanks, with details very finely inlaid in gold including stylized linear hair markings on the tops of the twin humps, on the crest of the head, and on the thick ridged eyebrows above large eyes inlaid in gold foil, the very dark surface of the bronze showing traces of cuprite red and azurite blue patina, with wider areas of malachite green remaining in a thin crust, the recessed interior of the ears and nostrils retaining original cinnabar red pigment, the underside filled with iron and lead amalgam to serve as a weight.

Length 3 inches (7.6 cm)

Bronze weights in the form of compactly modelled animals are a well-known feature of the repertoire of the Han sculptor.  Many examples in the form of coiled tigers, bears, rams, deer, phoenixes and dragons have been published, but no other Han bronze weight in the form of a recumbent camel appears to have been previously recorded.

For a discussion of different types of Han weights and their functions, see Sun Ji, 'Han zhen yishu' (Notes on the Arts and Crafts of Han Dynasty Weights), Wenwu, 1983, No. 6, pp. 69