圓雕動物形器是商周青銅器中最爲珍罕的一個品類，歷來被鑑藏家視若拱璧。本件羊觥造型生動，裝飾華麗，屢經著錄、展覽，誠為商代青銅器中的名品。
諸多館藏例中獨缺羊形，是以本件藤田羊觥被作爲一件標準器被收錄在《中國青銅器全集》中。值得指出的是，羊這一題材在商代南方青銅器中占有舉足輕重的地位，著名的例子如湖南寧鄉出土現藏中國國家博物館的四羊方尊以及兩件分別藏於大英博物館和東京根津美術館的雙羊尊。
關於兩件參考SACA學會發表文章：《动物礼赞：根津与大英博物馆联手 - 当双羊遇见双羊 - Eumorfopoulos, Nezu & Double Ram Zun》
▲ 「雙羊尊」，根津美術館 藏，根津嘉一郎舊藏
▲ 「雙羊尊」，大英博物館 藏，Ex-Eumorfopoulos（尤摩舊藏）
工匠以奇幻的形式和象徵性的圖案來裝飾這件器皿，同時也捕捉了真實公羊的解剖特徵，例如「逗點」形的鼻孔、眼眶拉長的眼睛和有平行稜線的犄角。
古代動物造型的青銅器非常罕見。這件青銅器的特殊之處在於其自然的雕刻質感與完整的表面修飾，包括奇異的動物、老虎、鳥類，以及公羊額頭上的菱形印記。風格相近的青銅器出土於揚子江地區，相信是在南方鑄造的。這隻公羊是揚子江地區青銅器製作精良的傑出典範。
While the craftsman embellished the vessel with fantastic forms and symbolic patterns, the design also captures anatomical features of a real ram, such as its "comma"-shaped nostrils, eyes with elongated orbits, and horns with parallel ridges.
Description
Ancient bronze vessels in animal form are rare. This bronze is exceptional in its naturalistic sculptural quality and fully embellished surface that includes fantastic animals, tigers, birds, and a diamond-shaped mark on the ram’s forehead. Bronzes comparable in style were excavated in the Yangzi River region and are believed to have been cast in the south. The ram is a stellar example of the sophisticated bronze production in the Yangzi River region.
商晚期 青銅羊觥
8 5/8 in. (22 cm.) long, Japanese double wood box
成交價：美元 27,127,500
估價：美元 6,000,000 – 美元 8,000,000
拍品終止拍賣:
2017年3月15日
來源
大阪藤田美術館珍藏，入藏於1940年前。
出版
《藤田美術館所藏品圖錄》，卷一，藤田美術館，大阪，1954年，編號74。
《中國殷周銅器展》，日本經濟新聞社，東京，1958年，編號16。
《古代中國青銅器名品展》，日本經濟新聞社，大阪，1960年，編號18。
梅原末治，《日本蒐儲支那古銅精華》，卷四，大阪，1961年，編號267。
貝塚茂樹編，《世界美術全集：中國1，殷、周、戰國》，卷12，東京，1962年，編號9。
《東洋美術：東洋館開館紀念》，東京國立博物館，1968，62頁，編號245。
水野清一，《東洋美術：銅器》，卷五，東京，1968年，圖47。
《藤田美術館名品圖錄》，藤田美術館，東京，1972年，編號91。
林巳奈夫，《殷周時代青銅器的研究》，卷一（圖版），東京，1984年，373頁，匜24。
樋口隆康， 圓城寺次郎編，《中國青銅器百選》，東京，1984年，編號20。
容庚，《殷周青銅器通考》，北京，1984年（2012年再版），50頁，圖74。
Robert W. Bagley，《Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，華盛頓，1987年，420頁。
《中國美術全集：工藝美術編4》，北京，1990年，114頁，編號123。
朱鳳瀚，《古代中國青銅器》，天津，1995，195頁，圖3.34.4。
《中國青銅器全集：商（4）》，卷4，北京，1998年，89頁，編號90。
馬承源，《中國青銅器》，上海，2003年，233頁，圖13。
小南一郎， 《古代中国天命と青銅器》，京都，2006，頁59。
展覽
東京，日本經濟新聞社，《中國殷周銅器展》，1958年11月25日至12月7日。
大阪，日本經濟新聞社，《古代中國青銅器名品展》，1960年8月30日至9月11日。
東京國立美術館，《東洋美術展：東洋館開館紀念》，1968年10月12日至12月1日。
觥作羊形，四足立地，背部設蓋，以子口與腹扣合。羊首向前，大而粗壯的羊角彎曲上卷。眼後向兩側斜出一對小耳。蓋面隆鼓，脊上爬一片狀夔龍，兩側飾反向的夔紋。蓋脊尾飾一片狀立鳥，尾下垂接蓋。蓋尾飾饕餮紋，以立鳥之左右對稱展開。腹部前胸兩側置頭向上的淺浮雕虎紋，腹飾大鳳鳥紋，均以細密雲雷紋襯地。
圓雕動物形器是商周青銅器中最爲珍罕的一個品類，歷來被鑑藏家視若拱璧。本件羊觥造型生動，裝飾華麗，屢經著錄、展覽，誠為商代青銅器中的名品。過往拍賣記錄中唯一一件完整的商代青銅動物形器是紐約佳士得於1988年12月1日拍賣的一件商中期青銅牛尊，拍品143號，在該場拍賣中創造了亞洲藝術品拍賣之世界紀錄。類似於藤田羊觥的商代動物形四足觥極爲罕見，近似例包括兩件器身造型、紋飾與藤田羊觥十分相似但蓋前部作異獸形首（或為象首）的鳳紋觥，一件為賽克勒舊藏，現藏於華盛頓弗利爾及賽克勒美術館，見貝格立著1987年出版《Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，編號74；另一件出土於陝西洋縣張家村，載於1988年北京出版《中國青銅器全集》，卷4，編號91。
除此以外見諸出版的商代四足動物形器凡十二例。湖南省博物館藏有一件鳳紋犧觥，一件象尊，和一件豕尊，分別見前揭書編號87，130，及135。
▲ 「青铜豕尊」，商代晚期，湖南省博物馆 藏 / Vessel in the shape of a boar Late Shang period, 12th century BCE Bronze. Height: 40 cm. Unearthed 1981 at Xiangtan, Hunan
上海博物館藏有一件鳳紋犧觥，失蓋，現有蓋是以湖南省博藏鳳紋犧觥蓋為原型複製的，載於陳佩芬著2004年上海出版《夏商周青銅器研究：夏商篇》，336至337頁，編號163。安陽花園莊東地亦出有一件牛尊，鑄有「亞長」族徽，見2008年昆明出版《殷墟新出土青銅器》，158至161頁。
哈佛大學博物館藏有一件牛形觥，其表面光素無紋，見《中國青銅器全集》，卷4，編號89。另有一件素面的牛觥，載於梅原末治，《日本蒐儲支那古銅精華》，卷四，大阪，1961年，編號266。
▲ 象尊，商代晚期，1975年湖南醴陵出土
華盛頓弗利爾及賽克勒美術館還藏有一件象尊，帶蓋，蓋上立一只小象，見前揭書，編號129。巴黎吉美博物館藏有一件象尊，大小與一只幼年亞洲象相若，十分壯觀，載於前面揭書，編號131。安陽殷墟婦好墓出有一對司母辛四足觥，其造型較爲抽象，無法辨識具體為何種動物，載於北京1980年出版《殷墟婦好墓》，59頁及彩版9。
舊金山亞洲藝術博物館藏有一件小臣艅尊，作犀牛形，器内鑄有長篇銘文，記載了商王征伐人方之事，為最後一位商王帝辛時器，圖見《中國青銅器全集》，卷4，編號134。上述諸多館藏例中獨缺羊形，是以本件藤田羊觥被作爲一件標準器被收錄在《中國青銅器全集》中。值得指出的是，羊這一題材在商代南方青銅器中占有舉足輕重的地位，著名的例子如湖南寧鄉出土現藏中國國家博物館的四羊方尊以及兩件分別藏於大英博物館和東京根津美術館的雙羊尊，分別見前揭書，編號115，132，及133。
▲ 艾弗里·布倫戴奇（1887 - 1975），美國體育運動員、 建築業界中的商業巨賈、 國際奧委會首位非歐洲主席（1952 －1972）。 布倫戴奇精通田徑、籃球、鐵餅、十項全能， 曾參加 1912年斯德哥爾摩奧運會，1914年、1916年、1918年三次獲美國田徑全能冠軍。
關於小臣艅尊，參考SACA學會文章：《天降大任：从伦敦中国艺术展览会到旧金山亚洲艺术博物馆 - the Avery Brundage Collection》
商周動物形器數量稀少，究其原因乃當日青銅藝術注重創造如饕餮、龍、鳳等幻想動物而較少表現寫實動物所致。本件羊觥塑造生動，神形兼備，則是這一時期少有的重視寫實的作品。製作者將羊首作素面無紋處理，恰如其分的突出了羊的骨骼結構。
羊鼻微微上揚，兩側各以一“逗號”形的陰綫簡練的勾畫出鼻孔；面部顴骨突出，一對「臣」字形大眼炯炯有神；雙耳聳立，雙角卷曲向外，角上的紋飾真實再現了實際羊角上的紋路。
與之相比，前述四羊方尊和兩件雙羊尊的羊首造型幾乎為圓錐形，寫實性稍遜一籌。藤田羊尊高超的寫實表現亦體現在器身綫條的起伏變化上，這一處理使羊的體積感躍然器上，形態更加自然、生動。另外值得一提的是藤田羊觥後腿上凸出的踝關節，對這一細節特徵的捕捉正體現了製作者非凡的寫實技巧。縱觀商周時期的動物形器，其寫實程度鮮有能與藤田羊觥比肩者。
商代青銅製作者的創造力不僅僅局限於模仿和再現。藤田羊觥額頭上的菱形紋暗示著其與一般動物的區別，這種菱形紋飾是饕餮這一商周時期主要神/獸紋飾額頭上所普遍具有的。而其身上裝飾的多種想像動物紋飾則將其與一般的動物進一步區分開來。
羊身體兩側各裝飾著一個誇張的大鳳鳥紋，鳳鳥尾羽華麗，捲曲向上，佔據著羊臀部的空間；背部後方飾饕餮紋，並沿其中線站立著夔龍和立鳥。該夔龍身飾直綫條紋，這種裝飾多見於南方青銅器，如前述湖南省博物館藏象尊和華盛頓弗利爾博物館藏象尊都有這種直綫紋的夔龍。另外值得注意的是羊觥胸前的一對虎紋。
虎紋亦是商代南方青銅器上流行的裝飾母題，以虎作爲裝飾集中見於江西新淦大洋洲所出青銅鼎的鼎耳附飾，見2006年北京出版《商代江南》，30至34頁，38至41頁，162至163頁，166至168頁等諸多例子。
上述湖南省博物館藏象尊亦飾有虎紋，其與本件羊觥上的虎紋近似，均為頭上尾下豎直的側視構圖。而少數安陽青銅器上亦裝飾有虎紋，例如婦好墓中出土的婦好大鉞，見北京1980年出版《殷墟婦好墓》，彩版十三以及上述亞長牛尊。
這些安陽銅器上的虎紋可能為從南方舶來的母題。
A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE BRONZE RITUAL RAM-FORM WINE VESSEL, GONG
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC
Price realised
USD 27,127,500
Estimate
USD 6,000,000 – USD 8,000,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, and applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see Section D of the Conditions of Sale for full details.
Closed:
15 Mar 2017
A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE BRONZE RITUAL RAM-FORM WINE VESSEL, GONG
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-11TH CENTURY BC
The animal is cast standing foursquare and fitted with an elongated cover ending in a ram's head with prominent C-shaped horns. The top of the cover is decorated with a pair of kui dragons and a taotie mask and is set with a standing kui dragon with curling tail and a small standing bird at the center. The body is cast on each side with a large crested bird, its clawed foot extending downward onto the legs of the ram and its elongated tail curling around the ram's haunch. The chest of the ram is further decorated with a pair of crouching tigers. All of the decoration is cast in shallow relief and reserved on leiwen grounds. The patina is of yellowish-brown color.
8 5/8 in. (22 cm.) long, Japanese double wood box
PROVENANCE
Fujita Museum, Osaka, acquired prior to 1940.
LITERATURE
Masterpieces in the The Fujita Museum of Art, vol. 1: Arts and Crafts, Fujita Museum, Osaka, 1954, no. 74.
Chugoku In Shu dokiten (Exhibition of Chinese Bronzes from Yin and Zhou Dynasties), Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc., Tokyo, 1958, no. 16.
Kodai Chugoku Seidoki Meihinten (Exhibition of Masterpieces of Ancient Chinese Bronzes), Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc., Osaka, 1960, no. 18.
Sueji Umehara, Nihon shucho shina kodo seika (Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Japan), vol. 4, Osaka, 1961, no. 267.
Shigeki Kaizuka, ed., Sekai Bijutsu Zenshu: Chugoku 1, Yin, Shu, Sengoku (Complete Collection of the World’s Art: China1 Yin, Zhou, and the Warring States), vol.12, Tokyo, 1962, no. 9.
Exhibition of Eastern Art: Celebrating the Opening of the Gallery of Eastern Antiquities, Tokyo National Museum, 1968, p. 62, no. 245.
Seiichi Mizuno, Asiatic Art in Japanese Collections: Chinese Archaic Bronzes, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1968, pl. 47.
Masterpieces in The Fujita Museum of Art, Fujita Museum, Tokyo, 1972, no. 91.
Minao Hayashi, In Shu jidai seidoki no kenkyu (Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes), vol. 1 (plates), Tokyo, 1984, p. 373, yi no. 24.
Takayasu Higuchi, Jiro Enjoji, ed., Chugoku seidoki hyakusen (100 Selected Chinese Archaic Bronzes), Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 1984, no. 20.
Rong Geng, Yin Zhou qingtongqi tonglun (Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronzes), Beijing, 1984 (reprinted in 2012),p. 50, pl. 74.
Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, p. 420.
Zhongguo meishu quanji: gongyimeishu 4, qingtong (I), (Complete Collection of Chinese Art: Works of Art 4, Bronze 1), Beijing, 1990, p. 114, no. 123.
Zhu Fenghan, Gudai zhongguo qingtongqi (Ancient Chinese Bronzes), Tianjin, 1995, p. 195, fig. 3.34.4.
Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji: Shang (4) (Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes: Shang), vol.4, Beijing, 1998, p. 89, no. 90.
Ma Chengyuan, Zhongguo qingtongqi (Chinese Bronzes), Shanghai, 2003, p. 233, fig. 13.
Ichirou Kominami, Kodai Chugoku Tenmeito Seidouki (Ancient China, Decree and Archaic Bronzes), Kyoto, 2006, p. 59.
EXHIBITED
Tokyo, Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc., Chugoku In Shu dokiten (Exhibition of Chinese Bronzes from Yin and Zhou Dynasties), 25 November-7 December 1958.
Osaka, Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc., Kodai Chugoku Seidoki Meihinten (Exhibition of Masterpieces of Ancient Chinese Bronzes), 30 August-11 September 1960.
Tokyo National Museum, Exhibition of Eastern Art: Celebrating the Opening of the Gallery of Eastern Antiquities, 12 October to 1 December 1968.
Fully sculptural animal-form vessels are the rarest forms of Chinese archaic bronzes. The only complete Shang example that appears to have been offered at auction is a buffalo-form zun sold at Christie’s New York, 1 December 1988, lot 143. The Fujita gong is particularly charming for its thoroughly prepossessing ram form. Compare two other gong vessels of related form, but with highly stylized elephant heads: one in the collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C., illustrated by Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987, pp. 416-420, no. 74; the other excavated in 1983 from Zhangjia village, Yangxian county, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji (Compendium of Chinese Bronzes), Beijing, 1998, vol. 4, p. 90, no. 91. The ram had special prominence amongst southern bronzes, i.e. bronzes discovered in and likely to have been cast in the Yangzi River region. The most notable examples are the four-ram zun from Ningxiang, Hunan province, now in the National Museum of China, and two double-ram zun in the Nezu Museum, and the other in the British Museum (see ibid., nos. 115, 132, and 133 respectively).
There are twelve other known Shang quadruped animal-shaped vessels, including four buffalos, three elephants, two mythical animals, one boar and one rhinoceros, all in museum collections. The Hunan Museum holds three quadruped animal vessels: a gong of buffalo form, a zun of elephant form, and another zun of boar form, all found in Hunan province and illustrated ibid., no. 87, 130, and 135; the latter two vessels were selected for the exhibition ‘Min’ Fanglei and Selected Bronze Vessels Unearthed from Hunan, Shanghai Museum, 2015, cat. nos. 8 and 9. The Shanghai Museum holds a quadruped animal gong, with a later-made cover copied after the cover of the Hunan buffalo-form gong, illustrated by Chen Peifen in Xia Shang Zhou qingtongqi yanjiu (Research of the Xia Shang Zhou Bronzes), Shanghai, 2004, pp. 336-337, no. 163. A buffalo-form zun inscribed with a two-character clan name, Ya Chang, was found in the Huayuanzhuang Dongdi M54, and is illustrated by Yue Hongbin ed., Ritual Bronzes Recently Excavated in Yinxu, Kunming, 2008, pp. 158-161. A buffalo-form gong, but lacking surface decoration, is in the Harvard Art Museums Collection, Cambridge, and illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji (The Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), Beijing, 1998, vol. 4, no. 89. Another plain buffalo-form gong is illustrated by Sueji Umehara in Nihon shucho shina kodo seika (Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Japan), vol. 4, Osaka, 1961, no. 266. An elephant-form zun with a cover surmounted by a small elephant is in the collection of the Freer Gallery, Washington D.C., and illustrated ibid, no. 129. Another elephant-form zun, but of unusually large size is in the collection of the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated ibid, no. 131. A pair of mythical horned animal gong found in the Fuhao tomb in Anyang city is illustrated in the Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, fig. 40 and 41, col. pl. 9. A rhinoceros-form zun with a lengthy inscription dating it to the reign of the last Shang king is in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji (The Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), Beijing, 1998, vol. 4, no. 134.
The Fujita gong is exceptional in its naturalistic sculptural quality, as well as being fully embellished with fantastic animals. Such naturalism can rarely be found in early Chinese bronze art, which is characterized by an overriding interest in invented motifs and articulated designs. The Fujita gong in contrast captures various anatomical features of a ram, such as the undecorated naturalistic head, which features a slightly up-turned muzzle with a pair of ‘comma’-shaped nostrils, prominent cheekbones, eyes with elongated orbits, leaf-shaped ears, and horns with parallel ridges. Compared with the Fujita gong, the profile of the ram heads on the four-ram zun is quite flat and the ram heads on both double-ram zun are degraded into cone-shapes, which make them far removed from the lifelikeness of the Fujita gong. Another extraordinary anatomical feature on the Fujita gong can be seen in the rendering of the fetlock on the ram’s rear legs. The naturalism of this gong is further enhanced by the curved silhouette of the body, which convincingly conveys the three-dimensional volume of the animal.
The Shang bronze craftsmen’s creativity went beyond mere representation. One trait denoting the Fujita gong as a sacred creature rather than a real animal can be found in the diamond-shaped pattern on the forehead of the ram. This very symbol appears ubiquitously on the forehead of taotie, the main theriomorphic motif on Shang/Zhou bronzes. What distinguishes the Fujita gong further from a real animal is the pantheon of mythical creatures on the surface of the vessel. Both sides of the ram’s body are embellished with large crested birds with clawed foot extending downward onto the legs and their elongated tail curling around the haunches. The cover which forms the ram’s back is further decorated with dragons and a taotie, and is surmounted by a kui dragon and a bird. The standing kui dragon has striated decoration that is typical of southern bronzes. Similar dragons can be found on the aforementioned Hunan elephant zun, and on the elephant zun vessel in the Freer Gallery, Washington D.C. Also notable is the tiger motif filling the space on the ram’s chest. Tigers were a popular motif in southern China, and appear on top of the handles of many ding vessels found in Xingan county, Jiangxi province (see Shangdai Jiangnan [The Southern Land of Shang Dynasty], Beijing, 2006, pp. 30-34, 38-41, 162-163, 166-168, etc.). A vertically-oriented tiger, like that on the chest of the Fujita gong, can also be seen embellishing the chest of the Hunan elephant vessel. Tigers were also used as surface decoration on Anyang bronzes, particularly during the early Yinxu period, such as the previously discussed Ya Chang buffalo-form zun and the Fu Hao yue axe, illustrated in Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, col. pl. 13. The use of the tiger motif in Anyang is believed to have been influenced by southern bronzes.
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