熊是英雄力量的象徵，在漢代備受歡迎，應該說，熊是漢文化中最重要的動物之一。克里夫蘭博物館這件熊鎮貴在尺寸巨大，達到15.7 x 14.6 x 17.3 cm之巨。這比一般熊鎮要大許多，尤其是體量感。
熊的意象在漢代特別流行，象徵英雄的力量。這隻又重又實的熊可能是用作墊子的席鎮，或者是獨立欣賞的藝術品；其他蹲伏的小熊通常用作器皿的承托。
在這件克里夫蘭博物館購得的鎏金青銅器中，亞洲黑熊 (Ursus thibetanus) 被描繪成一種可愛的動物，但實際上它是凶猛的。事實上，在西漢王朝（公元前 206 年至公元 25 年）的中國文學中，有關可怕的狩獵和遭遇熊的記載非常顯著，而這件引人入勝的器物正是在西漢王朝時期製作的。在一則記載中，一支朝廷狩獵隊伍遭到了襲擊。據說在公元前 38 年，漢元帝觀看了動物搏鬥。
就在此時，一隻熊逃出了它的巢穴，並威脅元帝。某位封夫人抓住這個機會，挺身而出對付這隻野獸，但很快就被保鏢制服。由於她的勇敢，這位以前默默無聞的小妾獲得了晉升，而她的兒子則被稱為新都主。
漢代雕刻家最偉大的成就之一，就是將野生動物和家養動物創造性地轉化為功能性藝術品。舉例來說，具有諷刺意味的新熊原本是一組重物之一，用來固定編織的墊子，在正式的宴會上，用餐者盤腿坐在低矮的木桌前。
在漢代的貴族墳墓中，這種砝碼也經常與其他奢侈品一起陪葬。在一個這樣的墓葬中，四隻蜿蜒的鎏金青銅豹子被發現在一個腐朽的墊子的四角，墊子上放有象徵宴會的容器。
這些器物的靈感至少可以部分追溯到宮殿旁邊的御用動物園和狩獵保護區日益擴大的規模和重要性。這個龐大的自然公園被設計成帝國的縮影，讓皇帝和他的廷臣可以觀察和研究各種植物和動物，包括當時已知的熊和豹。
漢代雕刻家對他們的題材非常熟悉。雖然經過簡化，但巧妙地捕捉了野獸的質量和解剖結構，使其成為熊的典型形象。它重新舒展的自然姿勢反映了對動物習性的忠實觀察，以及努力創造一種藝術形式，在形狀和設計上體現其作為砝碼的預期功能。
克里夫蘭博物館這件熊出土於何時何地不得而知。它可能是在陝西省西安附近被發現的，就像其他僅有的同類物品一樣，距離西漢都城長安不遠。在那個古老的城市，熊有著特殊的象徵聯繫，植根於天文學、宇宙學以及假設的天地關係。在中國和西方一樣，北斗七星（中國的北斗，西方的大熊座）傳統上是由熊來代表的。
北斗七星與北極星的相對位置，促使一些漢族思想家將北極星與位於長安市中心的皇宮相提並論，而將北斗七星與長安城的北牆相提並論。事實上，有些資料甚至指出這堵牆的構造與天上星座的形狀相似。
兩件類似作品現藏於波士頓的 Isabella Stewart Gardner 博物館。加德納夫人於 1914 年 2 月在藝術鑑賞家 Bernard Berenson 的協助下，從巴黎的一位經銷商購買了這兩件作品。正如 Berenson 夫人在出售前寫給 Gardner 夫人的信中所說，「您會發現它們無窮無盡的樂趣，和真品一樣漂亮，更漂亮」。
Portrayed as a cuddly creature in this recently acquired gilt bronze, the Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is actually ferocious. In fact, references to fearsome hunts and encounters with bears figure prominently in Chinese literature of the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 25) when this engaging object was made. In one account, an imperial party was attacked. In 38 BC, so the story goes, Emperor Yuandi was relaxing with other members of his party in the women's quarters after watching animal fights.
All at once, a bear—having escaped its nearby confines-made for the group and threatened the emperor. Seizing the moment, a certain Lady Feng stepped forward to confront the beast, which was quickly subdued by body-guards. For her bravery, the formerly obscure junior concubine was promoted and her son dubbed Lord of Xindu.
Engaging functional works of art representing creative transformations of animals— both wild and domestic—are among the greatest achievements of Han dynasty sculptors. The ironically charming new bear, for example, was originally one of a set of weights used to anchor woven mats upon which diners at formal banquets sat, cross-legged, in front of low wooden tables. Such weights were also frequently buried with other luxury goods in aristocratic Han tombs. In one such burial, four sinuous gilt-bronze leopards were found at the corners of a decayed mat bearing the containers of a symbolic banquet. The inspiration for these objects can be traced, at least in part, to the growing size and importance of the imperial zoological park and hunting reserve adjacent to the palace. This huge natural park, designed as a microcosm of the empire, allowed the emperor and his courtiers to observe and study the various species of plants and animals-including bears and leopards known at the time.
The conception of the brilliant new bear, like the gilt-bronze leopards still in China, suggests that Han sculptors were familiar with theirsubjects. Although simplified and lacking surface texture, the new weight deftly captures the mass and anatomy of the beast, making it the quintessential image of a bear. Its re-laxed, natural pose reflects fidelity to observations of the animal's habits as well as efforts to create an artistic form that in shape and design manifests its intended function as a weight.
When or where the museum's bear was unearthed is not known. It may have been found—like the only other objects of its kind near Xi'an in Shaanxi province, not far from the Western Han capital at Chang'an. In that ancient city, bears had special symbolic associations rooted in astronomy, cosmology, and assumed relationships between the heavens and earth. In China, as in the West, the Big Dipper (Beidou in Chinese, Ursa Major in the West) is traditionally represented by a bear.
The relative positions of the Dipper and Polaris, the North Star, encouraged some Han Chinese thinkers to identify Polaris with the imperial palace in the center of Chang an and the Dipper with the north wall of thecity. In fact, some sources even report that the configuration of this wall resembled the shape of the heavenly constellation.
Two similar pieces are now in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Mrs.Gardner bought them from a Parisian dealer in February 1914 with the assistance of the art connoisseur Bernard Berenson. As Mrs. Berenson wrote to Mrs. Gardner prior to the sale, "You will find them endlessly delightful, as nice as the real ones, only more so."
Mat Weight in the Form of a Bear
China, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–8 CE)
gilt bronze
Overall: 15.7 x 14.6 x 17.3 cm (6 3/16 x 5 3/4 x 6 13/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1994.203
Location: 241B Arts of Ancient China
Bear imagery, which symbolized heroic power, was particularly popular during the Han dynasty.
Description
The bear imagery was particularly popular during the Han dynasty and was a metaphor of heroic power. This heavy, solid bear was probably used as a mat weight; other small squatting bears often served as the legs of vessels.
Provenance
? by 1929–? Adolphe Stoclet [1871–1949], Palais Stoclet, Brussels, Belgium, to his daughter Raymonde Feron-Stoclet 1
Mme. Raymonde Feron-Stoclet [1897–1963], Brussels, Belgium, to her son Denis Feron
?–1994 Denis Lucien Émile Feron [1928–2015], Hartford, IL, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1994– The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Provenance Footnotes
1 1929 Chinesische Kunst exhibition catalogue, pls. 36–38, lists its owner as "Herr A. Stoclet, Brüssels."
Citations
Kümmel, Otto. Chinesische Kunst; zweihundert Hauptwerke der Ausstellung der Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst in der Preussischen Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 1929, herausgegeben von Otto Kümmel. Berlin: B. Cassirer, 1930. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 24 and pls. XXXVI–XXXVIII
Visser, H. F. E. Asiatic Art in Private Collections of Holland and Belgium. Amsterdam: "De Spieghel" Pub. Co, 1948. Mentioned: pp. 50–51; Reproduced: pp. 208–211, pls. 64 and 65, no. 131
Cleveland Museum of Art, “New Acquisitions Enter the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection,” February 14, 1995, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
Wilson, J. Keith. "Party Animal" The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine, October 1995, pp. 8–9. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 8–9
Wilson, J. Keith., "Party Animal", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 35 no. 08, October 1995 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 32–33
Cox, Daniel J., and Rebecca L. Grambo. Bear: A Celebration of Power and Beauty. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 2000. p. 20
Liu, Cary Y., Michael Nylan, Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, Naomi Noble Richard, Michael Loewe, and Susan L. Beningson. Recarving China's Past: Art, Archaeology, and Architecture of the "Wu Family Shrines". Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2005. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 47, p. 417
Luhrs, Kathleen. "Calendar." Antiques (Oct 2006): p. 92.
Wang, Michelle C., Guolong Lai, Roel Sterckx, and Eugene Yuejin Wang. A Bronze Menagerie: Mat Weights of Early China. Boston, MA: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2006. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 5, pp. 87–88
Lawton, Thomas. "The Stoclets: Their Milieu and Their Collection." Orientations 44.1 (January/February 2013): pp. 68–73. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 72, fig 7
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 94
Exhibition History
A Bronze Menagerie: Mat Weights of Early China . Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA (organizer) (October 4, 2006-January 14, 2007).
Recarving China's Past: The Art, Archaeology, and Architecture of the "Wu Family Shrines". Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ (organizer) (March 4-June 26, 2005).
Chinesische Kunst: zweihundert Hauptwerke der Ausstellung der Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst [Chinese art; two hundred main works from the exhibition of the Society for East Asian Art]. Der Preussischen Akademie der Künste [Prussian Academy of Arts], Berlin, Germany (1929).
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