Beschreibung:

AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL, FANG YILate Shang Dynasty 15cm (5 7/8in) high, box (2).Footnotes商晚期 青銅獸面紋方彜 Provenance: An old Northamptonshire private collection, England, 1960s Acquired in the UK, 1990s 來源： 北安普敦郡私人收藏，英國，1960年代 1990年代購於英國 Fangyi, which were ritual food or wine containers, appear to have been highly treasured during the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, as there has been much fewer examples unearthed from the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties tombs comparing to other more commonly seen vessels such as ding, gu and jue. It appears that the earlier fangyi had a relatively straight and less tapered body, usually bearing shorter inscription or sometimes uninscribed, as seen in the present lot. For related discussions, see R.Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, 1987, pp.428-44. The motif and form of the present lot can be compared to a fangyi of similar size, unearthed from the Fu Hao tomb, late Shang dynasty, illustrated by The Institute of Archaeology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, p.34, pl.3. See also a related example of a fangyi of similar size but without flanges, see Z.F. Wu, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes from Shang and Zhou dynasties], Shanghai, 2012, no.13497. Another fangyi with similar craftsmanship is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji [The Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes], Beijing, 1997, pl.67; see a further example with related decorations, illustrated in T.Wang and Y.Liu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby's and Christie's Sales, Shanghai, 2007, p.323. A related example of a fangyi without flanged corners which was sold at Christie's New York, 13 September 2018, lot 1106. 身長方體，略微下斂，四邊及每面正中出齒狀細棱，口沿之下及圈足之上，每面飾鳳鳥一對，身主體飾饕餮紋一面，饕餮紋及鳳鳥紋皆飾乳釘狀臣字眼，主體紋飾在同一平面，地子填以雷紋，圈足四面正中有凹形缺口如壺門，器表內外餘塊狀綠鏽結晶，皮色黑古。 方彝為酒器，器名為後世學者所定，為青銅禮器組群中級別最高者。存世及出土方彝稀少，多出高等級墓葬，且多見於商代晚期及西周早期。方彝饕餮紋及鳥紋等主圖紋飾常作凸起之浮雕，高出地子不少，而此器紋飾作平面浮雕，除獸目作乳釘狀凸起外，其餘紋飾皆在同一平面，且出戟亦較細短，整體秀麗。可参考殷墟婦好墓出土一件方彝，紋飾、器型與本件頗似，高度基本一樣，亦缺蓋，見中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《婦好墓》，北京，1980，頁34，圖3；又可參考一件殷墟出土之商代晚期子馬方彝，缺蓋，獸面頗似而無扉棱，高度基本一樣，見吳振鋒編，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，上海，2012年，編號13497；另可比較美國舊金山亞洲藝術博物館藏一件商代晚期方彝，見《中國青銅器全集》，北京，1997年，編號67；第四例可比較一件商代晚期之秝冉方彝，著錄於汪濤、劉雨，《流散歐美殷周有銘青銅器集錄》，上海，2007年，頁323；佳士得紐約2018年9月13日售出一件商代晚期鼎方彝亦資參考，惟無扉棱，拍品編號1106。