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Lot 101
A rare archaic bronze turquoise-inlaid sword, jian Early Warring States Period
30 May 2017, 15:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceSold for HK$375,000 inc. premium
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A rare archaic bronze turquoise-inlaid sword, jian
Early Warring States Period
The long pointed blade with bevelled edges and a long median ridge, the ribbed handle with a wing-shaped guard inlaid with turquoise forming a taotie mask motif and ending in a flattened concave pommel, with olive-green patina and malachite encrustations, fitted box and metal stand. 58.2cm (22 7/8in) long (3).
The long pointed blade with bevelled edges and a long median ridge, the ribbed handle with a wing-shaped guard inlaid with turquoise forming a taotie mask motif and ending in a flattened concave pommel, with olive-green patina and malachite encrustations, fitted box and metal stand. 58.2cm (22 7/8in) long (3).
Footnotes
戰國早期 青銅嵌綠松石劍
Provenance:
Professor Max Loehr
Eskenazi Ltd., London, 11 March 1991
The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection, Christie's New York, 16 September 2010, lot 825
Published and Illustrated:
Li Xueqin, The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes: From the Anthony & Susan Hardy Collections and the Sze Yuan Tang, Singapore, 2000, pp.116-117, no.42
Exhibited:
Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, 2000, no.42
Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2002-2006, no.CB87
來源：
羅樾（Max Loehr）教授舊藏
埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，1991年3月11日
《思源堂中國古代青銅器珍藏》，紐約佳士得，2010年9月16日，拍品825
出版：
李學勤，《中國青銅器萃賞》，新加坡亞洲文明博物館，2000年，頁116-117，編號42
展覽：
新加坡亞洲文明博物館，新加坡，2000年，編號42
香港藝術館，《金木水火土：香港文物收藏精品展》，2002年至2006年，香港（博物館編號CB87）
Max Loehr (1903-1988) was an eminent art historian and professor of Chinese art at Harvard University from 1960 to 1974. A foremost authority in his field of expertise, Professor Loehr published a number of books and numerous articles on Chinese art in the fields of archaic bronzes, jades and paintings.
Compare a similar bronze sword with raised linear designs and taotie designs on both sides of the guard, Warring States period, in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., illustrated by T.Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 BC, Washington D.C., 1982, p.72, no.29. Compare also another related turquoise-inlaid sword inscribed with 'given by decree from the King of Yue', early Warring States period, in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hangzhou, illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji 11 Dong Zhou 5, Beijing, pp.96-97, nos.101-104. See a further related bronze sword with variegated surface, Warring States period, excavated from a tomb of the State of Chu, in Jiangling County, Hubei Province, illustrated by W.Watson, The Genius of China, 1973, p.96, no.129. A further sword of similar size, with a turquoise-inlaid guard and collars, is illustrated by M.Loehr, Chinese Bronze Age Weapons, Michigan, 1956, pl.XXXVIII, no.98.
羅樾教授（1903 – 1988年）曾於1960年至1974年間任哈佛大學東方藝術史教授，是研究中國古代青銅器、玉器、繪畫的權威之一，曾出版八部著作並發表大量學術論文。他也是漢學家高居翰和貝格利的老師。
劍為斜寬從厚格式。中脊起線，兩從斜弧，雙刃呈弧形於近鋒處收狹，前聚成鋒，倒凹字形劍格，格上兩面嵌綠松石獸面紋，圓莖上有兩道凸箍，箍上嵌綠松石連雲紋，劍莖上仍有纏緱遺留。圓盤形劍首有同心圓凸棱。
此劍式多見於戰國早期，見華盛頓弗瑞爾美術館藏一件戰國銅劍，尺寸稍短，著錄於T.Lawton，《Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 BC》，華盛頓，1982年，頁72，編號29。
對比浙江省博物館藏一件戰國早期越王者旨於賜劍，其劍式及紋飾與此劍幾無分別，唯其劍格及凸箍上綠松石已經脫落，但絲織纏緱仍保存完好，見《中國青銅器全集：東周5》，北京，頁96-97，編號101-104。者旨於賜即為越王之子鹿郢。另見1965年湖北江陵望山墓出土的春秋晚期越王勾踐劍，著錄於W.Watson，《The Genius of China》，倫敦，1973年，頁96，圖129。另見羅樾教授曾著錄一件嵌綠松石寬從厚格式劍，見《Chinese Bronze Age Weapons》，密歇根，1956年，圖版XXXVIII，編號98。