RARE PARCEL-GILT-BRONZE ARCHAISTIC 'HEAVENLY-ROOSTER' RITUAL VESSEL, ZUN
MING TO QING DYNASTY
£35,200
Auction: 16 May 2025 from 09:00 BST
Description
明至清 局部鎏金銅天雞尊
majestically cast with a rooster standing upright with slightly upturned wings and inward curling tail, finely decorated on the body with scrolling lotus, key fret, and ruyi heads, the plumage finely detailed, the head with alerted eyes and mouth ajar, adorned on the front chest with a taotie mask, the bird bears a square-section gu-form vase on its back, the archaistic vase further decorated with flanges, taotie masks, and stylised kui dragons
Dimensions
28cm high; 3549g
Footnote
This parcel-gilt bronze bird and vase group is a fine example of works of art during the Ming and Qing dynasty, which reflect a passionate interest in antiquities not only within the scholar class but also amongst the upper echelons of the newly wealthy merchant class. This magnificent bird is usually known in Chinese as a ‘heavenly rooster’ (tian ji 天雞). Rooster 雞 ji provides a pun for 吉 ji, meaning auspicious, and thus the bird is a symbol of good fortune. In addition, a rooster is a symbol of high rank because of its cockscomb, 雞冠 jiguan in Chinese, which is a pun for 官 guan, meaning official. The vase on the bird’s back also has auspicious connotations. The vase can be either 瓶 ping, is a pun for 平安 ping’an, meaning peace, and the square-section form 四方 si fang means all directions, can further be understood as all over, hence peace to the world.
A Ming dynasty inlaid bronze bird and vase group, with the design of the bird slightly different, but similarly with a square gu vase on its back, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, accession no. Zhong Tong 中銅527N; Also see another comparable example, with similar design to the bird, bearing a vase with three monkeys, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the same collection as above, accession no. Gu Tong 故銅2430N; Three more examples in the same museum, one bearing a handled vase, late Ming dynasty, one bearing an archaistic vessel, you, Qing dynasty, and the last with the bird in recumbent position, bearing a rounded gu vase, Ming dynasty, with respective accession nos. Zhong Tong 中銅1111N; Gu Tong 故銅2533N; and Gu Tong 故銅2514N.
During the Qing dynasty, works of art like this flourished in different materials, including cloisonne, porcelain, and carved jade and hardstones. A Qing dynasty example made in cloisonne enamel, also bearing a gu vase with flanges, is in the National Taipei Museum, Taipei, accession no. Zhong Fa 中琺625N.
這件局部鎏金銅天雞尊依仿古風格而製，造型典雅，屬同類製器典範。明至清代慕古之風正盛，高古藝術深受文人墨客推崇，更得商賈貴族青睞，同發思古幽情。此鳥貌似鳳凰，實為天雞。「雞」，音「吉」，寓意吉祥；雞冠之「冠」，音「官」，可寓加官進爵。雞背馱盛器「瓶」，音「平」，即平安無恙，四方可謂天下太平。
臺北故宮博物院藏一銅錯金銀天雞尊，天雞造型有別，但背上負尊似方觚，製於明代，館藏號「中銅527N」；院藏另一尊天雞造型與本品較爲類似，背負三猴瓶，定年唐代，館藏號「故銅2430N」。院藏範例另有三者，其一背負連把瓶，定年晚明，其二背馱提樑卣，定年清代，其三呈坐式背負觚式瓶，定年明代，館藏號分別爲「中銅1111N」、「故銅2533N」及「故銅2514N」，可資比較。
清代期間，此形制不僅見於銅器，更紛呈於諸多材質，涵蓋掐絲琺瑯、陶瓷及玉石。臺北故宮博物院藏一掐絲琺瑯製例，作於清代，與本品類似雞喙尖細，盛器呈出戟圓觚形，館藏號「中琺625N」。