AN ARCHAIC CEREMONIAL BONE CARVING, SHANG DYNASTY
China, 14th-11th century BC. A thin fragment of a hip bone, likely from a medium sized canine. Carved to one side with an impressive taotie mask and two kui dragons within a key-fret (leiwen) border, all in deep and high relief, adorned with neatly applied incision work, below a further key-fret band. The solid bone is smoothened around the edges with a fine sheen to the decorated surface.


Provenance:
Galerie Wannieck, Paris, September to October 1942 (according to an ancient family ledger inspected by Cabinet Portier, Paris, France, during their appraisal of the complete de Strycker estate; this ledger remains in the possession of the de Strycker family and may not be copied). Collection of Robert and Isabelle de Strycker, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. The display stand has three old collection labels. Robert de Strycker (1903-1968) was a French engineer who specialized in metallurgy. He was a Stanford graduate, a professor at the University of Leuven, a director of the Institute of Metallurgy at the Université Catholique de Louvain, and one of the most influential members of the faculty of applied sciences. After World War II, he made large contributions to France’s post-war recovery. Robert and his wife Isabelle (1915-2010) first encountered Chinese art at the British Museum during a stay in London in the 1930s. Enamored with the style and beauty, they both decided to study and collect Chinese works of art. In 1938 they eventually began to build their collection, buying from Belgian, Parisian, and English dealers. They kept close contact with the famous English collector Sir Harry Garner (1891-1977) and noted Czech collector and expert Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976).

Condition:
Good condition, commensurate with age. Possibly with some old fills. Extensive wear, losses, natural imperfections including foramina and fissures, encrustations, signs of weathering and erosion.

Weight: 29.2 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 9.8 cm (excl. stand)

With an old fitted velvet display stand, dating to the first half of the 20th century. (2)


Literature comparison:

For other examples of rare Shang bone carvings with similar taotie decoration included in the exhibition Early Chinese art from private collections, Eskenazi Ltd., London, 2016, cat. no. 2. Compare the carved bone example excavated from the tomb of the Shang royal consort Fu Hao, Anyang, Henan province, illustrated in Yin hsu Fu Hao mu, Beijing, 1980, pl. 179:1. A larger bone carving similarly adorned with ferocious masks and stylized cicadas, formerly in the Gibson and Stoclet collections, is said to have been discovered together with five other examples in Anyang, Henan; see Georges A. Salles and Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Collection Adolphe Stoclet, Brussels, 1956, pp. 328-31.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2022, lot 104
Price: HKD 378,000 or approx.
EUR 46,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic bone carving, Shang dynasty, Anyang period, 14th-13th century BC
Expert remark: Note the near-identical size (9.4 cm), the related carving work and applied technique.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2022, lot 4
Price: USD 10,710 or approx.
EUR 10,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Two fragments of a ceremonial bone spatula, Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Note that this lot comprises two different items that are both much smaller than the present carving (the longest being 7 cm).




商代骨雕祭祀用器

中國，西元前十四至十一世紀。髖骨的薄碎片，可能來自中等大小的犬科動物。 一側刻有饕餮面具和雷紋，邊框內可見兩條夔龍。堅固的骨頭邊緣光滑，切口整齊，表面光澤細膩。


來源：
巴黎Wannieck藝廊，1942年9月至10月 (根據法國巴黎Portier內閣在評估整個de Strycker莊園時的一份家族老帳本； 該帳本仍由 de Strycker 家族所有，不得複製)。Robert與Isabelle de Strycker收藏，購於上述藝廊，在同一家族保存至今。Robert de Strycker (1903-1968) 是一位法國冶金工程師。他畢業於史丹佛大學，曾是魯汶大學教授，同時也是魯汶天主教大學冶金研究所所長，是應用科學學院最有影響力的成員之一。二戰後，他為法國的戰後復興做出了巨大貢獻。 Robert與他的妻子Isabelle （1915-2010）於 上世紀三十年代在大英博物館首次接觸到中國藝術。因爲其風格和美感所吸引，他們決定研究和收藏中國藝術品。1938 年，他們開始建立自己的收藏，從比利時、巴黎和英國經銷商處購買。 他們與英國著名收藏家Harry Garner爵士（1891-1977）和捷克著名收藏家兼專家Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976）保持著密切聯繫。

品相：
狀態良好，有一些填充。大面積磨損，包括孔和裂縫、結殼、風化和侵蝕。

重量：29.2 克 (不含底座)
尺寸：長 9.8 釐米 (不含底座)

配有天鵝絨展示架，應來自二十世紀上半葉。 (2)


文獻比較：

一件具有類似饕餮裝飾的稀有商代骨雕的，展於早期中國藝術展覽中，Eskenazi Ltd.，倫敦，2016年，目錄編號2。比較河南安陽商王妃婦好墓出土骨雕實例，載於《殷墟婦好墓》，北京，1980年，圖 179:1。在河南安陽還發現了一件較大的骨雕，同樣飾有凶猛的面具和風格化的蟬，曾收藏於Gibson和Stoclet收藏。另其他五件骨雕一起被發現，參見 Georges A. Salles 和 Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt，Adolphe Stoclet 收藏，布魯塞爾，1956 年，頁328-31。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2022年10月9日，lot 104
價格：HKD 378,000（相當於今日
EUR 46,000
）
描述：商代安陽時期公元前十四至十三世紀 骨雕禮器
專家評論：請注意幾乎相同的尺寸(9.4 厘米)，以及相近的雕刻和技術。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比， 2022年3月22日，lot 4
價格：USD 10,710（相當於今日
EUR 10,500
）
描述：商骨雕殘片兩件
專家評論：請注意此為兩件不同的骨雕，但尺寸小很多 (最長的為7 厘米)。