绵竹市博物馆藏两件红铜铸镶青铜器探析

Analysis of Bronze Wares with Copper-inlay Decoration in Mianzhu Museum

红铜铸镶是东周时期一种高超的青铜器表面装饰工艺,此工艺基于范铸法,其技术源于垫片工艺。目前已知的红铜铸镶青铜器相对多见于鲁南地区、中原地区及楚文化区域。基于纹饰的形式设计、工艺特征以及纹饰的铸造缺陷等,对绵竹清道出土铜豆、铜钫进行考察,证明二者均采用了红铜铸镶工艺。绵竹清道所出此两件铜器是迄今已知的、距红铜铸镶青铜器发祥地最远的案例。通过将两器的纹饰设计,尤其是铜豆上具有的高度特征性的勾连纹,以及铜钫整体装饰风格,与目前已知的红铜铸镶青铜器进行比较,可以认为,此两件铜器的年代应为战国初期,不晚于战国早期。考虑到此类青铜器的铸造难度和高度统一的纹饰风格,以及目前所见的分布区域,蜀地工匠应无自作该器的可能性,此两器应为舶来品,流转至蜀地。

Existing during the Eastern Zhou period,copper-inlay is a decorative technique for bronze ware developed on the basis of block casting method and spacer.In this article we study a bronze dou and a bronze fang(a kind of square hu)both excavated from Qingdao of Mianzhu,Sichuan.Their process features and design of decorative patterns as well as the defect on the copper decorations prove that the copper-inlay technique is applied on both vessels.Bronze wares with copper-inlay decoration are mainly excavated in the Central Plains,southern Shandong Province and Chu Cultural Area,barely seen in Sichuan,in which case the two vessels excavated in Mianzhu are probably the most remote finding of such type known so far.Through comparative study of the dragon pattern,intertwined pattern,and a kind of toothshaped pattern(paired isosceles-triangle pattern)on these two vessels with those on other bronze ware with copper-inlay decorations,we find that the unique intertwined pattern on the bronze dou of Mianzhu is highly distinctive and rarely found on bronze vessels with copper-inlay,which is seen on bronzes from the early Warring States Period excavated in the Chu Cultural Area.On the other hand,the decorative style of the fang is highly similar to a series of bronze hu which are considered to be made also in the early Warring States Period.It can be concluded that the age of the two bronzes should be around the early Warring States Period.Considering the difficulty of copper-inlay technique as well as the distribution of bronze ware with copper-inlay decorations known so far,there is little possibility that the two bronze vessels of Mianzhu were made by local craftsmen,but rather imports into the Shu Cultural Area.