The Ran Gui, Late Shang / Early Western Zhou dynasty | 商末 / 西周初 冉簋

Fritz Low-Beer, New York, acquired by circa 1945.

Collection of Richard Bryant Hobart (d. 1968).

Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, 23rd May 1969, lot 39.

Collection of J.J. Klejman (1906-1995), and thence by descent.

羅比爾，紐約，約於1945年已入藏

Richard Bryant Hobart (1968年逝) 收藏

蘇富比 Parke-Bernet，紐約，1969年5月23日，編號39

J.J. Klejman (1906-1995) 收藏，此後家族傳承

Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun [Surviving writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties], vol. 6, 1937, p. 5.

Chen Mengjia, Meidiguozhuyi jielue de woguo Yin Zhou tongqi jilu [Compilation of Yin and Zhou archaic bronzes in America], Beijing, 1962, p. 264, no. R508.

Zhou Fagao, Sandai jijin wencun bu [Supplements of surviving writings from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties], Taipei, 1980, no. 508.

Sun Zhichu, Jinwen zhulu jianmu [Concise list of recorded bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 1981, p. 97, no. 1567.

Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji [Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions], Taipei, 1983, no. 1728 and 1730.

The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 6, Beijing, 1984, no. 3008.

The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jichengshiwen [Interpretations of the compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 3, Hong Kong, 2001, no. 3008.

Wang Xinyi, ed., Shangzhou tuxing wenzi bian [Dictionary of the pictograms from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], Beijing, 2007, p. 723, no. 1707, fig. 7.

Liu Yu et. al., Shangzhou jinwen zong zhulubiao [Comprehensive list of recorded Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2008, no. 3279.

He Jingcheng, Shangzhou qingtongqi zushi mingwen yanjiu [Study of the clan pictograms on the bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], Jinan, 2009, p. 339.

Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes from Shang and Zhou dynasties], vol. 7, Shanghai, 2012, no. 03531.

羅振玉，《三代吉金文存》，卷6，1937 年，頁5

陳夢家，《美帝國主義劫掠的我國殷周銅器集錄》，北京，1962年，頁264，編號R508

周法高，《三代吉金文存補》，台北，1980年，編號508

孫稚雛，《金文著錄簡目》，北京，1981 年，頁97，編號1567

嚴一萍，《金文總集》，台北，1983年，編號1728及1730

中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成》，卷6，北京，1984年，編號3008

中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成釋文》，卷3，香港，2001年，編號3008

王心怡編，《商周圖形文字編》，北京，2007年，頁723，編號1707，圖7

劉雨等，《商周金文總著錄表》，北京，2008年，編號3279

何景成，《商周青銅器族氏銘文研究》，濟南，2009年，頁339

吳鎮烽，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，卷7，上海，2012年，編號03531

According to the study of He Jingcheng (Shangzhou qingtongqi zushi mingwen yanjiu [Study of the clan pictograms on bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], Jinan, 2009, pp 101-113), there are approximately 245 surviving bronzes today that can be identified to have come from the Ran clan, a family of noted importance from ca. 1200-800 BC. Traces of the Ran clan members have been discovered, based on related archaeological findings, at various major bronze age regions in China, including Henan and Shaanxi province. In addition, bronze vessels bearing the Ran clan symbol have also been excavated in the southern regions, such as Hubei and Hunan province. Some scholars believe that these vessels were brought by the Shang people to the south to perform rituals and ceremonies at the mountains and rivers, evidenced by the large amount of precious jade discovered inside these excavated vessels. Others have suggested that these bronzes belonged to the southern local civilization, which was inspired and heavily influenced by the central Shang culture. 

See other bronze gui from the Ran clan, including one from the Qing Court Collection, now preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in one of the Qianlong Emperor's imperial bronze catalogues, Liang Shizheng et al., Ningshou jiangu [Antiquity appraisal of Tranquil and Longevity], vol. 6, 1776, p. 14; and another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 6, Beijing, 1984, no. 3011.

Richard Bryant Hobart (d. 1968) was a prominent banker in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After his first journey to China in 1909-1910, he developed a deep interest in Chinese and Korean art, which included ceramics, bronzes, and paintings that, according to his daughter Mabel Hobart Wentworth, were the topics of many conversations with his friends from all over the world. Hobart had lent important pieces to renowned institutions such as Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Art, Boston, and the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, believing that the beauty of the artworks that he had kept must be shared with other collectors and viewers to enjoy. Part of his substantial art collection was sold at Sotheby's Parke-Bernet in New York in 1969.