AN INSCRIBED ORACLE BONE, SHANG DYNASTY

拍品描述

AN INSCRIBED ORACLE BONE, SHANG DYNASTY China, 1250-1000 BC. The bone of a creamy-beige color, finely engraved to one side with two sections of inscriptions separated by a scalloped line. The translation should be regarded as a scholarly interpretation as the characters permit multiple plausible readings and certain passages remain subject to alternative interpretations. Divination was performed. Water was drawn from the well. The ritual altar and sacred vessel were prepared. The leader took up the ritual weapon and made his vow before the ancestral spirits. Sheep, boar, birds, lamb, shell offerings, and Qiang captives were presented in sacrifice. The ancestors, including the Fifth Ancestor, were invoked. The village and fields were entrusted to their protection. May life spring forth, children be raised, strength increase, illness be driven away, and the people remain pure and virtuous. May the household prosper under Heaven. Dimensions: Length 18.7 cm The inscriptions on the oracle bone contains divinatory language and numerous characters that correspond closely with published Shang oracle-bone inscriptions dating from approximately 1250 to 1000 BC. The inscription appears to record a series of divinations concerning ritual obligations within the royal ancestral cult, involving sacrificial offerings, principally animals and possibly Qiang captives, presented before ancestral spirits in order to obtain divine favor. The divination likely seeks the removal of illness, the well-being of the royal household and settlement, agricultural prosperity, the continuation of life and lineage, and the maintenance of ritual purity and ancestral protection. The term “oracle bone” refers to ox scapulae (or shoulder blade bones) and turtle plastrons used by Shang rulers for divination. The bones of oxen and turtle plastrons were typically prepared in advance (polished and carved). When the ruler asked a question, a shaman would perform a ritual in which he would heat the carved depressions to produce hairline cracks on the opposite side of the bone. He would then interpret the pattern of the cracks to provide an answer to the question. Often the questions and answers were recorded on the surface of the oracle bone. Literature comparison: Compare a related oracle bone fragment, dated Shang dynasty, 8.9 cm long, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 23.23.1. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 17 October 2025, lot 389 Price: EUR 13,000 Expert remark: Compare the finely incised inscriptions and overall condition. Note the identical size (18.7 cm).

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