摘要
河南安陽殷虛出土的二千五百餘件骨柶，其中有四百九十八件標本帶有文飾。它們的裝飾面有著固定的模式，又有很複雜的裝飾花紋之表現方法。就花紋的內容而言，殷代人大量地使用動物為母題；如虎、牛、鹿、蛇、鳥、魚、蟬、蟲等實存的動物和昆蟲，同時也有繁複多變的神話動物，如動物面（饕餮）、龍等為主題。在本文中各種母題分為十三大項目，集113個不同的紋樣。每件帶文飾的骨柶，裝飾面分成三段；第一段為多母題的組合，再加其他二段的花紋，則造成很複雜的組合關係。其中的許多花紋中僅見於這批骨柶上，成為特有的殷代裝飾藝術風格。此外，就骨柶的製作和花紋雕刻技術等的觀察，其善用刻骨技術配合深穴鑲崁綠松石等的裝飾手法，又與殷人在青銅器和石雕等方面有相同的風格和技術水平。
Of the more than 2,500 bone ssu (ritual spatulas) unearthed in Yin-hsu, Anyang county, Honan province, 498 contain decorative designs. The decorative designs are fixed in style and highly complex in pattern. During the Shang dynasty decorative motifs were for the most part of real animals and insects, such as tigers, buffalo, deer, snakes, birds, fish, cicadas, etc., and of intricate and varied mythological animals, including animal faces such as that of the t'ao-t'ie (a legendary ferocious animal) and dragons. This paper identifies 13 major motifs and 113 different decorative marks. The decorations on bone ssu can be divided into three zones. The first has several combinations of motifs, which are combined with decorative designs, according to two other zones, to produce highly complex combinations. Most of these decorative designs are only found on this bone ssu, giving them a special Shang dynasty style of decorative art. Moreover, and examination of the technique employed in the production and carving of these bone ssu, indicates that they could be adapted to deep carving and turquoise inlay techniques, and were of the same artistic and stylistic level as Shang dynasty bronze vessels and stone carvings.