Object: Pendant in the form of a fluted ring F1939.12

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 475-221 BCE

Object Date: 475-221 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 3.5 × 0.4 cm (1 3/8 × 1/8 in) Diam (hole): 2.4 cm (15/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Jincun

Credit Line: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1939.12

: 凹槽紋環形佩
東周戰國時期（公元前475-221年）
中國，疑似河南金村，傳安徽壽縣出土
軟玉
直徑3.5、厚0.4釐米；孔徑5.2釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾基金捐購
器物編號：F1939.12

Provenance: 1928–1932
Purportedly discovered in archaeological site at Anhui province, Shou xian, China [1]

To 1939
Zhang Naiji (1899–1948), Shanghai and New York, from at least February 1939 [2]

From 1939
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased through C. T. Loo and Company, New York, NY, from Zhang Naiji on April 17, 1939 [3]

Notes:

[1] The pendant traditionally was said to have been excavated in Anhui province, Shou xian, based on information provided by Zhang Naiji to John Ellerton Lodge at the time of acquisition, see John Ellerton Lodge’s note, 1939, in F1939.6 object file.

[2] See object information sheet and “List of objects contemplated for purchase by Freer Gallery of Art,” approved on February 1, 1939, Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, copies in object file. According to an annotation on the list, the purchase was made from C. T. Loo and Company, New York acting as agent for the owner and the payment was made on April 17, 1939. Zhang Naiji (also known as N. C. Chang) was a businessman, born to a prestigious family in Zhejiang that made their wealth in the silk and salt industries. He collected ancient Chinese art objects and Chinese coins. Zhang amassed his collection whilst living in Shanghai, before leaving for America in 1938. Zhang did not return to China until 1946. While the earliest documentation of Zhang’s ownership of the jade dates to February 1939, we know that he acquired the objects in China before his departure.

[3] See “List of objects contemplated for purchase by Freer Gallery of Art,” cited in note 2.

Previous owner(s): Zhang Naiji 張乃驥 (1899-1948)
C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
C. T. Loo 盧芹齋 (1880-1957)

Description: Small, flat ring of translucent yellow gray and purple jade (nephrite?), corrugated spirally.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought through C. T. Loo and Co., New York, NY, from Chang Nai chi [Zhang Naiji] 張乃驥. For price, see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List After 1920.
2. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1939) See Folder F1939.6, Paragraph 2.
3. (Undated Folder Sheet note) This may have been a loose ring handle; see, for example, Umehara Sueji 梅原末治, Rakuyō Kinson kobo shūei 洛陽金村古墓聚英 (Kyoto: Kobayashi shashin seihanjo shuppanbu, 1937), pl. LXXIX.
4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 3.011. Nephrite.
5. (Julia Murray, 1980) Changed "Chou [Zhou] 周" to "Late Eastern Chou [Zhou] 周, Warring States period." See F1939.9.
6. (Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480--222 B.C. [Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1982], cat. no. 128) Although smaller in scale than the three other related jade rings in the Freer collection, the diagonal fluting that ornaments this piece is characterized by the same degree of technical perfection. While it cannot be verified, the traditional Shou chou [Shou xian] 壽縣 provenance is reasonable.
7. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 18, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Date from "5th--4th century BCE" to "475--221 BCE"; added Previous Owner: Zhang Naiqi [Zhang Naiji] 張乃驥, 1897--1977. Also changed Object Name from "Ring" to "Jewelry"; changed Title from "Ring" to "Pendant in the form of a braided ring." Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.
8. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2008) Added "Reputedly Shouzhou [Shou xian] 壽縣, Anhui 安徽 province, probably Jincun 金村, Henan 河南 province" to Geographical Location, Origin.
9. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 29, 2008) "Jewelry" and "Ornament" added as secondary classification.
10. (Stephen Allee, June 2, 2009) Corrected name of previous owner from Zhang Naiqi to Zhang Naiji 張乃驥 and added Chinese characters, as well as his life dates (1899--1948) and a brief biography.
11. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, July 9, 2010) Deleted "(pendant)" from Object Name.
12. (Najiba Choudhury per Matthew Clarke, December 14, 2021) Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite?)" to "Jade (nephrite)".
13. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 21, 2023) Title changed from "Pendant in the form of a braided ring" to "Pendant in the form of a fluted ring"; Geography changed from "Reputedly Shouzhou, Anhui province, probably Jincun, Henan province" to Origin "Jincun, probably Henan province, China" and Provenance as "Shou xian, purportedly found at Anhui province, China"; added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang.

Published References

Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 128, p. 175.
Umehara Sueji. Rakuyo kinson kobo shuei [Objects from the Ancient Tombs at Chin Ts'un, Lo-yang]. Kyoto. pl. 79.
Richard Gump. Jade: Stone of Heaven., 1st ed. Garden City, 1962. p. 58.

SI Usage Statement

Usage conditions apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..

Save this image | Request Permission | Terms of use

Pendant in the form of a fluted ring

Related Objects

Web Resources