Object: Pendant in the form of a ring inside of a fluted ring F1939.13

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: 3.9 × 0.5 cm (1 1/2 × 3/16 in) Diam (hole): 1 cm (3/8 in)

Credit Line: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1939.13

: 凹槽紋雙環形佩
東周戰國時期（公元前475-221年）
中國，傳安徽壽縣出土
軟玉
直徑3.9、厚0.5釐米；孔徑5.2釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾基金捐購
器物編號：F1939.13

Provenance: 1931 to 1932
Purportedly discovered in archaeological site at Anhui province, Shou xian, China [1]

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

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

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by Zhang Naiji to John Ellerton Lodge at the time of acquisition, see J. E. Lodge’s note, 1939, in F1939.6 object file. Zhang Naiji stated that he had obtained the jades, selected by the Freer Gallery from a group of about 350 pieces offered for sale (F1939.6 F1939.26 and F1939.28 F1939.33), at the places of their excavation. Lodge commented in his 1939 note: “I see no good reason to doubt [Zhang’s] statement. I have, therefore, specified Shou Chou [Shou xian], or An yang [Anyang], or Lo yang [Luoyang] (Chin Ts’un [Jincun]) as the source of a piece in accordance with Mr. Chang’s [Zhang’s] designations given in my presence and recorded by me.”

[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)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought through C. T. Loo and Co., New York, 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) Its use unknown to me.
4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.993. Nephrite.
5. (Elisabeth West Fitzhugh, 1959) The soft white was identified as nephrite by X ray diffraction (Film F869).
6. (William B. Trousdale, 1964) Late Eastern Chou [Zhou] 周, or Warring States period. The Shou Chou [Shou xian] 壽縣 provenance is unverifiable, but reasonable. Each of the three curved, narrow slits which separate the inner from the outer ring shows the remains of a small round boring near one end through which a file, or other tool, was inserted to cut out the slit.
7. (Julia Murray, 1980) See F1939.9.
8. (Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480--222 B.C. [Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1982], cat. no. 129) Fashioned of opaque white nephrite, the double disk displays a fluted outer ring enclosing a smooth, flat inner disk attached by projections. Each of the three curved narrow slits that separate the inner from the outer ring shows the remains of a small round boring near one end through which a file, or other tool, was inserted to cut the slit.
The disk ring traditionally is said to be from Shou chou [Shou xian] 壽縣, Anhui 安徽 province.
9. (Stephen Allee, October 27, 2008) Object Title changed from "Ring" to "Two layered twisted rope and incised pattern ring." Object Name changed from "Ring" to "Jewelry (pendant)."
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 Keith Wilson, August 21, 2023) Title changed from "Two-layered twisted rope and incised pattern ring" to "Pendant in the form of a ring inside of a fluted ring"; Date changed from "5th-4th century BCE" to "475-221 BCE"; 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. 129, p. 175.

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Pendant in the form of a ring inside of a fluted ring

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