Object: Pendant in the form of a dragon F1939.18

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): H x W x D: 6.8 x 2.6 x 0.5 cm (2 11/16 x 1 x 3/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Jincun, Henan province, Reputedly Shouzhou, Anhui Province

Credit Line: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1939.18

: 龍形佩
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
高6.8、寬2.6、厚0.5釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾基金捐購
器物編號：F1939.18

Provenance: 1928-1932
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, NY, from Zhang Naiji on April 17, 1939 [3]

Notes:

[1] The pendant traditionally was said to have been excavated in Anhui province at 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)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought through C. T. Loo and Company, 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) Specific gravity is 2.999g. Nephrite.
4. (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.
5. (Undated Folder Sheet note) See F1932.40 and F1939.17.
6. (Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. [Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1982], cat. no. 81) A feline creature seen in profile stands with one paw resting on the inner side of the curling body. While the quality of the modeling remains the same throughout the composition, the intensity of expression provided by the bulging eye and bared fangs, as well as the complex designs formed by the contours of the creature's mouth and curling mane, dominate the form. By contrast, the remaining elements of the composition appear lax and unimpressive.
A small hole bored beneath the extended ear would have been used to suspend the ornament. The tail is broken.
Although the ornament traditionally is said to have been found at Shou chou [Shou xian 壽縣], Anhui 安徽 province, related pieces have been published as coming from Chin ts'un [Jincun] 金村, near Loyang [Luoyang] 洛陽, Honan [Henan] 河南 province. [1]
[1] William Charles White, Tombs of Old Lo Yang: A Record of the Construction and Contents of a Group of Royal Tombs at Chin ts'un, Probably Dating to 550 B.C. (Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh Limited, 1934), pl. 128:316c; 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. 85:4. See also Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade through the Wei Dynasty (New York: Ronald Press, 1963), pl. 22:6.
7. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Date from "5th-4th century BCE" to "475--221 BCE." Added Previous Owner: Ex collection Zhang Naiqi, 1897--1977. Changed Object Name from "Pendant: dragon" to "Jewelry;" changed title from "Pendant of translucent gray and brownish nephrite" to "Pendant in the form of a feline dragon." Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database. Added "Reputedly Shouzhou [Shou xian 壽縣], Anhui 安徽 province, probably Jincun 金村, Henan 河南 province" to Geographical Location, Origin.
8. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) "Jewelry" added as secondary classification.
9. (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.
10. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, May 24, 2010) Changed Object Name from "Pendant: feline dragon" to "Jewelry."
11. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 4, 2022) Object Name changed from "Jewelry" to "Pendant"; Title changed from "Pendant in the form of a feline-dragon" to "Pendant in the form of a dragon"; and added Chinese translation.
12. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 8, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite?)" to "Jade (nephrite)."

Published References

Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 81, p. 138.
Alfred Salmony. Chinese Jade Through the Wei Dynasty. New York, 1963. pl. 22, no. 6.

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