Object: Pendant in the form of a fish, reworked S1987.461

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 5.6 x 11.7 x 0.6 cm (2 3/16 x 4 5/8 x 1/4 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.461

: 魚形飾（二次加工）
晚商安陽時期（公元前1300-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高5.6、寬11.7、厚0.6釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.461

Provenance: To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai, China, London, England, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]

From 1959 to 1963
Edna H. Bahr (d. 1978), United States and England, acquired by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr

From 1963 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Edna H. Bahr in 1963

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [2]

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

[2] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous owner(s): Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)
Edna H. Bahr (1907-1986)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: The flat plaque is shaped as a fish, with a long dorsal fin and two short pectoral fins. The mouth resembles the hooked beak common in jade bird forms. In front of the pectoral fins is a paw, characterized as such by curved incisions. The flaring cleft tail is perforated, as is the nostril. Incised lines describe the circular eye and gill. (Some calcification, soil adhering at nose; one old chip in tail; red adhering in incising on head; one hairline crack on either side.)

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.556, S1987.549, S1987.632, S1987.634, S1987.843, S1987.477, S1987.555, S1987.573, S1987.633, S1987.475, and S1987.472)

Fish Pendant (Yu Pei 魚珮)

11th–10th centuries BCE

Western Zhou 周 dynasty

China

Jade

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.

2. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: fish" to "Jewelry." Title changed from "Pendant (yupei 玉珮): fish" to "Pendant (yupei 玉珮) in the form of a fish."
3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, July 11, 2019) Title changed from "Pendant (yu pei) in the form of a fish" to "Pendant in the form of a fish, reworked"; Period One changed from "Western Zhou dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period"; date changed from "11th-10th century BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; Geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; Object name changed from "Pendant" to "Jewelry"; added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang; and added past label text from the exhibition, In Praise of Ancestors.
Also added the following to the description field, "The flat plaque is shaped as a fish, with a long dorsal fin and two short pectoral fins. The mouth resembles the hooked beak common in jade bird forms. In front of the pectoral fins is a paw, characterized as such by curved incisions. The flaring cleft tail is perforated, as is the nostril. Incised lines describe the circular eye and gill. (Some calcification, soil adhering at nose; one old chip in tail; red adhering in incising on head; one hairline crack on either side.)"

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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Pendant in the form of a fish, reworked

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