Object: Pendant in the form of a fish, one of a pair, probably reworked from a bracelet S1987.471

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: 5.1 × 1.6 × 2.5 cm (2 × 5/8 × 1 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.471

: 魚形飾，對飾之一，似由鐲後期加工而成
晚商安陽時期（公元前1300-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高1.4、寬4.9、厚2.7釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.471

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), by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr

From 1963 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Edna H. Bahr in 1963 [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

Notes:

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

[2] See #173: "Gray surface calcified white. Curved form. Engraved fins," on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.

[3] 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: Curved fish pendant with carved and incised details; pierced at head; translucent brown-green and white; one of a pair with S1987.470. (Some calcification; deposits; cinnabar.)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Fu Xinian 傅熹年, November 23, 1987) Attributed to the Shang dynasty.

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

3. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: fish" to "Jewelry." Title changed from "Pendant (yu pei 魚珮): fish" to "Pendant (pei 珮) in the form of a fish."

4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, May 4, 2018) Title changed from "Pendant (yu pei) in the form of a fish" to "Pendant in the form of a fish, one of a pair, probably reworked from a bracelet"; object name changed from "jewelry" to "pendant"; period one changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; period two added "Anyang period"; date changed from "ca. 1100-1000 BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; medium changed from "jade" to "jade (nephrite)"; added Chinese object caption by Jingmin Zhang; and added the following to the description field, "Curved fish pendant with carved and incised details; pierced at head; translucent brown-green and white; one of a pair with S1987.470. (Some calcification; deposits; cinnabar.)"

Published References

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

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Pendant in the form of a fish, one of a pair, probably reworked from a bracelet

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