Object: Pendant in the form of a bird S1987.517

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

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

Object Date: ca. 1300-1050 BCE

Medium: Turquoise

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 1.9 x 2.8 x 1 cm (3/4 x 1 1/8 x 3/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.517

: 鳥形飾
晚商安陽時期（公元前1300-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
綠松石
高1.9、寬2.8、厚1釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.517

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
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 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: Pendant bird with wings outspread; pierced. Turquoise stone. (Mostly chipped and nicked with cracks emanating; faint blue lines on bottom of left wing.)

Past label text: 1. (In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton)(shown with S1987.844, S1987.839, S1987.876, S1987.579, S1987.705, S1987.732, S1987.719, S1987.637, S1987.877, S1987.696, S1987.694, S1987.861, S1987.879, S1987.689, S1987.567, S1987.864, S1987.575, S1987.540, and S1987.542)

Pendant (Pei 珮)

13th–11th centuries BCE

Shang 商 dynasty

China

Turquoise

2. (Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes, October 1, 1989–September 10, 1990; by Thomas Lawton)

Bird Pendant (Niao Pei 鳥佩)

Shang 商 dynasty, ca. 1200 BCE

China
Turquoise

Curatorial Remarks

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

2. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 14, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: bird" to "Jewelry"; Title from "Pendant (pei 珮): bird" to "Pendant (pei 珮) in the form of a bird."
3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, July 28, 2019) Title changed from "Pendant (pei) in the form of a bird" to "Pendant in the form of a bird"; Period One changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; date changed from "ca. 13th-11th century BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; Geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang; added Past Label Text from the exhibitions, In Praise of Ancestors, and Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes; and added the following to the Description field, "Pendant bird with wings outspread; pierced. Turquoise stone. (Mostly chipped and nicked with cracks emanating; faint blue lines on bottom of left wing.)"
Object name changed from "Pendant" to "Jewelry".

Published References

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

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Pendant in the form of a bird

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