Object: Pendant in the form of a bird, one of a pair S1987.530

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 7.3 x 6.2 x 0.3 cm (2 7/8 x 2 7/16 x 1/8 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.530

: 鳥形飾，對飾之一
西周（公元前1050-950年）
中國
軟玉
高7.3、寬6.2、厚0.3釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.530

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 [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 #401: "Pair of long tailed birds Grey-green-brown," 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: Pendant in the shape of long-tailed bird; incised; pierced; translucent dull brownish-green. (Very slight calcification; spotty; cinnabar deposits.)

Past label text: 1. (In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton)(shown with S1987.590, S1987.580, S1987.704, S1987.560, S1987.620, S1987.846, S1987.863, S1987.536, S1987.870, S1987.531, S1987.547, S1987.679, S1987.623, S1987.862, S1987.525, S1987.873, S1987.872, S1987.869, and S1987.544; additional bronzes shown in same case)

Pendant (Pei 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 15, 2010) Title changed from "Pendant (pei 珮): bird" to "Pendant in the form of a bird"; Object name from "Pendant: bird" to "Jewelry."

3. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, June 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.
4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 16, 2019) Title changed from "Pendant (pei) in the form of a bird" to "Pendant in the form of a bird, one of a pair"; Date changed from "11th-10th century BCE" to "ca. 1050 BCE-ca. 950 BCE"; added the following to the Description field, "Pair of pendants in the shape of long-tailed birds; incised; pierced; translucent dull brownish-green. (Very slight calcification; spotty; cinnabar deposits.)"; added Label Text from the exhibition, In Praise of Ancestors.

Published References

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

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Pendant in the form of a bird, one of a pair

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