Object: Pendant with bird, reworked S1987.534

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: 7.7 x 4 x 0.3 cm (3 1/16 x 1 9/16 x 1/8 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.534

: 鳥紋飾（二次加工）
西周（公元前1050-950年）
中國
軟玉
高7.7、寬4、厚0.3釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.534

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 #407: "Bird engrave," 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)

Past label text: 1. (In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.674, S1987.546, S1987.931, S1987.692, S1987.565, S1987.516, S1987.628, S1987.478, S1987.481, and S1987.464))

Pendant (Pei 珮)
10th century 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. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, November 19, 2019) Title changed from "Pendant (pei) in the form of a bird" to "Pendant with bird, reworked"; Date changed from "10th century BCE" to "ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE"; Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite)" to "Jade"; Object name changed from "Pendant" to "Jewelry"; and added Past Label Text from the exhibition, In Praise of Ancestors.
Added the following to the Description field, "Flat, arc-shaped pendant pierced at either end. There are pairs of pointed projections on three sides; the fourth, lower side is straight, possibly for insertion into another material. A crested plume or, perhaps, the tail, curves upward and over the bird, which is shown in profile. Some of the incised lines are beveled. (Clouds of calcification; otherwise good condition.)"

Published References

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

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Pendant with bird, reworked

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