Object: Pendant in the form of a cicada S1987.540

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Late Shang dynasty or Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1100-ca. 1000 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1100-ca. 1000 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 4.5 x 2.1 x 0.6 cm (1 3/4 x 13/16 x 1/4 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.540

: 蟬形飾
晚商安陽時期或西周（公元前1100-1000年）
中國
軟玉
高4.5、寬2.1、厚0.6釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.540

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 #505 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: Cicada pendant (viewed from above); engraved; pierced loop; translucent gray-white. (Deposits of cinnabar.)

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, S1987.517, S1987.689, S1987.567, S1987.864, S1987.575, S1987.879, and S1987.542))

Pendant (Pei 珮)
12th–11th centuries BCE
Shang 商 dynasty
China
Jade

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
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 or cicada" to "Pendant in the form of a bird or cicada"; Object name from "Pendant: bird or cicada (?)" to "Jewelry."
3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, October 28, 2019) Title changed from "Pendant (pei) in the form of a bird or cicada" to "Pendant in the form of a cicada"; Period One changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty or Western Zhou dynasty"; Date changed from "ca. 12th-11th century BCE" to "ca. 1100-1000 BCE"; Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite)" to "Jade"; added Past Label Texts from the following to exhibitions, "In Praise of Ancestors" and "Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes".
Added Chinese Caption by Jingmin Zhang; changed Object name from "Pendant" to "Jewelry"; and added the following to the Description field, "Cicada pendant (viewed from above); engraved; pierced loop; translucent gray-white. (Deposits of cinnabar.)"

Published References

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

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