Object: Bead with dragon spirals S1987.548

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 850-ca. 771 BCE

Object Date: ca. 850-ca. 771 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 2.7 x 1.1 x 1.1 cm (1 1/16 x 7/16 x 7/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.548

: 螺旋龍紋珠
西周（公元前850-771年）
中國
軟玉
高2.7、寬1.1、厚1.1釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.548

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 #525: "Bead square sided-engraved band Grey-white," 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: Squared rectangle bead; engraved spiral band with masks; pierced lengthwise; translucent white with brown stains. (Cracks; spots of calcification; nicked.)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.
2. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 13, 2020) Title changed from "Perforated cylindrical bead w/spiral bands of designs" to "Bead with dragon spirals"; Date changed from "ca. 800-700 BCE" to "ca. 850-ca.771 BCE"; the following was removed from the Description field, "Perforated cylindrical bead w/spiral bands of designs"; and Object name changed from "Bead" to "Ornament".
Added the following to the Description field, "Squared rectangle bead; engraved spiral band with masks; pierced lengthwise; translucent white with brown stains. (Cracks; spots of calcification; nicked.)"

Published References

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

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Bead with dragon spirals

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