Object: Pendant in the form of a dragon S1987.555

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

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

Object Date: ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 8.7 x 3.4 x 0.2 cm (3 7/16 x 1 5/16 x 1/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.555

: 龍形飾
晚商安陽時期（公元前1300-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高8.7、寬3.4、厚0.2釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.555

Provenance: At least from 1950-1953
C. T. Loo, INC., New York method of acquisition unknown [1]

1953-1961
C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York, NY by transfer from C. T. Loo, INC., New York [2]

1961-1964
Frank Caro Chinese Art, New York, NY method of acquisition unknown [3]

1964 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Frank Caro Chinese Art [4]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler [5]

Notes:

[1] Object published as part of the collection of C. T. Loo INC. in An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades, arranged for Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida (20 January to 1 March 1950, plate XX, no. 7. In 1950, C. T. Loo announced his retirement from C. T. Loo & Company, New York and Paris. Between 1950 and 1952, he continued to do business, however, he did so under the name C. T. Loo, INC. and organized exhibitions of his company’s stock using this new business name. C. T. Loo’s daughter, Janie Emanuel Loo operated the Paris branch of C. T. Loo & Company as C. T. Loo & Cie., Arts d’Asie.

[2] On September 1, 1952, C. T. Loo’s associate, Frank Caro (1904-1980) took over daily operations of the New York business. C. T. Loo, INC. was dissolved by the summer of 1953 and Caro operated as C. T. Loo Chinese Art. Loo continued to play a large role in the business, as he and Caro struck a deal in which profits made on Loo’s stock would be evenly divided and Loo would maintain the lease and rental payments on the company’s gallery space. The stock number for this object was E 5625 (see note 3).

[3] In 1961, Loo and Caro’s agreement ended. C. T. Loo & Cie., Paris, France took control of C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York’s stock that C. T. Loo had added to the inventory before his death in 1957. Frank Caro then opened Frank Caro Chinese Art. Caro acquired pieces from Loo’s original stock (the mode of acquisition is unknown) and incorporated them into his own stock. Frank Caro Chinese Art continued to use the stock numbers assigned to objects by C. T. Loo Chinese Art. Frank Caro Chinese Art sold this object to Dr. Arthur Sackler. See: no. E 5625: "jade musical pick," on invoice from Frank Caro Chinese Art to Arthur M. Sackler, August 27, 1964, copy in accession file.

[4] See invoice cited in note 3.

[5] 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): C.T. Loo, INC. (ca. 1948-no later than July 1953)
C.T. Loo Chinese Art (1953-1961)
Frank Caro Chinese Art (1962-1980)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: Bow-shaped profile of a bottle-horned kui 夔. Slight carving of outline to indicate form. Horn in doubly beveled line-relief, other details including eye, nose, and paw in beveled engraving. Short plain projection from upturned tail terminates in tapered oblique edge. Perforation in mouth. Indentation in tail but no perforation. (Translucent pale gray jade almost completely calcified on one side, and in part on the other, to a light ivory color. Traces of earth. Minor nicks on powdery areas.)

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.556, S1987.549, S1987.632, S1987.634, S1987.843, S1987.477, S1987.633, S1987.573, S1987.472, S1987.475, and S1987.461)

Dragon Pendant (Long Pei 龍珮)
12th–11th centuries BCE
Shang 商 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, July 10, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: dragon" to "Jewelry." Title changed from "Pendant (long pei 龍珮): dragon" to "Pendant (pei 珮) in the form of a dragon."

3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, May 4, 2018) Title changed from "Pendant (long pei) in the form of a dragon" to "Pendant in the form of a dragon"; object name changed from "jewelry" to "pendant"; period one changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; period two changed from "Anyang period"; date changed from "ca. 12th-11th century BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; medium changed from "jade" to "jade (nephrite); added Chinese object caption by Jingmin Zhang; added the following to the description field, "Bow-shaped profile of a bottle-horned kui 夔. Slight carving of outline to indicate form. Horn in doubly beveled line-relief, other details including eye, nose, and paw in beveled engraving. Short plain projection from upturned tail terminates in tapered oblique edge. Perforation in mouth. Indentation in tail but no perforation. (Translucent pale gray jade almost completely calcified on one side, and in part on the other, to a light ivory color. Traces of earth. Minor nicks on powdery areas.)"; and added past label text by Thomas Lawton.

Published References

C.T. Loo & Company, (Introduction) Lindsay Hughes Cooper. An Exhibition of Archaic Chinese Jades. Exh. cat. New York. pl. 20, 7.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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