Object: Pendant in the form of a cicada S1987.605

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): 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: 4 x 1.7 x 1 cm (1 9/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.605

: 蟬形飾
晚商安陽時期（公元前1300-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高4、寬1.7、厚1釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.605

Provenance: To 1963
J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York [1]

From 1963 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York in 1963 [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] J. T. Tai's stockcard no. YT-1049, according to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation on October 9, 2009.

[2] See Tai's invoice dated X/15/63, 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): J. T. Tai & Co. (established in 1950)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: Pendant cicada; incised; pierced jaw; opaque white. (Totally calcified; slightly worn.)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Fu Xinian 傅熹年, November 23, 1987) Attributed to the Shang 商 dynasty.
2. (Thomas Lawton, January 11, 1988) Attribution changed from Han dynasty to Shang 商 dynasty, ca. 12th century BCE. See Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo 中國社會科學院考古研究所, Yinxu Fu Hao mu 殷墟婦好墓 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), pl. 177: 2.
3. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, June 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.

4. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, March 14, 2011) Object name changed from "Cicada (chan 蟬)" to "Mortuary object"; Title changed from "Cicada (chan 蟬)" to "Tongue amulet in the form of a cicada (hanchan 含蟬)."
5. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, October 18, 2019) Title changed from "Tongue amulet in the form of a cicada (hanchan)" to "Pendant in the form of a cicada"; Period One changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; Date changed from "ca. 1300-1200 BCE" to "ca. 1300-1050 BCE"; Object Name changed from "Mortuary object" to "Jewelry"; added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang; Geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; added the following to the Description field, "Pendant cicada; incised; pierced jaw; opaque white. (Totally calcified; slightly worn.)"; changed Object name from "Pendant" to "Jewelry."

Published References

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

SI Usage Statement

Usage conditions apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..

Save this image | Request Permission | Terms of use

Pendant in the form of a cicada

Related Objects

Web Resources