Object: Pendant in the form of a water buffalo S1987.619

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

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

Object Date: ca. 1100-1000 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 2.7 x 4.4 x 1 cm (1 1/16 x 1 3/4 x 3/8 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.619

: 水牛形飾
晚商安陽時期或西周（公元前1100-1000年）
中國
軟玉
高2.7、寬4.4、厚1釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.619

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

From 1963 to 1987
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-2653, 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, profile bovine, carved nearly in round; pierced at mouth/jaw; translucent, light greenish-white. (Mostly calcified; chip in its front left foot; rear end degraded; surface cracks; more recent surface damage.)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jenny F. So, October 17, 1996) Changed media from "jade" to "pale yellowish white jade with large patches altered to opaque brown and white"; changed period from "Shang 商" to Zhou 周."

2. (Jenny F. So, October 17, 1996) A simple descriptive realism sets Western Zhou 周 jade animal sculptures from their Shang 商 counterparts.

3. (Jenny F. So, October 1, 1997) Date changed from "1100--771 BCE" to "1100--1000 BCE."

4. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.
5. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: water buffalo" to "Jewelry."
6. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, October 4, 2019) Title changed from "Water Buffalo" to "Pendant in the form of a water buffalo"; Period One changed from "Western Zhou dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty or Western Zhou dynasty"; and Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite)" to "Jade".
7. (Jeffrey Smith, January 23, 2020) Transferred from description: (Jenny F. So) This water buffalo is slab like, conceived and modelled essentially in simple, flat planes. The four legs are separated by slits, as are the horns on the head. A slight, descending slope from its large, rounded rump to its head suggests that the animal is looking forward. A perforation, presumably for suspension, is located at the mouth. Pale yellowish white jade with large patches altered to opaque brown and white; carved.

Published References

Chinese Jade Animals. Exh. cat. Hong Kong. cat. 31.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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