1. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Jade carvings of this type were found in the Shang 商 dynasty tomb, Tomb 5, at Anyang 安陽, Honan [Henan] 河南 province, in 1976. 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), pls. 142--43.
2. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.
3. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, May 4, 2010) Title changed from "Pendant (Pei 珮): bird" to "Bird shaped pendant"; object name from "Pendant: bird" to "Jewelry." Added "with traces of cinnabar" to medium description. Date changed from "2d millennium BCE" to 13--11th century BCE."
3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 1, 17) Title changed from "Bird-shaped pendant" to "Fitting in the form of a bird"; period one changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; period two added "Anyang period"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; date changed from "ca. 13th-11th Millennium BCE" to "ca.1300-ca.1050 BCE"; medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)".
4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, July 24, 2018) Changed title from "Fitting in the form of a bird" to "Finial in the form of a bird"; added the following description, "Flat bird silhouette; identical two sides incised with details of a crested bird rendered in double outlines and sloping cuts; opaque tans. (Some calcification.)"; added past label text, Chinese translation, and unpublished research by Jenny F. So.
5. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 22, 2023)
Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to "ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE."
Change date from "公元前1300-1050年" to "公元前1250-1050年" in the translation field.
Draft catalogue entry for S1987.841; by Jenny F. So (2003)
Bird-shaped fitting or finial
Shang 商 period, 1300--1200 BCE
Anyang 安陽
Nephrite, translucent pale yellowish- and gray-green with red cinnabar
Height 9.5 cm; maximum width 4.5 cm; 0.4 cm thick
Former Desmond Gure collection
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
S1987.841
This bird-shaped finial is slightly smaller than the previous example (S1987.640) but is also decorated on both sides with identical pseudo-relief scrolls. The bird displays virtually identical features in all its details. Only the crest is more flamboyantly shaped with an upturned hook and more pronounced flanges, suggesting the dragon that came to hover over the heads of birds or figures (see S1987.518 and S1987.860). Below the claw, the tang for insertion appears to have been damaged. The jade surface has been greatly abraded, with many scratches evident. There is also damage at the tail feathers.
Published: Jean Pierre Dubosc, Mostra d'arte Cinese: Catalogo = Exhibition of Chinese Art: Catalogue (Venezia: Alfieri Editore, 1954), p. 60, no. 170; Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade through the Wei Dynasty (New York: Ronald Press, 1963), pl. VIII: 2; Gustav Ecke, "Early Chinese Jades Selected from Alfred Salmony's Posthumous Work," The Connoisseur, no. 591 (February 1961), p. 63, fig. 6.
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..
International Image Interoperability Framework