Object: Pendant in the form of a mask, probably reworked from a tube (cong 琮) S1987.865

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1250-1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 3.9 × 4.8 × 2.3 cm (1 9/16 × 1 7/8 × 7/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.865

: 獸面形飾，似後期加工自琮
晚商安陽時期（公元前1250-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高3.9、寬4.8、厚2.3釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號: S1987.865

Description: The mask appears to depict a horned owl. The frontal aspect is in the full round; the back is concave and plain. Single line decor provides the details, while deep notches give an openwork feeling. A hole under the beak is drilled from both sides. The color of the stone is green and brown, with cream calcification. (Calcification, spots to powder; few nicks in edges top and bottom; soil and cinnabar adhere.)

Past label text: 1. Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes, October 1, 1989–September 10, 1990; by Thomas Lawton

Bird Pendant (Niao Pei 鳥佩)
Shang 商 dynasty, ca. 1200 BCE
China
Jade

2. (Keith Wilson, Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

Fitting in the form of a mask (taotie); Pendants:
Face and Dragon, recycled from Neolithic objects
Anyang period, ca. 1250–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler S2012.9.165, S2012.9.319, and S2012.9.355

Pendants: Mask (taotie),
Dragon, and Birds, recycled
from Neolithic objects
Anyang period,
ca. 1250–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.865, S1987.550, S1987.549, S1987.879, and S1987.861

Recycling
Since jade was a valuable commodity, broken or outof-fashion articles were not discarded but were instead recycled to make new objects. Most of the Anyang jades shown at the bottom of this case were made by cutting up a special kind of Neolithic square tube called a cong, which had lost its ritual significance in Shang times.

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.

2. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: monster head" to "Jewelry."

3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, May 10, 2018) Title changed from "Pendant (pei)" to "Pendant in the form of a mask, probably reworked from a tube (cong 琮)"; period changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period, ca. 1300-1050 BCE"; period two added "Anyang period"; date changed to "ca. 1300-1050 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; medium changed from "jade" to "Jade (nephrite)"; object name changed from "jewelry" to "Pendant"; added Chinese object caption by Jingmin Zhang; added the following to the description field, "The mask appears to depict a horned owl. The frontal aspect is in the full round; the back is concave and plain. Single line decor provides the details, while deep notches give an openwork feeling. A hole under the beak is drilled from both sides. The color of the stone is green and brown, with cream calcification. (Calcification, spots to powder; few nicks in edges top and bottom; soil and cinnabar adhere.)"; and added past label text by Thomas Lawton.
3. (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.

Published References

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

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Pendant in the form of a mask, probably reworked from a tube (cong 琮)

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