Object: Pendant in the form of a stag S1987.869

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 7.6 x 7.7 x 0.6 cm (3 x 3 1/16 x 1/4 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.869

: 鹿形飾
西周（公元前1050-950年）
中國
軟玉
高7.6、寬7.7、厚0.6釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.869

Provenance: C. T. Loo & Co., Paris and New York [1]

From at least 1930 to at least 1939
Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (died 1941), New York and "The Chimneys," Sands Point, Port Washington, Long Island, from at least 1930 [2]

From at least 1959
Tonying & Company, New York, from at least 1959 [3]

From 1959 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New York, purchased from Tonying and Company on November 25, 1959 [4]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [5]

Notes:

[1] According to Umehara Sueji, Shina Kokyoku Zuroku (Kuwara Bansei-do, 1955), pl. 75, no. 3.

[2] According to Otto Kümmel, Jörg Trübner zum Gedächtnis: Ergebnisse seiner letzten chinesischen Reisen (Berlin, Klinkhardt & Biermann Verlag, 1930), p. 60, pl. 30c. In 1939 Mrs. Holmes lent the jade to 3000 Years of Chinese Jade exhibition at Arden Gallery in New York, see
3000 Years of Chinese Jade, exh. cat. (New York: Arden Gallery, January 10-February 11, 1939), cat. 95 (ill.).

[3] See Tonying & Company’s invoice, issued to Arthur M. Sackler, dated November 25, 1959, in which the jade is listed under no. Jo 31: “Archaic Jade Deer / Shang,” copy in object file, provided by Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 2009.

[4] See Tonying & Company’s invoice cited in note 2.

[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 & Company (1914-1948)
Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941)
Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: The jade stag is presented in silhouette, with its characteristic horns extending backward to repeat the curving form of the stag’s body. Details such as the eye, ear, and haunches are indicated with beveled lines. The animal’s cloven hooves are schematically presented. There is a circular perforation on the stag’s throat. (Mostly calcified; old stickers adhering to back; small nicks and surface cracks; some antler tips broken off; soil and cinnabar adhering.)

Past label text: 1. (In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.623, S1987.580, S1987.870, S1987.704, S1987.547, S1987.846, S1987.620, S1987.536, S1987.862, S1987.531, S1987.530, S1987.560, S1987.679, S1987.863, S1987.525, S1987.873, S1987.872, S1987.590, and S1987.544; additional bronzes shown in same case)

Pendant (Pei 珮)
11th–10th centuries BCE
Western Zhou 周 dynasty
China
Jade

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.

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

3. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, May 1, 2012) Early Western Zhou 周 dynasty. Title changed to "Pendant in the form of a stag."
4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, October 7, 2019) Period One changed from "Early Western Zhou dynasty" to "Western Zhou dynasty"; Date changed from "ca. 11th-10th century BCE" to "ca. 1050-950 BCE"; Geography changed from "Rujiazhuang, Shaanxi province, China" to "China"; and added Past Label Text from the exhibition In Praise of Ancestors.
Added the following to the Description field, "The jade stag is presented in silhouette, with its characteristic horns extending backward to repeat the curving form of the stag’s body. Details such as the eye, ear, and haunches are indicated with beveled lines. The animal’s cloven hooves are schematically presented. There is a circular perforation on the stag’s throat. (Mostly calcified; old stickers adhering to back; small nicks and surface cracks; some antler tips broken off; soil and cinnabar adhering.)"
Object name changed from "Pendant" to "Jewelry".

Published References

et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 51, p. 95.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Otto Kümmel. Jörg Trübner zum Gedächtnis: Ergebnisse seiner letzten chinesischen Reisen. Berlin. p. 60, pl. 30c.

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Pendant in the form of a stag

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