Pendant in the form of a dragon

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

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

Object Date: ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE

Medium: Turquoise

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 4.1 × 5.2 × 1.1 cm (1 5/8 × 2 1/16 × 7/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.877

: 虎形飾
晚商安陽時期（公元前1250-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
綠松石
高4.1、寬5.2、厚1.1釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.877

Description: This bottle-horned kui 夔 dragon seems to have been worked in the full round, but one side has suffered too much loss of stone through burial damage to let one be certain of the previous presence of design elements. Large suspension hole through the middle. (Generally cracked/creviced with soil/cinnabar accretions; reverse is mostly degraded.)

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.705, S1987.579, S1987.719, S1987.839, S1987.694, S1987.861, S1987.689, and S1987.864; additional pendants shown in same case)

Pendant (Pei 珮)
13th–11th centuries BCE
Shang 商 dynasty
China
Turquoise

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 dragon
Anyang period ,
ca. 1250–1050 BCE

Turquoise
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.877

Curatorial Remarks

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

2. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 24, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant: dragon" to "Jewelry." Title changed from "Pendant (pei 珮): dragon" to "Pendant (pei 珮) in the form of a dragon."

3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, May 3, 2018) Title changed from "Pendant (pei) in the form of a dragon" to "Pendant in the form of a dragon"; period one changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; period two added "Anyang period"; date changed from "ca. 13th-11th century BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; object name changed from "jewelry" to "pendant"; added Chinese object caption by Jingmin Zhang; added the following to the description, "This bottle-horned kui 夔 dragon seems to have been worked in the full round, but one side has suffered too much loss of stone through burial damage to let one be certain of the previous presence of design elements. Large suspension hole through the middle. (Generally cracked/creviced with soil/cinnabar accretions; reverse is mostly degraded.)"; and added past label text by Thomas Lawton.
4. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 15, 2023)
Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to "ca. 1250-1050 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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