Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Forgery in the style of Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-950 BCE, 20th century

Object Date: 20th century

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 6 x 9.1 x 0.4 cm (2 3/8 x 3 9/16 x 3/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.889

: 獸面紋飾
20世紀仿西周（公元前1050-950年）風格
中國
軟玉
高6、寬9.1、厚0.4釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.889

Description: This jade plaque is in the form of a monster mask, placed at the center of the composition. The stylized horns and the remaining elements of the composition are arranged symmetrically on either side of the central mask. Incised lines, some of them oblique, define the monster mask and decorate the surface of the plaque. Some of the perforations are joined to form an openwork pattern. All of these perforations are arranged symmetrically. (Few slight nicks in edge; calcification evident on reverse.)

Past label text: 1. (In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.837, S1987.888, S1987.513, S1987.865, S1987.622, S1987.618, S1987.680, S1987.874, S1987.880, and S1987.550))

The taotie 饕餮, or monster mask, at the center of the composition is embellished with elaborate stylized horns. Some of the incised lines are oblique—a feature associated with early Western Zhou 周 dynasty jades.

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Thomas Lawton, 1987) Exhibition In Praise of Ancestors label text; moved to label field.

2. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.
3. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, June 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.

4. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2010) Object name changed from "Pendant" to "Jewelry."
5. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, September 17, 2019) Title changed from "Pendant (pei)" to "Pendant with mask"; Period One changed from "Western Zhou dynasty" to "Forgery in the style of Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-950 BCE"; added Chinese Caption by Jingmin Zhang; added the following to Description field, "This jade plaque is in the form of a monster mask, placed at the center of the composition. The stylized horns and the remaining elements of the composition are arranged symmetrically on either side of the central mask. Incised lines, some of them oblique, define the monster mask and decorate the surface of the plaque. Some of the perforations are joined to form an openwork pattern. All of these perforations are arranged symmetrically. (Few slight nicks in edge; calcification evident on reverse.)"
Added past label text from the exhibition, In Praise of Ancestors. Object name changed from "Pendant" to "Jewelry."

Published References

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

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Pendant with mask

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