Object: Decorative fitting for an ornamental comb S2012.9.119

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Maker(s): Artist: Liangzhu culture 良渚 (ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE)

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE

Object Date: ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 5.2 x 7 x 0.6 cm (2 1/16 x 2 3/4 x 1/4 in)

Origin: China, Lake Tai region

Credit Line: 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

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S2012.9.119

: 梳背飾
新石器時代晚期良渚文化（公元前3300--2250年）
中國太湖地區
軟玉
高5.2、寬7釐米、厚0.6釐米
史密森博物學院亞瑟 M. 賽克勒美術館保羅·辛格中國藝術收藏品；亞瑟 M. 賽克勒基金會，保羅·辛格，AMS基金會，及亞瑟 M. 賽克勒子女聯合贈送
器物編號：S2012.9.119

Provenance: ?-1997
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997), method of acquisition unknown [1]

1997-1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon death of Paul Singer and establishment of a loan agreement [2]

From 1999
The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, by gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler [3]

Notes:

[1] The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Dr. Paul Singer over time was purchased by him on behalf of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Jillian Sackler, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities and later was transferred to the children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler.

[2] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997. See loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 1997, copy in collection accession files. In March 2023, the museum's legal name changed to National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution.

[3] The entirety of the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art formally accessioned in 2012. See the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art gift agreement, March 1999, copy in collection accession files. The work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.

Research updated on June 12, 2024.

Previous owner(s): Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, March 3, 2008) On this date entered: Period One (Late Neolithic period), Date (3300--2250 BCE), Artist (Liangzhu 良渚 culture), Title, Object name, Geographical region (Lake Tai 太湖 region).

2. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 29, 2008) Jewelry and Ornament added as secondary classification.

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

4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 19, 2016) Title changed from "Head ornament" to "Decorative fitting for an ornamental comb"; added translation and unpublished research by Paul Singer.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 10) for S2012.9.119 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--1990); by Paul Singer

Trapezoidal plaque
Neolithic period, 3rd millennium BCE
Jade
Width 7 cm (2 3/4 in)

The trapezoidal plaque has slanting sides accented by cusped indentations. Two horizontal notches interrupt the upper edge of the plaque. A biconical perforation appears in the middle of the upper edge; two other biconical perforations pierce the irregularly shaped projection at the bottom of the jade. Similar trapezoidal jade plaques have been recovered from Liangzhu 良渚 sites in Jiangsu 江蘇 and Zhejiang 浙江 provinces.

The distinctive color of this plaque can be explained by the fact that during Liangzhu 良渚 culture burial ceremonies jades sometimes were exposed to intense heat when they were interred with the corpse. Traditions persist in China: today paper money is burned at funerals.

Published: Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Ritual and Power: Jades of Ancient China (New York: China House Gallery, China Institute in America, 1988), no. 70.

Published References

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

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Decorative fitting for an ornamental comb

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