Object: Pendant with dragon heads and interlaced dragons S2012.9.1466

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Spring and Autumn period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, ca. 600-476 BCE

Object Date: ca. 600-476 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D (overall): 9 x 3 x 0.3 cm (3 9/16 x 1 3/16 x 1/8 in)

Origin: China

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: S2012.9.1466

: 龍首和交龍紋佩
東周春秋時期（公元前600-- 476年）
中國
軟玉
高3、寬9、厚0.3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： S2012.9.1466

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. (Najiba Choudhury, November 2, 2021) Period Two added as "Spring and Autumn period"; changed object name from "Pendant: huang" to "Pendant"; title changed from "Huang with raised curls and dragon heads" to "Pendant with dragon heads and interlaced dragons"; date changed from "late 6th-5th century BCE" to "ca. 600-476 BCE"; added Chinese translation and unpublished research.
2. (Najiba Choudhury per Matthew Clarke, December 14, 2021) Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)".

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 337) for S2012.9.1466 for the catalogue of the Singer Collection (1970-1990); by Louisa
Fitzgerald Huber
Huang 璜 with Raised Curls and Dragon Heads
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, late 6th--5th century BCE
Jade
Chord 9 cm (3½ in)

The huang 璜, which spans an arc of approximately 110 degrees, is subdivided into three equal sections by transverse, striated bands. Amid the dense pattern of raised curls filling these sections may be discerned as many as eight dragon heads, recognizable primarily by their oval or circular eyes. The two largest and most completely defined heads, which occupy the upper corners, are described with curled snouts, open mouths, and long tongues. Behind each larger head is a smaller, less obvious head, the lower jaw of which lies parallel to the transverse band and which faces toward the top. In the central section appear uppermost two addorsed heads, and beneath them two eyes suggest yet another pair of heads, whose shapes are unclear. The edges of the central section of the segment are bordered by even margins, while the crenelated edges of the two outer sectionscorrespond to the profiles of the curls and dragon heads. A single suspension hole is drilled at the top center. The jade is creamy white and opaque.
A comparable huang 璜 has been recovered from Tomb 251 at Jinsheng cun 金勝村, Taiyuan 太原 in Shansi 山西 province, datable to the mid-fifth century BCE on the basis of the Liyu 李裕 style bronzes found within it. [1] A second example comes from the Wuxian 吳縣 area of Jiangsu 江蘇 province. [2]
[1] Wenwu, no. 9 (1989): 78, fig. 33:1.
[2] Wenwu, no. 11 (1988): pl. 1:7.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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