Object: Pendant with raised irregular curls S2012.9.1122

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 475-221 BCE

Object Date: 475-221 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D (overall): 2.5 × 11.5 × 0.5 cm (1 × 4 1/2 × 3/16 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: S2012.9.1122

: 凸面不規則谷紋佩
東周戰國時期（公元前475--221年）
中國
軟玉
高2.5、寬11.5、厚0.5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：S2012.9.1122

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 per Keith Wilson, December 17, 2021) Added "Warring States period (475-221 BCE"; Title changed from "Huang with raised curls" to "Pendant with raised irregular curls"; Date changed from "late 5th-4th century BCE" to "475-221 BCE"; added Chinese translation; and added Unpublished Research.
2. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, August 2, 2022) Medium changed from Jade to Jade (nephrite).

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 339) for S2012.9.1122 for the catalogue of the Singer Collection (1970-1990); by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber
Huang 璜 with Raised Curls
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, late 5th-4th century BCE
Jade
Chord 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in)
The segment, widening slightly toward each end, is decorated by a pattern of raised curls arranged in intersecting rows. The design, which presupposes the stage of the dense, irregularly shaped curling configurations on the three earlier huang 璜 in the collection (336, S2012.9.1466, and S2012.9.1194), differs in that it no longer contains zoomorphic elements. The curls, however, are not completely disengaged from one another, and their tails often join, in some cases drawing three curls together as a triskelion. The decor is contained within a narrow, faintly crenelated raised margin. A t the top center is a small, biconical perforation. The translucent jade is gray green with whitish clouds.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Pendant with raised irregular curls

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