Object: Sword, fragment, and guard with mask S2012.9.1201

Classification: Weapon and Armament

Historical period(s): Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty or Western Han dynasty, 475 BCE-9 CE

Object Date: 475 BCE-9 CE

Medium: Iron with jade (nephrite) guard

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 7.7 × 5.7 × 2 cm (3 1/16 × 2 1/4 × 13/16 in) H x W x D (sword guard): 2 × 6 × 2 cm (13/16 × 2 3/8 × 13/16 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: S2012.9.1201

: 劍（殘損）和獸首劍格
東周戰國或西漢時期（公元前475--公元9年）
中國
鐵劍身，軟玉劍格
高7.7、寬5.7、厚2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：S2012.9.1201

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. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, August 14, 2008) Weapon and Armament added as secondary classification.
2. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, August 2, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade and iron" to "Iron with jade (nephrite) guard."
3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 25, 2024) Title changed from "Sword cross-guard with fragment of blade" to "Sword, fragment, and guard with mask"; Period One changed from "Eastern Zhou dynasty" to "Eastern Zhou dynasty or Western Han dynasty"; Date changed from "3rd century BCE" to "475 BCE–9 CE"; Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang added; and Unpublished Research by Jenny F. So added.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 372) for S2012.9.1201 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--90); by Jenny F. So
Sword Guard
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, Warring States period, 3d century BCE
Jade and iron
Width 6.2 cm (2 7/16 in)
This sword guard is still attached to the heavily corroded remains of an iron blade. The gray green mottled jade is decorated with C curls executed in low relief. These flank a masklike motif located symmetrically down the low, raised ridge in the middle of the guard. Fine striations describe the thick brows of the mask. The same decoration is found on both sides of the guard. A crack on the guard follows a crack on the iron blade.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Sword, fragment, and guard with mask

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