Object: Button in the form of a flower S2012.9.892

Classification: Costume and Textile

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

Object Date: 475-221 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x Diam (overall): 2 x 2.3 cm (13/16 x 7/8 in)

Origin: China, purportedly found at Anhui province, Shou xian

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: S2012.9.892

: 花朵形鈕
東周戰國時期（公元前475--221年）
中國，傳安徽壽縣出土
軟玉
高5.9、寬4.3、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： S2012.9.892

Provenance: 1931 to 1932
Purportedly discovered in a tomb located in Anhui province, Shou xian [1]

By 1935 to 1948
Zhang Naiji (1899–1948), Shanghai, China, then New York, NY [2]

1948 to around 1954
Zhang Mei Chien (1901–ca. 1955), New York, NY, inherited upon her husband’s death [3]

Around 1954 to 1957
C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York, NY, possibly purchased from Zhang Mei Chien in New York, NY, in the early 1950s [4]

1957 to 1997
Paul Singer, Summit, NJ, purchased from C. T. Loo and Company on January 22, 1957, in New York, NY [5]

1997 to 1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997 and loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997 [6]

From 1999
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 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 [7]

Notes:

[1] Object published in Archaic Chinese Jades: Special Exhibition February 1940 (Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1940), cat. 219. Catalogue entry notes discovery site as Shou hsien (now known as Shou xian), where tombs were exposed between 1931 and 1932. During this period the tombs were never properly excavated.

[2] Zhang Naiji (also known as N. C. Chang) lent the object to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art in London in 1935, see Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1935?), cat. 281 (mistakenly identified as a glass bead). Zhang Naiji (also known as N. C. Chang) was a businessman, born to a prestigious family in Zhejiang that made their wealth in the silk and salt industries. He collected ancient Chinese art objects and Chinese coins. Zhang amassed his collection whilst living in Shanghai, before leaving for America in 1938, and acquired his objects onsite of archaeological excavations (see Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade through the Wei Dynasty [New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1963], p. 115). It is likely that Zhang acquired this object as early as 1928, however there is documentary proof that he owned the object in 1935.

Zhang lent forty-five objects to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art and it is likely that these objects remained in his possession after the exhibition. At least eleven of the jades that Zhang lent to this exhibition came with him when he moved to New York in 1938 and were ultimately sold through C. T. Loo and Company (three of which are in the collection of the Freer and Sackler: S2012.9.328; S1987.597; and RLS1997.48.4374 ). There is no evidence to suggest that Zhang sold any of his jades during the European exhibition. C. T. Loo and Company, New York, NY, had Zhang’s jade collection on consignment (see letter from C. T. Loo to Horace Jayne, May 28, 1939, and letter from C. T. Loo to Horace Jayne, October 23, 1940, copies on COM provenance files) from 1940 through Zhang’s death in 1948, inventorying the pieces with a prefix “J” and labeling each item as “Chang [Zhang] Collection.”

[3] Zhang Mei Chien, Zhang Naiji’s wife, assumed ownership upon his death in 1948. She sold several pieces to C. T. Loo Chinese Art, which was led by C. T. Loo’s associate, Frank Caro. The date of sale is unknown.

[4] See note 3. On September 1, 1952, C. T. Loo’s associate, Frank Caro (1904–1980) took over daily operations of the New York business, operating as C. T. Loo Chinese Art. Loo continued to play a large role in the business, as he and Caro struck a deal in which profits made on Loo’s stock would be evenly divided and Loo would maintain the lease and rental payments on the company’s gallery space. See C. T. Loo’s stock card no. J 117, which notes the sale to Dr. Singer on January 22, 1957, copy in accession file.

[5] See note 4. The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Paul Singer 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.

[6] When Paul Singer died in January 1997, the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. A loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery was signed in February 1997.

[7] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement,” March 1999, Freer and Sackler Collections Management Office. This object was formally accessioned into the museum collection in 2012.

Previous owner(s): C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
Zhang Naiji 張乃驥 (1899-1948)
Zhang Mei Chien (1900-1998)
C.T. Loo Chinese Art (1953-1961)
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Najiba Choudhury per Matthew Clarke, December 15, 2021) Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)".
2. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, April 12, 2023) Title changed from "Floral button" to "Button in the form of a flower"; Date changed from "4th-3rd century BCE" to "475-221 BCE"; Geography changed from "China" to "China, purportedly found at Anhui province, Shou xian"; added Unpublished Research by Max Loehr; and added Chinese Caption.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 371) for S2012.9.892 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--1990); by Max Loehr
Floral Button
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, Warring States period, 4th--3rd century BCE
Jade
Diameter 0.8 cm (5/16 in)
Of opaque whitish jade, this small object assumes the shape of a five petaled flower resembling the marshmallow (Althaea officinalis). Marked by finely engraved, striated leaf shaped elements at the perimeter, the petals border a zone textured by minutely and densely engraved arcs. The center is plain and perforated twice. [1] The button was formerly in the collection of Zhang Naiji 張乃驥.
Published: University of Pennsylvania, University Museum, Archaic Chinese Jades: Special Exhibition, February 1940 (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, 1940), no. 219.
[1] A comparable specimen is reproduced in An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades: Arranged for the Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida (New York: C.T. Loo & Co., 1950), pl. 56:8. It has six petals and a dragon figure in the central medallion.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

SI Usage Statement

Usage conditions apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..

Save this image | Request Permission | Terms of use

Button in the form of a flower

Related Objects

Web Resources