Object: Pendant with dragon heads and interlaced dragons S2012.9.784

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): 3.2 x 7.1 x 0.4 cm (1 1/4 x 2 13/16 x 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: S2012.9.784

: 龍首和交龍紋佩
東周春秋時期（公元前600--476年）
中國
軟玉
高3.2、寬7.1、厚0.4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： S2012.9.784

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) added "Spring and Autumn period" in the Period Two field; object name changed from "Pendant: huang" to "Pendant"; title changed from "Huang with dragon heads" to "Pendant with dragon heads and interlaced dragons"; date changed from "600-500 BCE" to "ca. 600-476 BCE"; added Chinese translation, and unpublished research in the Text Endries field; added S2012.9.1466 and S1987.522 as related see also objects.
2. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, August 2, 2022) Medium changed from Jade to Jade (nephrite).

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 335) for S2012.9.784 for the catalogue of the Singer collection Collection (1970--1990); by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber
Huang 璜 with Dragon Heads
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, 7th---6th century BCE
Jade
Chord 7 cm (2 3/4 in)
The dragon heads at the ends of the segment and the smaller heads behind them in the central span form a design that is relatively legible by comparison to those on later Eastern Zhou 周 huang 璜 in the collection [336 and S2012.9.1466]. The principal features of these heads are delicately accented by long, parallel striations, and these, together with the obliquely striated rolls issuing from the backs of their heads and the similarly striated transverse rolls separating the central panel from the crenelated ends, enrich the surface with a variety of contrasting textures. The creamy white jade is encrusted with areas of soil and cinnabar.
An analogous huang 璜 was excavated from Tomb 60 at Liulige 琉璃閣, Henan 河南 province. [1] This tomb, which contained a set of bells whose decoration represents the earliest phase of the Liyu 李裕 style, likely dates from the mid sixth century BCE.
[1] Guo Baojun 郭寶鈞, Shanbiao zhen yu Liulige 山彪鎮與琉璃閣 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 1959), pl. 112: 1. 山彪鎮與琉璃閣

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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