Object: Pendant in the form of a bird S2012.9.1543

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1050-ca. 950 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D (overall): 2.3 x 6 x 0.6 cm (2 3/8 x 7/8 x 1/4 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: S2012.9.1543

: 鳥形飾
西周（公元前1050-950年）
中國
軟玉
高2.3、寬6、厚0.6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：RLS1997.48.3664

Provenance: By 1925
C. T. Loo & Company, Paris, France [1]

By 1988
Dr. Paul Singer, Summit, NJ [2]

1997 to 1999
In the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997 and a loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997 [3]

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 [4]

Notes:

[1] Object published in: M. Paul Pelliot, Jades Archaïques de Chine, Appartenant a M. C. T. Loo (Paris: Librairie Nationale d’Art et d’Histoirre, 1925), planche XXII, no.4 (ill).

[2] A large catalogue project for Dr. Paul Singer’s collection of Chinese Art was drafted but never published. Max Loehr (1903-1988) wrote a catalogue entry for this object before his death, copy in object file.

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.

[3] 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 and a loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997.

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

Previous owner(s): C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 16, 2019) Title changed from "Ornament in the form of a bird" to "Pendant in the form of a bird"; Date changed from "11th century BCE" to "ca. 1050-950 BCE"; Object Name changed from "Ornament" to "Jewelry"; Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite)" to "Jade"; and added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 308) for RLS1997.48.3664 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--1990); by Max Loehr
Bird Silhouette
Western Zhou 周 dynasty, 11th century BCE
Jade
Length 6 cm (2 3/8 in)

The yellowish jade has gray veins. Details are identically engraved on both sides, except for an irregular bevel at the tip of the tail on the left side. A hollow drill was used to drill out the eyes, leaving a wide, shallow depression around them. A small perforation in front of the spiral marks the onset of the wings, rather far forward.

Published: Paul Pelliot, Jades Archaïques de Chine Appartenant à M. C. T. Loo (Paris and Bruxelles: G. Van Oest, 1925), pl. 20: 4.

Published References

Paul Pelliot. Jades Archaïques de Chine, Appartenant a M. C.T. Loo. Paris. planche XXII, no. 4.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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