Object: Sword scabbard chape with geometric decoration S2012.9.2401.2

Classification: Weapon and Armament

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): 5.7 x 4 x 1.3 cm (2 1/4 x 1 9/16 x 1/2 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: S2012.9.2401.2

: 幾何紋劍珌
東周戰國時期（公元前475--221年）
中國，疑似湖南長沙（即楚國境）
軟玉
高5.7、寬4、厚1.3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：S2012.9.2401.2

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. (Daisy Yiyou Wang per Keith Wilson, January 28, 2012) Title changed from "Chape" to "Chape with taotie"; Period Two added "Warring States period"; Date changed from "5th--4th century BCE" to "4th--3rd century BCE"; Place of Origin changed from "China" to "Probably Changsha 長沙, Hunan 湖南 province, China"; Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)."
2. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 29, 2024) Title changed from "Chape" to "Sword scabbard chape with geometric decoration"; Date changed from "5th-4th century BCE" to "475-221 BCE"; added Geography (provenance) "China, possibly Hunan province, Changsha or Kingdom of Chu"; added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang; and added Unpublished Research by Jenny F. So.
3. (Keith Wilson, February 14, 2024) “Although there is no conclusive proof that this bronze sword, jade scabbard chape, and wood box with strips of bamboo (S2012.9.2401.1, S2012.9.2401.2, S2012.9.2401.3a-b) were unearthed together, they have repeatedly been presented as a group in publications beginning as early as the 1950s. In fact, similar assemblages have been documented in the archaeological record. Consequently, they have been catalogued as a group here pending further research.”

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 558) for S2012.9.2401.2 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970-1990); by Jenny F. So
Chape
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, 5th-4th century BCE
Jade
Length 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in)
The chape is worked from greenish brown jade and shows the standard design of symmetrical, angular spirals. [1]
[1] Max Loehr, Relics of Ancient China, from the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer (New York: Asia Society, 1965), no. 101.

Published References

Max Loehr. Relics of Ancient China: From the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer. Exh. cat. New York. 118, 162.
Arts of the Chou Dynasty. Exh. cat. Stanford, California. 100, 22 and 49, 100.

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Sword scabbard chape with geometric decoration

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