Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Qing dynasty, 1644-1911

Object Date: 1644-1911

Medium: Jade (serpentine)

Dimension(s): H x W: 3.2 x 4.6 cm (1 1/4 x 1 13/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1912.52

Provenance: To 1912
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), London, to 1912 [1]

From 1912 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Abel William Bahr, London, in 1912 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 362, pg. 108, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) was a collector and dealer born in Shanghai, China. After he left Shanghai in 1910, he lived, at various points in time, in London, Montreal, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. He established a gallery in New York City in 1920.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous owner(s): Abel William Bahr (C.L. Freer source) (1877-1959)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from A.W. Bahr, London. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 108.

2. Original attribution: Han. See further, S.I. 362, Appendix IV.

3. (G.P. Merrill, 1922) Sp. G. is 2.56; H. is about 5.5. Serpentine.

4. (A.G. Wenley, 1945) Han dynasty or later.

5. (Undated folder sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.567.

6. (E.H. West, 1959) Identified as serpentine by x-ray diffraction (Film F-786).

7. (W.B. Trousdale, 1964) Chou dynasty (?). Object of unknown use. Compare related pieces 16.628 and 17.382. The carving of this piece is quite different, but the similarity in form between these highly specialized forms suggests they belong to the same period.

8. (H.E. Buckman, 1964) The Envelope file contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.

9. (T. Lawton, 1978) Ch'ing dynasty. This object is more related to 12.53 than to 16.628 and 17.382; it is an archaistic rather than an archaic piece.

10. (J. Smith per Stephen Allee, 8/1/2008) Secondary classification Jewelry and Ornament added.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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