Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

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

Object Date: 475-221 BCE

Medium: Shell

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 8.1 × 1.5 × 2.2 cm (3 3/16 × 9/16 × 7/8 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1915.232

: 帶鉤
東周戰國時期（公元前475-221年）
中國
貝
高4.7、寬13、厚0.5釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1915.232

Provenance: To 1915
Abel William Bahr (1877–1959), New York, NY, to 1915 [1]

From 1915 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from Abel William Bahr, New York, NY, in 1915 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 759, p. 167, 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)

Description: Girdle hook; in form of quadrilateral, curved stem ending in barely outlined, inverted dragon head; remains of projecting stud on reverse; iridescent white on one side only, remainder is decomposed, chalky white with clay colored coating and some reddish brown, earth incrustations. (Many chips and damages, one break on stud.)
Acquired with a box, now lost.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Abel William Bahr, New York, NY. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 168.
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: T'ang [Tang] 唐. See further, S.I. 759, Appendix VII.
3. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.
4. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.
5. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from "Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty" to "Late Eastern Chou [Zhou] 周, Warring States period."
6. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) "Jewelry" added as secondary classification.
7. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, March 15, 2011) Object Name changed from "Girdle hook" to "Garment hook; Title changed from "Girdle hook; in form of quadrilateral, curved stem ending in barely outlined, inverted, dragon
head; remains of projecting stud on reverse" to "Garment hook (daigou 帶鉤)."
8. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 7, 2022) Medium changed from "clay" to "shell."
9. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 24, 2023) added Period Two as "Warring States period"; Title changed from "Garment hook (daigou)" to "Garment hook"; added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang. Removed the following from the Description field "Girdle hook; in form of quadrilateral, curved stem ending in barely outlined, inverted dragon head; remains of projecting stud on reverse; irridescent white on one side only, remainder is decomposed, chalky white with clay colored coating and some reddish brown, earth incrustations. (Many chips and damages, one break on stud.) Box."
Added the following to the Description field "Girdle hook; in form of quadrilateral, curved stem ending in barely outlined, inverted dragon head; remains of projecting stud on reverse; iridescent white on one side only, remainder is decomposed, chalky white with clay colored coating and some reddish brown, earth incrustations. (Many chips and damages, one break on stud.)
Acquired with a box, now lost."

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Garment hook

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