1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪, of Shanghai 上海. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 303. $40.
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Shang 商. Said to have been excavated in Chekiang [Zhejiang] 浙江. See further, S.I. 1323, Appendix VIII.
3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.
4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.952. Decomposition prevents more accurate calculation for nephrite.
5. (William B. Trousdale, 1964) Western Chou [Zhou] 周. Probably reworked from a broken perforated disk. The rim has been ground somewhat flatter opposite the central half circle perforation.
6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Western Chou [Zhou] 周.
7. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) Jade ornaments of the type huang 璜 have been excavated from remains belonging to the Sung tse [Songze] 崧澤 culture in eastern coastal China. The Sung tse [Songze] 崧澤 culture, which may be regarded as the late stage of the Ma chia pang [Majiabang] 馬家浜 culture, has produced carbon dates in the fourth and fifth millennia BCE. Two huang 璜 of nearly identical size, shape, and workmanship to F1917.383 were found in the middle layer at Sung tse [Songze] 崧澤 itself, which is located near Shanghai 上海 in Ch'ing p'u hsien [Qingpu xian] 青浦縣. (See Shanghai shih wen-wu pao-kuan wei-yuan-hui [Shanghai shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui] 上海市文物保管委員會, "Shanghai shih Ch'ing-p'u hsien Sung-tse i-chih te shih-chueh [Shanghai shi Qingpu xian Songze yizhi de shijue] 上海市青浦縣崧澤遺址的試掘," K'ao ku hsueh pao [Kaogu xuebao] 考古學報 1962. 2, pl. 3:4 (A2M5 16); and Huang Hsuan-p'ei [Huang Xuanpei] 黃宣佩 and Chang Ming-hua [Zhang Minghua] 張明華, "Ch'ing-p'u hsien Sung-tse i-chih ti-erh-tz'u fa-chueh [Qingpu xian Songze yizhi dierci fajue] 青浦縣崧澤遺址第二次發掘," K'ao ku hsueh pao [Kaogu xuebao]考古學報 1980.1, p. 51, fig. 16:10 (M92:5).
Jade and stone huang 璜 were found placed on the chests of occupants of several tombs at Ts'ao hsieh shan [Caoxieshan] 草鞋山, Wu hsien [Wu xian] 吳縣 in Kiangsu [Jiangsu] 江蘇 province. These tombs were in layer 6, which has been identified as belonging to the Sung tse [Songze] 崧澤 culture. (See Nanking po-wu-yuan [Nanjing bowuyuan] 南京博物院, "Kiangsu Wu-hsien Ts'ao-hsieh-shan i-chih [Jiangsu Wu xian Caoxieshan yizhi] 江蘇吳縣草鞋山遺址," Wen wu tzu liao ts'ung k'an [Wenwu ziliao congkan] 文物資料叢刊 3 (1980), pl. 3:2 (M105:2) and p. 23, figs. 71:5--9.)
A few jade and stone huang 璜 have been excavated from the upper layer at Ta hsi [Daxi] 大溪, Wu shan hsien [Wushan xian] 巫山縣 in Szechwan [Sichuan] 四川 province. The Ta hsi [Daxi] 大溪 culture, which is distributed in the Three Gorges region of Szechwan [Sichuan] 四川 and Hupei [Hubei] 湖北, southwest Hupei [Hubei] 湖北, and northern Hunan 湖南, has affinities with the Yang shao [Yangshao] 仰韶 culture. In southwest Hupei [Hubei] 湖北 and northern Hunan 湖南 it underlies the Ch'u chia ling [Qujialing] 屈家嶺 culture, which has produced carbon dates in the first half of the third millenium BCE. (See Szechwan sheng po-wu-kuan [Sichuan sheng bowuguan] 四川省博物館, "Wu-shan Ta-hsi i-chih ti-san-tzu fa-chueh [Wushan Daxi yizhi disanci fajue] 巫山大溪遺址第三次發掘," K'ao ku hsueh pao [Kaogu xuebao] 考古學報 1981.4, fig. 8:3 (M123:8).
Changed attribution from Chou [Zhou] 周, Western, to Neolithic, late 4th--early 3rd millennium BCE.
8. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, February 29, 2008) On this date entered: Period One (Late Neolithic period), Date (3300--2250 BCE), Artist (Liangzhu 良渚 culture), Title, Object name, Geographical region (Lake Tai 太湖 region); plus Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.
9. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.
10. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, May 24, 2010) Changed Object name from "Pendant" to "Jewelry." Added "Songze 崧澤 culture" to Artist field; date changed from "3300--2250 BCE" to "ca. 3500--2700 BCE."
11. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, September 1, 2016) title changed from "Pendant in the form of an arc" to "Arc-shaped pendant (huang 璜)"; in the Text Entries field added Chinese translation and unpublished research by Jenny So; added description; added past label text by Keith Wilson.
Draft catalogue entry for F1917.383; by Jenny F. So (2003)
Arc-pendant (huang 璜)
Neolithic period, 4000--3500 BCE
Majiabang 馬家浜 --Songze 崧澤 culture, Lake Tai 太湖 region
F1917.383
Its flat top with a small semi-circular depression in the center and curved outer perimeter suggest half of a circle. Two holes, drilled from both sides of the plaque on either side of the flat top, were probably used for suspension. The surface is undecorated and ground smooth, although irregularities such as curved slice marks are still visible.
At Wu xian 吳縣 Caoxieshan 草鞋山, Jiangsu 江蘇 province, such plaques begin to appear on the chest of the tomb occupants, illustrating where they might have been worn. [1] Many early examples recovered from grave furnishings at Majiabang 馬家浜 and Songze 崧澤 are narrow, describing a broad U-shape; the wide semicircular shapes like the Freer example seem to be favored later. [2] Recent excavations at Qianshan 潛山 Lingjiatan 淩家灘, Anhui 安徽 province, yielded similar semicircular arc-pendants, often decorated with serrations around its outer perimeter (fig. 1). [3] This particular type appears further upstream along the Yangzi 揚子 River in the Neolithic context at Wushan 巫山 Daxi 大溪 in Sichuan 四川 province. [4]
The Liangzhu 良渚 people who occupied the Lake Tai 太湖 region in the fourth to third millennium BCE still made and wore these pendants like their Songze 崧澤 ancestors, but often added their signature man-animal motif on the face of their plaques, even in elaborate openwork (fig. 2). [5] In one instance, a broken bracelet with animal heads in relief (similar to F1917.141) was modified into an arc-pendant. [6] The simple ornaments of the early Neolithic peoples became yet another means by which special individuals proclaimed their unusual status within their communities.
Published: Julia K. Murray, "Neolithic Chinese Jades in the Freer Gallery of Art," Orientations 14, no. 11 (1983), p. 21.
Figures:
1. Drawing of Lingjiatan 凌家灘 pendant (from Anhui sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 安徽省文物考古研究所, Lingjiatan yuqi 淩家灘玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 2000).
2. Yaoshan 瑤山 M4 pendant (Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 浙江省文物考古研究所, Shanghai shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui 上海市文物管理委员会, and Nanjing bowuyuan 南京博物院, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, and Hong Kong: Liangmu chubanshe, 1989), no. 161).
[1] Nanjing bowuyuan 南京博物院. "Jiangsu Wuxian Caoxieshan yizhi 江蘇吳縣草鞋山遺址." Wenwu ziliao congkan 文物資料叢刊 3 (1980), pp. 7 and 23, figs. 71:5--9, pl. 3:2.
[2] For examples from Songze 崧澤, see Shanghai shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui 上海市文物保管委員會, Songze: Xinshiqi shidai yizhi fajue baogao 崧澤--新時期時代遺址發掘報告 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1987), color plates 2--3.
[3] Anhui sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 安徽省文物考古研究所, Lingjiatan yuqi 淩家灘玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 2000), nos. 60--62.
[4] For Daxi 大溪 examples, see Sichuan sheng bowuguan 四川省博物館, "Wushan Daxi yizhi disanci fajue 巫山大溪遺址第三次發掘," Kaogu xuebao 考古學報 1981.4, pl. 8:3.
[5] Other examples are illustrated in Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 浙江省文物考古研究所, Shanghai shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui 上海市文物管理委员会, and Nanjing bowuyuan 南京博物院, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, and Hong Kong: Liangmu chubanshe, 1989), nos. 155--64, where they are sometimes shown strung together with beads recovered from their vicinity. The composition on no. 164 misappropriates a D-shaped headdress ornament for a pendant, evident in the way the man-animal motif is turned upside-down. For a discussion of this misappropriation, see F1916.511.
[6] From Yaoshan 瑤山 M11, see Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 浙江省文物考古研究所, Shanghai shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui 上海市文物管理委员会, and Nanjing bowuyuan 南京博物院, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, and Hong Kong: Liangmu chubanshe, 1989), nos. 157--58.
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