Object: Pendant with dragon head, one of a pair F1918.43

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Forgery in the style of Eastern Zhou dynasty, 20th century

Object Date: 20th century

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 8.7 x 7.3 x 0.8 cm (3 7/16 x 2 7/8 x 5/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1918.43

: 龍首佩（一对之一）
20世紀仿東周戰國時期（公元前475--221年）風格
中國
軟玉
高8.7、寬7.3、厚0.8釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1918.43

Provenance: To 1918
Wang Jiantang, Shanghai, to 1918 [1]

From 1918 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang in New York, NY in 1918 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1369, p. 317, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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.

Research Completed July 7, 2022

Previous owner(s): Wang Jiantang 王鑑堂 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from K. T. Wong [Wang Jiantang] 王鑑堂 of Shanghai 上海 in New York, NY. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 317. Price
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1369, Appendix IX.
3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty. This is probably one of an original pair of necklace pendants. For suggested use and position see F1930.27a-k.
4. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Late Eastern Chou [Zhou] 周.
5. (Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480--222 B.C. [Washington, DC: Freer Gallery of Art, 1982], cat. no. 89) This tan gray nephrite pendant is in the form of a crescent with an abstract dragon head at one end. Simply incised motifs cover the heavily abraded surfaces. Larger areas of the pendant have altered to a chalky white. Special attention appears to have been given to the finishing of the loop on the outer edge of the pendant. This pendant presumably was part of a larger assemblage that would have been suspended by a chain (see cat. no. 77 F1930.27a-k).
6. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 1, 2008) "Jewelry" added as secondary classification.
7. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2010) Object Name changed from "Pendant: dragon" to "Jewelry."
8. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, July 6, 2022) Title changed from "Ornament; flat sickle shaped pendant in form of stylized dragon" to "Pendant with dragon head, one of a pair"; changed Perid One from "Eastern Zhou dynasty" to "Forgery in the style of Eastern Zhou dynasty"; changed Date from "5th-4th century BCE" to "20th century"; added Chinese translation; removed Description: "Chinese Late Eastern Chou dynasty, Warring States period, 5th-4th centuries B.C.
Ornament; flat, sickle shaped pendant in form of sytlized dragon; small, projecting, functional loop on outer edge at back of head; translucent, ice green with earth colored coating and areas of chalky white decomposition; decoration: carved and lightly incised, simple linear design and circles on both sides. Cracks and damages due to disintegration. For similar, larger piece, see 18.42. Box"
Added the following to the Description field: "Ornament; flat, sickle shaped pendant in form of stylized dragon; small, projecting, functional loop on outer edge at back of head; translucent, ice green with earth colored coating and areas of chalky white decomposition; decoration: carved and lightly incised, simple linear design and circles on both sides. Cracks and damages due to disintegration. For similar, larger piece, see F1918.42.
Acquired with a box, now lost."

Published References

Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 89, p. 143.

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Pendant with dragon head, one of a pair

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