Bracelet

1. Bought from K. T. Wong [Wang Jiantang] 王鑑堂, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 318. $33.34.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Hsia [Xia] 夏. See further, S.I. 1372, Appendix IX.

3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Ching [Qing] 清 dynasty reproduction of Chou [Zhou] 周 type. Material soft; surface painted (?).

4. (Howard Phillip Stern, 1956) Box for this piece purports this jade to be from the collection of the Viceroy Tuan Fang [Duanfang] 端方.

5. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Jade rings of this type, having the same shape, proportions, and the concave silhouette, have been found in Neolithic contexts. See J. G. Andersson, "Researches into the Prehistory of the Chinese," Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, vol. 15 (1943), pl. 47:1; and Wang Ssu-li [Wang Sili] 王思禮, "Shantung An-ch'iu Ching-chih chen hsin-shih-ch'I shih-tai mu-tsang fa-chueh [Shandong Anqiu Jingzhi zhen xinshiqi shidai muzang fajue] 山東安丘景芝鎮新石器時代墓葬發掘," K'ao ku hsueh pao [Kaogu xuebao] 考古學報 1959.4, p. 27, fig. 11, and pl. 6. Attribution of this ring changed from Ch'ing [Qing] 清 to Neolithic. 

6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Several undecorated cho [zhuo] 鐲 with slightly concave outer surfaces have been found over a wide geographical area. An example published by J. G. Andersson in his "Researches into the Prehistory of the Chinese," Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, vol. 15 (1943), pl. 47:1, p. 90, is said to have come from a Neolithic Ma chia yao [Majiayao] 馬家窯 site in Kansu [Gansu] 甘肅 province. Andersson describes the piece as being of "black, not very hard rock." Although broken into three sections, it forms a complete ring with an outer diameter of 83 mm.

In 1959, a fragmentary cho [zhuo] 鐲 was reproduced in Wang Ssu-li [Wang Sili] 王思禮, "Shantung An-ch'iu Ching-chih chen hsin-shih-ch'I shih-tai mu-tsang fa-chueh [Shandong Anqiu Jingzhi zhen xinshiqi shidai muzang fajue] 山東安丘景芝鎮新石器時代墓葬發掘," K'ao ku hsueh pao [Kaogu xuebao] 考古學報 1959.4, p. 27, fig. 11:9, and pl. 6:3. An outline drawing of the Neolithic grave no. 7 in which the fragment was found appears on p. 20 of the report. In this instance, the provenance is Shantung [Shandong] 山東 province. 

Finally, tomb no. 59 at Shih hsia [Shixia] 石峽, Ch'u chiang hsien [Qujiang xian] 曲江縣, Kwangtung [Guangdong] 廣東 province, yielded a jade ring of the type described above. The report in Kwangtung sheng po-wu-kuan [Guangdong sheng bowuguan] 廣東省博物館 and Ch'u chiang hsien wen-hua-chu Shih-hsia fa-chueh hsiao-tsu [Qujiang xian wenhuaju Shixia fajue xiaozu] 曲江縣文化局石峽發掘小組, "Kwangtung Ch'u-chiang Shih-hsia mu-tsang fa-chueh chien-pao [Guangdong Qujiang Shixia muzang fajue jianbao] 廣東曲江石峽墓葬發掘簡報," Wen wu [Wenwu] 文物 1978.7, pp. 1--15, indicates that tomb no. 59 belongs to the "third period 三期" in the chronological sequence of the Shih hsia [Shixia] 石峽 culture, which would correspond to the late Neolithic.

These three examples indicate that plain cho [zhuo] 鐲 with slightly concave outer surfaces appear to have been in use over a broad geographical area in China and that they date from the late Neolithic period. Such an early date differs from the Shang 商 or Western Chou [Zhou] 周 date proposed by Max Loehr in Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1975), cats. 174 and 321.

7. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) For a discussion of bangles, see Folder Sheet F1917.387. The Shih hsia [Shixia] 石峽 bangle mentioned by Lawton is reproduced in Kwangtung sheng po-wu-kuan [Guangdong sheng bowuguan] 廣東省博物館 and Ch'u chiang hsien wen-hua-chu Shih-hsia fa-chueh hsiao-tsu [Qujiang xian wenhuaju Shixia fajue xiaozu] 曲江縣文化局石峽發掘小組, "Kwangtung Ch'u-chiang Shih-hsia mu-tsang fa-chueh chien-pao [Guangdong Qujiang Shixia muzang fajue jianbao] 廣東曲江石峽墓葬發掘簡報," Wen wu [Wenwu] 文物 1978.7, p. 15, fig. 29 (M59:39); the 3rd period of the Shih hsia [Shixia] 石峽 culture has been dated to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE.

The fragmentary bangle from Shantung [Shandong] 山東 province was excavated at Ching chih chen [Jingzhi zhen] 景芝鎮, An ch'iu [Anqiu] 安丘, in a site containing late Lung shan [Longshan] 龍山 remains. Corrected carbon 14 dates for the Shantung [Shandong] 山東 Lung shan [Longshan] 龍山 culture range from 2405--1810 BCE.

8. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, March 3, 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.