User Guide

Objects

Various approaches allow you to see all the pieces currently included in the online catalogue. If you type an object’s identification number in the search box, be sure to add an asterisk "*" at the end. Alternatively, you can discover contents with the faceted search tool, or you can type in a common keyword. View curator-selected highlights of the collection, or use the infinite search to browse the entire contents of this catalogue. After you access entries, you can read curatorial records, archival materials, and more information for each object. Click on Contents|IIIF to look at objects by type. When you open additional windows, you can compare views of different objects or multiple views of the same object.

Places

These maps link objects with archaeological information associated with specific locations in China.

People

This unit features previous owners of jades that are now in the National Museum of Asian Art’s collections.

Essays

In the essay section, read an article about Charles Lang Freer’s Neolithic jade collection, refer to analytical work done on jades in the National Museum of Asian Art’s collections, access an essay in Chinese about the history of archaeological activity at Neolithic Liangzhu 良渚 culture sites, and more.

Resources

Watch documentaries and interviews with jade specialists here.

Resources

This section includes archival research material, selected past publications, and a subject bibliography. Link to the Google Cultural Institute to explore an installation of early Chinese jades in the museum’s Freer Gallery of Art.

Download Images

Feel free to download high-resolution images for personal, educational, and other non-commercial uses consistent with the principles of fair use. Please review the rights statement and the Smithsonian Terms of Use at the end of each object entry before clicking “Save this image.” Object images should be credited by collection, credit line, and object number.

The National Museum of Asian Art’s standard object image credit format is:
[Creator’s name (if known)] / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, [Collection name (if not NMAA)], [Donor or accession information], [Object number]

Here are examples from each collection:

• Freer Gallery of Art Collection objects: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, [Donor or accession information], [Object number]
• Freer Study Collection objects: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Study Collection, [Donor or accession information], [Object number]
• Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection objects: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, [Donor or accession information], [Object number]
• National Museum of Asian Art Collection objects: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, [Donor or accession information], [Object number]

For example, an image of Pendant in the form of a bird (S1987.590) would be credited as: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.590

If you have any questions about object crediting, please contact our rights & reproductions office at Image Services and Permissions.