Object: Garment hook (daigou) with scrolls S2012.9.1906

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): early Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 5th-4th century BCE

Object Date: 5th-4th century BCE

Medium: Bronze with gold, silver (?) , and jade inlay

Dimension(s): H x W x D (overall): 2.8 x 16.9 x 3 cm (1 1/8 x 6 5/8 x 1 3/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S2012.9.1906

Provenance: ?-1997
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997), method of acquisition unknown [1]

1997-1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon death of Paul Singer and establishment of a loan agreement [2]

From 1999
The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, by gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler [3]

Notes:

[1] The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Dr. Paul Singer over time was purchased by him on behalf of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Jillian Sackler, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities and later was transferred to the children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler.

[2] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997. See loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 1997, copy in collection accession files. In March 2023, the museum's legal name changed to National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution.

[3] The entirety of the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art formally accessioned in 2012. See the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art gift agreement, March 1999, copy in collection accession files. The work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.

Research updated on June 12, 2024.

Previous owner(s): Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (J. Smith per Keith Wilson, 7/22/2008) Jewelry added as secondary classification.

2. (Daisy Yiyou Wang, 02/14/2013) For comparative examples, see RLS1997.48.4551, 4527 and F1980. 209. Also see two hooks in iron with gold, silver and jade inlay, which were excacavted in Xinyang, Henan province, and published in Guo Moruo. "Xinyang mu de niandai yu guobie." Wenwu, vol. 1 (1958):5, based on the inscription on the bronze bells excavated from the tomb from Changtaiguan, Xinyang, Henan, the tomb should dated to the late Autumn and Spring period. The two Chu tombs in Xinyang were dated to early Warring States period by the report-The Henan Provincial Institute of Archaeology ed. Xinyang chumu (Two Tombs of the Chu State at Xinyang). Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1986, p.63; color pl. 6; pls. LXIV and LXV.

Title changed from "Garment hook" to "Garment hook (daigou) with scrolls"; period one added "Eastern Zhou dynasty"; period two added "Early Warring States period"; date added "5th-4th century B.C.E."; medium changed from "bronze" to "Bronze with gold, silver (?) , and jade inlay"; decription changed from "garment hook, bronze with stone inlay" to "garment hook, bronze with gold, silver (?) , and jade inlay".

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Garment hook (daigou) with scrolls

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