Decorative fitting for an ornamental comb

Ornament; pendant of irregular shape with slightly concave edges and indented base; semicircular projection on top with two small conical perforations; semitranslucent, light green with profuse cloudy white decomposition; mirror-like luster; tool mark on one side; sharp edges.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Maker(s)
Artist: Liangzhu culture 良渚 (ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE)
Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 3300-2250 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 3.4 x 7.9 x 0.5 cm (1 5/16 x 3 1/8 x 3/16 in)
Geography
China, Lake Tai region, but purportedly found in Shaanxi
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1917.382
On View Location
Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Head ornament

Keywords
China, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
Provenance

Reportedly excavated in Shaanxi province, China [1]

To 1917
You Xiaoxi (late 19th–early 20th century), Shanghai, China to 1917 [2]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi in 1917 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:
[1] According to Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1322, p. 302, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[3] See note 2.

[4] 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
You Xiaoxi (C.L. Freer source) late 19th-early 20th century

Description

Ornament; pendant of irregular shape with slightly concave edges and indented base; semicircular projection on top with two small conical perforations; semitranslucent, light green with profuse cloudy white decomposition; mirror-like luster; tool mark on one side; sharp edges.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Minao Hayashi. Jade of the Liang-chu Culture. no. 360 Tokyo, March 1981. fig. 16.
  • Julia Murray. Neolithic Chinese Jades in the Freer Gallery of Art. vol. 14, no. 11 Hong Kong, November 1983. p. 17.
  • Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Fang Gu. Yuqi shidai: Meiguo bowuguan cang Zhongguo zaoqi yuqi [The Jade Age: Early Chinese Jades in American Museums]. Beijing, 2009. p. 57.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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