Finial in the form of a bird

Flat, arc-shaped pendant with a bird presented in profile. A series of regularly incised lines and serrations embellish the angular crest that rises from the bird’s head. Those angular forms are echoed in the chevrons on the hooked beak. A bolder series of lines, some of them raised, articulate the furled wing and pendant tail. (Mostly calcified; cinnabar deposits; pencil [?] marks on top side.)

Historical period(s)
Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.4 x 3.1 x 0.4 cm (2 15/16 x 1 1/4 x 3/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.535
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Jewelry

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), bird, China
Provenance

To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai, China, London, England, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]

From 1959 to 1963
Edna H. Bahr (d. 1978), United States and England, acquired by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr

From 1963 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Edna H. Bahr in 1963 [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

[2] See #411: "Profile bird-high crest. Cream-cinnabar," on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.

[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Edna H. Bahr died 1978
Abel William Bahr 1877-1959
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler 1913-1987

Description

Flat, arc-shaped pendant with a bird presented in profile. A series of regularly incised lines and serrations embellish the angular crest that rises from the bird’s head. Those angular forms are echoed in the chevrons on the hooked beak. A bolder series of lines, some of them raised, articulate the furled wing and pendant tail. (Mostly calcified; cinnabar deposits; pencil [?] marks on top side.)

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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