Pendant in the form of a water buffalo

Pendant, profile bovine, carved nearly in round; pierced at mouth/jaw; translucent, light greenish-white. (Mostly calcified; chip in its front left foot; rear end degraded; surface cracks; more recent surface damage.)

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Historical period(s)
Late Shang dynasty or Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1100-1000 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 2.7 x 4.4 x 1 cm (1 1/16 x 1 3/4 x 3/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.619
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Jewelry

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), China, water buffalo, Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE)
Provenance

To 1963
J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York [1]

From 1963 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York in 1963 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] J. T. Tai's stockcard no. YT-2653, according to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation on October 9, 2009.

[2] See Tai's invoice dated X/15/63, 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)

Dr. Arthur M. Sackler 1913-1987
J.T. Tai & Co. established in 1950

Description

Pendant, profile bovine, carved nearly in round; pierced at mouth/jaw; translucent, light greenish-white. (Mostly calcified; chip in its front left foot; rear end degraded; surface cracks; more recent surface damage.)

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Chinese Jade Animals. Exh. cat. Hong Kong. cat. 31.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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