Pendant in the form of a dragon

This bottle-horned kui 夔 dragon seems to have been worked in the full round, but one side has suffered too much loss of stone through burial damage to let one be certain of the previous presence of design elements. Large suspension hole through the middle. (Generally cracked/creviced with soil/cinnabar accretions; reverse is mostly degraded.)

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Turquoise
Dimensions
H x W x D: 4.1 × 5.2 × 1.1 cm (1 5/8 × 2 1/16 × 7/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1987.877
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 24b: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Pendant

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), China, dragon
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

This bottle-horned kui 夔 dragon seems to have been worked in the full round, but one side has suffered too much loss of stone through burial damage to let one be certain of the previous presence of design elements. Large suspension hole through the middle. (Generally cracked/creviced with soil/cinnabar accretions; reverse is mostly degraded.)

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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