Knife pendant in the form of a dragon, probably reworked from a bracelet

Object Details

• Description

  Pendant kui 夔; curved; pierced; translucent light yellow-green. (Minor flaws.)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)

  Edna H. Bahr (died 1978)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Provenance

  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), 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 in 1987 [3]

  Notes:

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

  [2] See note 1.

  [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.

• Origin

  Anyang, probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 23b: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Sackler, Arthur M., Bahr, Abel William, Bahr, Edna H.

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE), Dragon

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry

• On View

  Yes