Circular plaque with dragon interlace

Object Details

• Provenance

  To 1959

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Ridgefield, CT [1]

  From 1959 to 1960

  Edna H. Bahr (d. 1978), by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr [2]

  From 1960 to 1997

  Paul Singer (1904-1997), Summit, New Jersey, purchased from Edna Bahr in 1960 [3]

  From 1997 to 1999

  In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC [4]

  From 1999

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler [5]

  Notes:

  [1] Paul Singer’s acquisition of the plaque from Edna Bahr, the daughter of Abel W. Bahr, was mentioned in his correspondence with Henry Trubner and Zheng Dekun, see letter from Henry Trubner to Singer, dated June 21, 1960 and letter from Zheng Dekun to Singer, dated 24 July, 1960, Paul Singer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The collector Abel W. Bahr was born in Shanghai and lived in China until about 1911, when he moved first to London, then to New York, Montreal, and eventually Ridgefield, Connecticut.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1. Singer discussed the circumstances of the acquisition of the object from the Bahr collection in his memoirs completed in February 1993, see Paul Singer, “Reminiscences of a Transient Custodian,” ms., Paul Singer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, p. 106-108. The plaque was reproduced in a catalogue of the exhibition organized by Paul Singer in 1972, see Early Chinese Gold and Silver (New York: China Institute in America, 1972), cat. 6 (ill.). The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Paul Singer over time was purchased by him on behalf of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Jillian Sackler, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities and later was transferred to the children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler.

  [4] Upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997, his collection was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery by order of the Executors of the Estate under a loan agreement signed on February 1997. Shortly thereafter, the Sackler Gallery was vested with full ownership and title to the collection in full agreement by the Sackler Foundations and Sackler family members.

  [5] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement” from March 1999, Collections Management Office. The formal accession of the Singer collection was completed in 2012.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Lost Luxuries: Ancient Chinese Gold (January 24 to March 15, 2020)

  One Man’s Search for Ancient China: The Paul Singer Collection (January 19 to July 7, 2013)

  Chu Symposium exhibition 1990 (April 18 - May 16, 1990)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)

  Edna H. Bahr (1907-1986)

  Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

• Origin

  Probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Singer, Paul, Bahr, Abel William, Bahr, Edna H.

• Place

  China, Henan province

• Topic

  Bronze, Repoussé, Art, The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Sculpture, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE), Chinese Art, Spring and Autumn period (770 - 476 BCE), Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE), Dragon, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry