Finial in the form of a dragon and bird in combat

Jade pendant depicting a single-horned, open-mouthed dragon and a bird. Both the dragon and the bird are presented in profile, superimposed one atop the other, so that the dragon might be read as an appendage of the bird. The flat surfaces of the pendant are embellished with designs in raised lines. (Flaw pits around edges; spots of calcification; deposits, cinnabar.)

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.8 × 4.1 × 0.4 cm (3 1/16 × 1 5/8 × 3/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.518
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 24b: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Jewelry

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), bird, China, dragon
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), 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 #352: "Bird and Kuei Green mottled," 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

Jade pendant depicting a single-horned, open-mouthed dragon and a bird. Both the dragon and the bird are presented in profile, superimposed one atop the other, so that the dragon might be read as an appendage of the bird. The flat surfaces of the pendant are embellished with designs in raised lines. (Flaw pits around edges; spots of calcification; deposits, cinnabar.)

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 49, p. 93.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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