Cylindrical bead

One of the fifteen beads found inside the bronze wine container you 卣 (S1987.968a-b); perforations drilled off-center from both sides; slightly flared profile; undecorated; even dark gray-green with dark brown streaks.

Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 3000-1700 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D (W x D for larger end): 4.5 × 2.9 × 3 cm (1 3/4 × 1 1/8 × 1 3/16 in) Diam (for smaller end): 2.2 cm (7/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.935.3
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Bead

Keywords
carving, China, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), nephrite, WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

One of the fifteen beads found inside the bronze wine container you 卣 (S1987.968a-b); perforations drilled off-center from both sides; slightly flared profile; undecorated; even dark gray-green with dark brown streaks.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art 1935-1936. Exh. cat. London, 1935. cat. 233.
  • Chinese Bronzes of the Shang (1766-1122 B.C.) Through the T’ang Dynasty (A.D. 618-906). Exh. cat. New York, 1938. cat. 105.
  • Sueji Umehara. Shina-kodo Seikwa [Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America]. Osaka, 1933. cat. 73.
  • A loan exhibition of early Chinese art treasures: for the benefit of Chinese civilian war victims. Exh. cat. New York, 1938. p. 19.
  • Important Chinese Art: Early Dynastic Bronzes, Silver and Gold. New York, 1963. p. 40.
  • Joan Marcia Hartman. At the Sales: America. vol. 10, no. 1, Spring 1964. p. 46.
  • Jessica Rawson. Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing. London, 1995. p. 239, fig. 2.
  • Robert W. Bagley. Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections: Volume 1 of Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. vol. 1, Washington and Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1987. p. 373.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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