Hair ornament with kingfisher feathers and floral motifs

Object Details

• Description

  A band-shaped kingfisher-feather headdress ornament with floral and insect motifs, inlaid with pink quartz stones.

• Label

  This barrette-shaped bar would have been one of many similar ornaments secured to a headdress made of a metal framework covered by black gauze. The brilliant blue is the natural color of feathers from the kingfisher bird, which is native to some parts of China and other areas of Asia. These feathers were chosen to make jewelry because of their dazzling visual appeal.

• Provenance

  ?-1997

  Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1997-1999

  In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon death of Paul Singer and establishment of a loan agreement [2]

  From 1999

  The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, by 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 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Dr. 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.

  [2] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997. See loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 1997, copy in collection accession files. In March 2023, the museum's legal name changed to National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution.

  [3] The entirety of the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art formally accessioned in 2012. See the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art gift agreement, March 1999, copy in collection accession files. The work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.

  Research updated on June 12, 2024.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Gifts to the Collection: 1987-2012 (June 23 to December 17, 2012)

  Worshipping the Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits (June 17 to September 9, 2001)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

• Origin

  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

  1800s, 1950s

• Name

  Singer, Paul

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Gilding, Art, The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Wirework, Inlay (process), Animals, Insects, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Birds, Flowers

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry