Accession Number1960/2.95
TitleZoomorphic pendant
Artist(s)ChineseArtist NationalityChinese (culture or style)Object Creation Datecirca 1300 BCE - circa 1100 BCEMedium & Supportcreamy green nephrite with black streaksDimensions 2 15/16 in x 2 3/16 in x 3/16 in (7.5 cm x 5.5 cm x 0.5 cm);1 3/8 in x 5 1/2 in x 3 15/16 in (3.5 cm x 14 cm x 10 cm);2 15/16 in x 2 3/16 in x 3/16 in (7.5 cm x 5.5 cm x 0.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase from the collection of Max LoehrLabel copyThe heads of horses, deer, mules, and other animals which represented the status or rank of the owner often decorated knives of the nomadic tribes. Such knives were often exchanged with Chinese traders at the border in the Bronze Age.
Maribeth Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art
Exhibited in "Flora and Fauna in Chinese Art," April 6, 2002 - December 1, 2002.
Jade pendants such as these were worn as ornaments by the ruling class of China’s Bronze Age as symbols of rank, wealth, and power. The pendants were sewn onto garments or headdresses through cleverly disguised small holes, as observed here in these two works. The designs of Shang and Zhou jades were inherited from the late stone-age cultures of China’s Neolithic period, and drew inspiration from forms of the animal kingdom, both real and imagined.. In the Shang and Zhou periods, the carving became flatter and the decorative repertoire expanded from birds, fish turtles and forms of a dragon to include larger animals such as rams, horses, tigers, or fantastic composites of different animals and perennially favored dragons.
Nephrite jade and other stones used by the ancient Chinese for carving were extremely hard and could not be carved or whittled away with metal tools but had to be worn down with an abrasive paste to achieve the desired shape and decoration. The ancient lapidary’s tools probably included rotating drills, polishers, and rubbers made of bamboo, wood, or slate loaded with abrasive paste. Jade ornaments were buried with their owners, along with ceremonial jade such as bi discs and cong tubes.
(Label for UMMA Chinese Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
Subject matterJade pendent with zoomorphic design, with abstract representation of animal form, possibly a bird. Such pendants are frequently encountered in Shang elite tombs in the second half of the sencond millennium B.C. in the Central Plains, China. Notchs on the edge and worn relief carvings on the surface indicate that the pendant was probably recarved from a broken jade object from an earlier era, possibly a ceremonial blade from the coastal prehistoric Longshan society of the third millennium
Physical Descriptionjade pendent with zoomorphic design, with abstract representation of animal form, possibly a bird. Notchs on the edge and worn relief carvings on the surface indicate that the pendant was probably recarved from a broken jade object from an earlier era.
Primary Object Classification Jewelry Primary Object TypependantCollection AreaAsianRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
Asia
Birds
jades (objects)
pendants
stone