H x W x D: 5.7 x 17.2 x 0.4 cm (2 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 3/16 in)
Culture:
Hongshan culture, ca. 3800-ca. 2700 BCE Search this
Type:
Jewelry and Ornament
Origin:
Northeast China
Date:
ca. 3500-3000 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
The main element of the design of this ornamental pendant is a pair of "eyes," drilled from the front, with perforated slits for “eyebrows,” and a swirling series of gently undulating curves. Below the eyes are seven sets of paired, pointed, teeth-like projections. Extending from the sides are symmetrically curved and hooked elements. The top edge is straight. A hole is drilled from both sides between the eyes. The pendant is worked only on one surface; the back is flat and simply polished.
Provenance:
To about 1966
Estate of Col. Lewis F. Acker, to about 1966 [1]
From about 1966 to 1991
Therese and Erwin Harris, Coconut Grove, FL, purchased from Pennington's Antiques and/or Edward J. Koch Antiques, Hallandale, FL, in about 1966 [2]
From 1991
Freer Gallery of Art, given by Therese and Erwin Harris in 1991
Notes:
[1] According to a letter in the object file from Erwin Harris (dated December 9, 1991), this object was in the collection of U.S. Army Colonel Lewis F. Acker, a U.S. Liaison Officer attached to the Nationalist China Army. All of the collection evidently left China with Col. Acker at the conclusion of the war in 1945-1946. Mr. Harris purchased this object 20 years later, from the sale of Col. Acker's Estate through two antique dealers, Pennington's Antiques and Edward J. Koch Antiques, in Hallandale, FL (see Curatorial Note 5 in the object record).
[2] See note 1.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Ancient Chinese Jades (May 9, 1993 to May 18, 1998)
Previous custodian or owner:
Col. Lewis F. Acker (1897-1963)
Estate of Col. Lewis F. Acker
Pennington's Antiques
Edward J. Koch Antiques
Therese and Erwin Harris
Topic:
Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE) Search this
