H x W x D: 5.4 × 4.5 × 2 cm (2 1/8 × 1 3/4 × 13/16 in)
Type:
Jewelry and Ornament
Origin:
Anyang, probably Henan province, China
Date:
ca. 1250-1050 BCE
Period:
Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period
Description:
This stylized owl is decorated all over the back and wings with a mask, worked in flat relief. Only the outline of the wings and the striated tail create a bird. The stone is greenish-gray. (Old labels adhere to back; large chip in right side; soil and cinnabar adhere; flaw on bottom; nick in left wing tip, bottom.)
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), United States and England, acquired by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr
From 1963 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from the Edna H. Bahr in 1963 [2]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. 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 #439:
"Green-grey," on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.
[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. 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.
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)
Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades (October 1, 1989 - September 10, 1990)
In Praise of Ancestors: Ritual Objects from China (September 28, 1987 to January 1, 1989)
