H x W x D (overall): 4.5 x 1.8 x 0.6 cm (1 3/4 x 11/16 x 1/4 in)
Type:
Jewelry and Ornament
Origin:
China
Date:
ca. 1100-1000 BCE
Period:
Late Shang dynasty or Western Zhou dynasty, late Anyang period
Provenance:
As early as 1928
Likely discovered in Anyang, Honan Province, China [1]
By 1934 to 1948
Naiji Zhang (1899–1948), Shanghai, China then New York, NY [2]
1948 to around 1954
Mei Chien Zhang (1901–c.1955), New York, NY inherited upon her husband’s death [3]
1954 to 1958
J. T. Tai & Company, New York, NY likely purchased from Zhang Mei Chien in New York, NY during July 1954 [4]
1958 to 1997
Dr. Paul Singer, Summit, NJ, purchased from J. T. Tai & Company in New York, NY on 11/8/1958 [5]
1997 to 1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery upon the death of Paul Singer in January 1997 and a loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997 [6]
From 1999
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 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 [7]
Notes:
[1] Object published in the catalogue of The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 1935-6 at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, cat. 590 and dated to the Spring and Autumn Annals. Naiji Zhang of Shanghai, China is listed as the owner. The exhibition catalogue notes that this period is part of the Chou and falls roughly between c. 722-481 BCE. In other publications of Naiji Zhang’s jade collection, objects of this time period were unearthed at archeological sites at Anyang, Honan Province, China (see: “Archaic Chinese Jades, Special Exhibition,” The University Museum, Philadelphia, February 1940, page7-9). Excavations at Anyang began in 1928.
[2] See note 1. Naiji Zhang (also known as N.C. Chang) was a businessman, born to a prestigious family in Zhejiang that made their wealth in the silk and salt industries. He collected ancient Chinese art objects and Chinese coins. Zhang amassed his collection whilst living in Shanghai, before leaving for America in 1938, and acquired his objects onsite of archeological excavations (see: Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade through the Wei Dynasty. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1963: 115.).
Zhang lent 45 objects to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art and it is likely that these objects remained in his possession after the exhibition. At least 11 of the jades that Zhang lent to this exhibition were with him in 1938, when he moved to New York. These jades were ultimately sold on consignment through C. T. Loo & Company (three of which are in the collection of the FǀS: S2012.9.328; S1987.597; and RLS1997.48.4374). There is no evidence to suggest that Zhang sold any of his jades during the European exhibition.
[3] Mei Chien Zhang, Naiji Zhang’s wife, assumed ownership upon his death in 1948. She sold several pieces from her husband’s collection to both C. T. Loo & Company (which later operated as Frank Caro Chinese Art) and J. T. Tai & Company. She sold to J. T. Tai & Company in July 1954 (for example, see J. T. Tai & Company Stock Record YT 886 and YT 895, copies in COM provenance files). It is unclear when Frank Caro, C. T. Loo’s associate and successor to C. T. Loo & Company, purchased items from Mei Chien Zhang.
[4] See note 3. Sales Slip from J. T. Tai & Company to Dr. Paul Singer, 11/8/1958, includes an object identified as YT 1029, jade Cicada, copy located in acquisition folder, original located in FǀS Archives, Paul Singer Papers, Box 17, Folder 17. YT 1029 is likely S2012.9.348
In Paul Singer’s memoirs, he notes that he acquired 17 “of the Naiji Zhang jades, some of which Mr. Chang lent to the 1935-1936 International Exhibition of Chinese Art,” from J. T. Tai & Company. It is likely that S2012.9.348 was one of those 17 jades. See: Reminiscences of a Transient Custodian, ms. Paul Singer Papers, F|S Archives, p. 83-84.
[5] See note 4.The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Paul Singer over time was purchased by him on behalf of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Jillian Sackler, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, and the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities and was later transferred to the children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler.
[6] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon the death of Paul Singer in January 1997 and the loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997.
[7] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement,” March 1999, copy in provenance files. The object was formally accessioned into the museum collection in 2012.
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
The Arts of China: A Retrospective (February 4 to March 27, 1977)
Relics of Ancient China from the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer (1965)
Animal Forms in Chinese Art (September 23 to November 4, 1962)
International Exhibition of Chinese Art (November 28, 1935 to March 7, 1936)
The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Search this
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
