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Ornament (shi 飾) with face and masks

National Museum of Asian Art

Object Details

Description
An ornament of reddish nephrite shading to gray green; somewhat translucent; one surface decorated with low relief mostly linear; four holes for attachment.
Label
Exceptional workmanship defines this human face wearing a twisted rope or fabric headband. His long hair ends in upturned curls, and circular earrings hang from his ears. Four sets of tiny drilled holes presumably were used to fasten this ornament to fabric. Creating those holes required precise control and tiny drill points, a noteworthy achievement of the Shijiahe culture.
Provenance
Wu collection, Tianjin [1]
From at least 1937 to 1939
C. T. Loo & Company, Paris and New York from at least March 1937 [2]
From 1939
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on
November 30, 1939 [3]
Notes:
[1] According to information in C. T. Loo's Approval memorandum, dated November 6, 1939, in object file.
[2] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. LAP 5655: "Brownish jade in the form of a thin pillar, head etched in center. Han," C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file. According to information on the stockcard, the object was shipped to Paris in March 1937 and returned to New York in November 1938; in September 1939 it was offered to Mr. McKim; on November 6, 1939 it was shipped to the Freer Gallery.
[3] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated November 30, 1939, copy in object file.
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History
Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
Ancient Chinese Jades (May 9, 1993 to May 18, 1998)
Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
Chinese Bronze, Jade, Marble (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1955 (October 24, 1955 to February 25, 1956)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1955 (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1945 (January 9, 1945 to August 20, 1955)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 17, 1944)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)
Previous custodian or owner
Wu Collection
C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Culture
Shijiahe culture, ca. 2500-ca. 2000 BCE
ca. 2500 - 2000 BCE
Period
Late Neolithic period
Accession Number
F1939.54
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Jewelry and Ornament
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.3 × 3.2 × 0.6 cm (2 7/8 × 1 1/4 × 1/4 in)
Origin
Hubei province, Middle Yangzi valley, China
On View
Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
Related Online Resources
Google Cultural Institute
Jades for Life and Death
See more items in
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Topic
carving
jade
nephrite
Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
mask
China
Chinese Art
Record ID
fsg_F1939.54
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3ed802f6d-89d6-4ffe-8400-1b4d65a999f1
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

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