Recumbent Pig Pendant
Artist/Culture
Chinese
DateLater Han Dynasty (206–220 C.E.)
Mediumnephrite
Dimensions0.1 cm (1/16 in.)
ClassificationsCostumes and Accessories
MarkingsLabel: Mostra D'Arte Cinese, Venezia 1954 214; label: Frank Caro. Successor to C.T. Loo J 75; label: USA 49
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1955.4
DescriptionTranslucent green and opaque yellow; two perforations at nose and tail.Label Text2006-03-04: Recumbent Pig Pendant Nephrite; Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), 1st century BCE Museum purchase, 1955.4 Carvings of single figures were rare before the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE). Their more frequent appearance paralleled the increased use of clay sculptures of human figures (instead of human sacrifices) in tombs. This pendant shows a male figure wearing a long robe tied with a sash and a headdress with a double-pointed ornament. His arms are folded across the chest with his hands hidden inside the sleeves. Highly burnished jade pigs conceived with stylized cuts and incised lines to indicate flanks, shoulders, limbs, snout, ears and eyes, have been found in many Han dynasty tombs. Believed to be protective and preservative, these pig jades were usually placed under the armpits or in the clenched hands of the deceased. Examples such as this, with perforations through the tail ridge and below snout, were often sown onto the shroud or the sleeves of the deceased. ProvenanceC.T. Loo (Mr. Frank Caro), New York, NY.
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 110
