Pomander

18th to early 19th century, before 1847

Pomanders are for carrying sweet-smelling substances. A palace record from August 11, 1847, appears to discuss this pomander when it was sent to the palace workshop to have the mark, “Shende tang zhi” (Made for the Hall of Prudent Virtue), carved on the base. The carver was rewarded with five taels of silver (about 8.8 ounces), plus material for a formal jacket—about the average monthly wage of a skilled palace jade worker.

White nephrite

2 7/8 x 2 5/8 x 1 in. (7.3 x 6.67 x 2.54 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

33.67

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesFoong, Ping, Xiaojin Wu, and Darielle Mason. "An Asian Art Museum Transformed." Orientations vol. 51, no. 3 (May/June 2020): p. 49, reproduced fig. 4.

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