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A jade piece that is shaped into a rectangle and shown horizontally. It is pale green in color. There are many swirling relief lines through the piece that create a pattern. Along the top of the piece is the shape of a long, thin dragon with a detailed he

The jade piece is shaped into a rectangle and shown horizontally on a dark grey background. It is pale green in color with some dark flecks. There are many swirling relief lines through the piece that create a pattern. The left side has a finely detailed engraving that swirls. Along the top of the piece is the shape of a long, thin dragon with a detailed head facing the left side.

Gallery Text

During the Warring States and Han periods, jades functioned not only as ritual and burial items, but also as objects of personal adornment for the living. Other luxury materials, such as gold, bronze, and glass began to be incorporated with jades with greater frequency.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.398
Title
Jade Scabbard Buckle
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
206 BCE - 9 CE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, Western Han period, 206 BCE-9 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/203226

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Translucent, pale greenish jade with cream-colored areas
Dimensions
H. 6.2 x W. 3.2 x D. 1.2 cm (2 7/16 x 1 1/4 x 1/2 in.)
Weight 34 g

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Published Text

Catalogue
Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Authors
Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber
Publisher
Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975)

Catalogue entry no. 570 by Max Loehr:

570 Scabbard Buckle
Translucent, pale greenish jade with cream-colored areas. The upper face is elaborately decorated with scroll-work in relief, consisting primarily of spirals and arranged symmetrically in interlocked pairs, comparable to the pattern on No. 569. At the top appears an animal mask with obliquely striated brows whose nostrils, teeth, and claws are finely incised along the upper edge. The sinuous body of a dragon executed in relief and openwork, winds along the right edge of the buckle. Distinct from both Nos. 458 and 569, the buckle does not curve down at the top; instead it is provided with a transverse bar just above the bracket. Western Han.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.398
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), cat. no. 570, p. 394
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), no. 16, p. 23

Exhibition History

  • S427: Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu