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A green jade disk with a circle cut out in the middle. There is a pattern of small relief hexagons throughout the piece.

The green jade disk has a circle cut out in the middle and lays flat on a grey background. There is some off-white discoloration along the bottom edges of the piece. There is a pattern of small relief hexagons throughout the piece.

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
1943.50.558
Title
Jade Disk with Relief Pattern of Hexagons
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
disk
Date
206 BCE - 220 CE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204553

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, bluish celadon-green nephrite with whitish streaks at the perimeter
Dimensions
Diam. 14.9 x Thickness 0.6 cm (5 7/8 x 1/4 in.)
Weight 279 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. 526 by Max Loehr:

526 Disk with Relief Pattern of Hexagons
Heavy disk of translucent, bluish celadon-green jade with whitish streaks at the perimeter and a partly calcified, whitish and buff underside. On both sides, flat outer and inner borders frame a relief pattern of hexagonal, beveled elevations. The glossy polish of the surfaces is impaired only by the calcified areas on the underside. Han.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.558
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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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. 526, pp. 362-363

Exhibition History

  • 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