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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.418
Title
Curved Jade Fish with Forepaw
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
pendant
Date
c. 11th cent. BCE - 771 BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Western Zhou period, c. 1050-771 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/202385

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Olive-green nephrite with whitish veins and small discolored areas
Dimensions
10.6 x 3.5 x 0.4 cm (4 3/16 x 1 3/8 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 28 g

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. 291 by Max Loehr:

291 Curved Fish with Forepaw
Olive-green jade with whitish veins and small discolored areas. The comparatively large, flat, segmental plaque is shaped as a fish, with the usual long dorsal fin and two short pectoral fins. The mouth resembles the hooked beak common in bird figures. In front of the pectoral fins is a paw, characterized as such by curved, claw-like incisions. The elegantly flaring, cleft tail fin is perforated from the right side, as is the mouth. An exceptional addition is a grooved line repeating the contour of the “beak”. Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.418
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 (Cambridge, MA, Fogg Art Museum, 1975)., cat. no. 291, p. 206
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 170, 172, fig. 3

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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