Jade Bird Figure | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.359
Title: Jade Bird Figure
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/203248

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Slightly calcified, translucent yellowish brown nephrite
Dimensions: 2.7 x 5.5 x 0.2 cm (1 1/16 x 2 3/16 x 1/16 in.)
unspecified: 5 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. 262 by Max Loehr:

262 Bird Figure
Slightly calcified, translucent yellowish brown jade. The bird has a short tail and a rather compact shape, but its hammer-shaped beak and crest relate it to the preceding types. The eyes are comparatively large, and the interior, grooved design, identical on both sides, is reduced to a few lines marking wings and tail. Small perforation at the breast. Late Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.359

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. 262, p. 195

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

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