Bronze Sword with Jade Guard | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.51.18.B
Title: Bronze Sword with Jade Guard
Classification: Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type: sword guard
Date: 475 BCE - 221 BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204594

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Oxide-encrusted bronze blade; bone-colored nephrite guard
Dimensions: guard: 1.1 x 5.4 x 2.7 cm (7/16 x 2 1/8 x 1 1/16 in.)
sword: 62 cm (24 7/16 in.)

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. 460 by Max Loehr:

460 Bronze Sword with Jade Guard
The oxide-encrusted blade with a flat but sturdy tang is fitted with a bone-colored jade guard that is plain and well polished. Late Eastern Chou.

The short copper pin, inserted into the end of the tang and soldered into place as a device for attaching the chape, No. 455, as a hilt ornament, is a recent addition.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.51.18.B

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. 460, p. 313

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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