Bronze Sword with Jade Guard | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.51.19
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/204595

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Malachite- and azurite-encrusted bronze blade; greenish, brown jadelike guard
Dimensions: 1.2 x 5.1 x 2 cm (1/2 x 2 x 13/16 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. 461 by Max Loehr:

461 Bronze Sword with Jade Guard
The blade, slightly longer and heavier than the preceding one, is encrusted with malachite and some azurite. More than half the length of its flat tang is broken off. The jade guard, carved of a greenish, light brown and dark brown material, has the same rhombic section as the bronze blade. It is distinguished by an exquisitely polished surface and vertical median ridges on both sides. Late Eastern Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.51.19

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. 461, p. 314

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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