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A 3D jade sculpture of a buffalo head that faces the left. The head has carved lines to show horns, ears, eyes, and the snout. The sculpture is pale green in color with spots of dark brown and orange.

A 3D jade sculpture of a buffalo head that faces the left. The sculpture is round in shape. The head has carved lines to show horns, ears, eyes, and the snout. The sculpture is pale green in color with spots of dark brown and orange. There is a hole that goes into the snout.

Gallery Text

Although there are no contemporaneous records explaining the meaning of the decorations on Shang bronzes, the preponderance of zoomorphic motifs and the emergence of animal-shaped vessels made of bronze or jade are clear indications of the importance of animals in the repertoire of Shang artisans. The principle Shang motif was the animal mask, referred to in later texts as a taotie. This enigmatic image (seen repeatedly on vessels in the adjacent cases) is not identifiable as any one beast but appears to be a composite of creatures both real and imagined, with two stark eyes, horns, ears, and fangs. During the late Shang period (14th–11th century BCE), animal-shaped vessels began to be cast, perhaps in response to zoomorphic bronzes introduced from southern China. The guang wine vessel displayed here is a magnificent example — it cleverly incorporates a tiger at the front of the vessel and an owl at the back handle; the animals’ heads are represented on the lid and their more subtly rendered bodies are on the vessel.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.465
Title
Large Jade Buffalo Head in the Round
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
12th-11th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204737

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
Mottled gray-green stone with brown markings and black streaks, with scattered earthy concretions
Dimensions
H. 5.5 x L. 10 x W. 6.7 cm (2 3/16 x 3 15/16 x 2 5/8 in.)
Weight 402 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. 155 by Max Loehr:

155 Large Buffalo Head in the Round
Mottled gray-green stone with brown markings and black streaks, with scattered earthy concretions. The buffalo’s horns and ears stand out in high relief, whiles his other features are represented in broad, raised outlines. At his forehead appear the diamond mark and the hooked eyebrows, both of which are motifs familiar from t’ao-t’ieh masks. The frame of the jaw is indicated by large volutes; the nostrils, by small ones. The mouth bristles with rows of rectangular teeth. Above the horns are symmetrically designed ornamental volutes and hooks. Slanting perforation through the front of the lower jaw. The underside, which is polished smooth, forms two steps connected by a slanting rise above the tips of the ears. Through the triangular surface above the horns runs a deep transverse slot. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.465
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. 155, p. 127

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