Ornate garment hook with a dragon’s head, its neck is curled up to function as the hook section.　
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The dragon’s mouth is closed as it looks upward towards the bulk of the hook. Another animal tiger-like head is carved on the right, turned in three-quarter view, looking toward the right, it’s mouth slightly opened as a horizontal line. Carved lines illustrate the facial and body details of the animals. The creamy colors vary from light green to light browns. Highly polished surface. There’s a knob underneath to hang it.

Gallery Text

During the Warring States and Han periods, jades functioned not only as ritual and burial items, but also as objects of personal adornment for the living. Other luxury materials, such as gold, bronze, and glass began to be incorporated with jades with greater frequency.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.460
Title
Small Jade Garment Hook
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
206 BCE - 9 CE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, Western Han period, 206 BCE-9 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204741

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Translucent, pale green and brown nephrite
Dimensions
L. 5.1 x W. 1.2 cm (2 x 1/2 in.)
Weight 10 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. 575 by Max Loehr:

575 Small Garment Hook
Slender, small hook of translucent, pale green and brown jade. The finely carved head resembles a horse’s except for the muzzle and nostrils, and it has one horn like a unicorn’s. It looks toward the intricately designed figure of a tiny dragon carved in the round, which has a lion-like, snarling face, and which seems to slink away from the head at the top. At the back is an oval button with its stem set aslant. The face of the button and the lateral faces of the hook show curvilinear incisions. Western Han(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.460
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. 575, p. 397

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

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