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A green-blue jade statuette of a kneeling man sitting upright and facing the viewer. His hands are together on his lap. His body is decorated with an engraved swirling pattern and has a small flat hat on his head.

The green-blue jade statuette is of a kneeling man sitting upright and facing the viewer on a dark grey background. The figure is proportioned closer to a normal human with broad shoulders and a round head. His hands are together on his lap. His body is decorated with an engraved swirling pattern and has a small flat hat on his head. His mouth is small, his nose wide, and his eyes round.

Gallery Text

In the Zhou dynasty the number of jades in burial sites increased significantly, as multiple plaques and beads were sewn or strung together and draped over the face and body of the deceased. Jades in the forms of figures and animals became increasingly realistic, and surface patterns became more complex and highly decorative.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.318
Title
Jade Statuette of a Kneeling Man
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
figurine
Date
6th-5th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period, 770-476 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204749

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
Gray-green nephrite with black specks
Dimensions
H. 5.8 x W. 2.8 x D. 1.8 cm (2 5/16 x 1 1/8 x 11/16 in.)
Weight 44 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. 408 by Max Loehr:

408 Statuette of a Kneeling Man
Full-round figure, carved of gray-green jade with black specks; perforated from top to bottom. Compared with the archaic types, this figure is well proportioned and better articulated. The head and face are conceived in the round; the eyes bulge slightly, the nose forms a ridge, while the mouth is indicated only by a minute groove. The figure wears a small, turban-like headdress that leaves strands of hair uncovered at the sides and at the back. A coat, decorated with a symmetrical pattern of plastic curls, covers the chesty body and the thighs. Its collar is plain in front, but striated like a rope at the back. A belt with zigzag striations is hidden in the front by the overlapping hands. The forearms are covered by sleeves apparently of a fabric thinner than that of the coat. the side view shows the legs to be covered by a pattern of striated bands alternating with scaly bands. The underside of the bent legs is plain, while the soles of the feet show fine concentric grooves. The toes are visible, as though this richly attired man was barefoot. 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
1943.50.318
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, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), cat. no. 408, p. 280

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 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