Jade Animal Head | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.268
Title: Jade Animal Head
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: ornament
Date: c. 16th cent. BCE - c. 11th cent. BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204759

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Mottled yellowish translucent nephrite, with buff and gray markings
Dimensions: 4.2 x 2.3 x 1.5 cm (1 5/8 x 7/8 x 9/16 in.)
unspecified: 18 g

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. 163 by Max Loehr:

163 Animal Head
Mottled yellowish translucent jade, with buff and gray markings. The head, distinguished by tall, pointed horns which are separated from one another by a long slot, appears to have been fashioned from a conical bead having an elliptical cross-section. Apparently the section back of the horns was sawed off so that the head alone is in the round, although this too is slightly flattened at the back. the shape of the head with its concave sides and blunt muzzle is similar to a buffalo head, but the horns are quite unlike those of a buffalo. The object is perforate vertically, and at the back, close to the lower edge, has an additional conical tunnel connecting the vertical perforation. The only details incised are the eyes and inner contour lines of the horns. Shang(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.268

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. 163, p. 132

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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