Arched Jade Object Carved in Openwork

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.436
Title: Arched Jade Object Carved in Openwork
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: ornament
Date: possibly 4th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204763

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Translucent whitish and nearly opaque mottled brown nephrite with high gloss
Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.5 x 0.8 cm (2 x 9/16 x 5/16 in.)
unspecified: 11 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. 515 by Max Loehr:

515 Arched Object Carved in Openwork
Translucent whitish and nearly opaque mottled brown jade, with a highly polished, glossy surface. Apparently derived from an oval ring, the arch consists of three distinct elements. The middle part, much thicker than the rest, shows a floral motif within a rectangular frame with rounded-off corners and with a tiny feline mask at its slanting top. Above the middle part sits the profile figure of a bird-like dragon. Below the bulging, rounded extension of the middle part hangs a small reptilian creature whose body forms a sharply pointed hook. Details are incised on both sides, but more elaborately on the convex face. 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

1943.50.436

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. 515, p. 346

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

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