Jade Animal Mask | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.296
Title: Jade Animal Mask
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: ornament
Date: possibly Shijiahe culture (?), c. 2500 - c. 2000 BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Neolithic period
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204772

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Light olive-green translucent nephrite
Dimensions: H. 2 x W. 1.9 x D. 1 cm (13/16 x 3/4 x 3/8 in.)
Weight 7 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. 308 by Max Loehr:

308 Animal Mask
Light olive-green translucent jade. The head, carved in high relief, is of feline character except for the horns, which are shaped as spiraling cones. A large perforation drilled inward from the mouth connects with a second one drilled at a slanting angle from the back. The back is flat and unpolished. Probably late Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.296

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. 308, p. 211

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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