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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.299
Title
Jade Animal Mask
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
14th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty (c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE) to Western Zhou period (c. 1050-771 BCE)
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204783

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Highly translucent, bluish gray nephrite with light brown veins
Dimensions
H. 3.6 x W. 3.5 x D. 1.7 cm (1 7/16 x 1 3/8 x 11/16 in.)
Weight 32 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. 162 by Max Loehr:

162 Animal Mask
Highly translucent, bluish gray jade with light brown veins. This mask was recut from a corner fragment of a small ts’ung. The corner corresponds to the top of the mask; the back is smooth and polished. Except for the high relief of the mushroom-shaped horns, ears(?), and nostrils, the facial characteristics are rendered by incised double outlines. Angular lines at the lower corners of the mask, reminiscent of the bands in the preceding specimen No. 161 may suggest whiskers – even though feline character of this mask is compromised by the horns. A large conical perforation is drilled through the nose from the front; a smaller one joins it from below. Late Shang or Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.299
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. 162, p. 131

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