Notched Jade Disk (Xuanqi) | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.528
Title: Notched Jade Disk (Xuanqi)
Other Titles: Alternate Title: hsüan-ch'i
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: disk
Date: probably Longshan culture, c. 2500 BCE - c. 2000 BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Neolithic period
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204800

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Translucent, evenly pale green stone of a celadon hue with whitish specks
Dimensions: Diam. 16.2 x Thickness 0.3 cm (6 3/8 x 1/8 in.)
109 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. 232 by Max Loehr:

232 Notched Disk (Hsüan-chi)
Translucent, evenly pale green stone of a celadon hue with a few whitish speck caused by calcification. The thin disk has three notches which cut deep into the “flesh,” forming three arcs of approximately 120 degrees each. The slightly conical perforation, which is rather wide, was drilled from the upper side only and ground smooth after drilling. On the underside are a few marks left from sawing the slab out of the original boulder. Western Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.528

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Publication History

Dorothy W. Gillerman, ed., Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1969), no. 010, pp. 10-11
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. 232, p. 178

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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