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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.60
Title
Biconvex Jade Knife
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
knife
Date
Longshan culture (?), c. 2500 - c. 2000 BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Neolithic period
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204892

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Greenish-black nephrite
Dimensions
H. 38.7 x W. 7.8 x D. 0.6 cm (15 1/4 x 3 1/16 x 1/4 in.)
Weight 389 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. 217 by Max Loehr:

217 Biconvex Knife
The shape of this greenish black blade recalls the trapezoidal knives, but the left edge is curved and the proportions are different. Both the back and the cutting edge are perfectly straight. There are four conical holes along the back, all drilled from the same side; a fifth hole, place along the median close to the fourth one, is drilled from the reverse side. Possibly the blade was originally larger, and was later recut. Western Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.60
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. 217, pp. 168

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