Jade Curved Dragon Figure | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.185
Title: Jade Curved Dragon Figure
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: pendant
Date: c. 14th cent. BCE - c. 11th cent. BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204896

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Light green and tan nephrite with traces of calcification
Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.2 x 0.6 cm (2 15/16 x 1/2 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 15 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. 145 by Max Loehr:

145 Curved Dragon Figure
Carved from the segment of a sturdy bracelet of light green and tan jade that shows traces of calcification. The parts of the head and body are worked out in thin relief lines. Both the eyes and what appear to be pointed ears or horns reach over the upper edge; along this upper edge, beginning behind the tips of the ears, extends a chain of five diamonds defined by incised double outlines. The very short tail curves upward, while a notched projection in the middle of the lower edge vaguely suggest feet. The extension at the end has a slanting, sharpened edge and a point. Biconical perforation through the mouth. Late Shang(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.185

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. 145, p. 122

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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