Small Jade Bird in an Upright Posture

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.203
Title: Small Jade Bird in an Upright Posture
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: pendant
Date: c. 11th cent. BCE - 771 BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Zhou dynasty, Western Zhou period, c. 1050-771 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204901

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Mottled light green translucent nephrite
Dimensions: 4.2 x 2 x 0.4 cm (1 5/8 x 13/16 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 6 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. 271 by Max Loehr:

271 Small Bird in an Upright Posture
Carved from the segment of a narrow disk of mottled light green translucent jade. The eyes and wings are rendered in low relief, as are the large claws. The front and back are beveled. The large hooked beak forms an acute angle with the top, where instead of a crest we find a straight, slanting edge finished with indentations. One perforation accounts for the outline of the underside of the beak; another was drilled beneath the eyes. Early Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.203

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. 271, p. 199

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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