Jade Big Bird and Little Bird | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.214
Title: Jade Big Bird and Little Bird
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: ornament
Date: 16th-10th 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/204916

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Translucent pale green nephrite
Dimensions: H. 5.1 x W. 4.7 x D. 0.2 cm (2 x 1 7/8 x 1/16 in.)
Weight 7 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. 131 by Max Loehr:

131 Big Bird and Little Bird
Translucent pale green jade. Profile figure of a bird with two jagged crests, pointed beak and long, striated tail. Between the bird’s tail and foot, a smaller bird is carved out, partly in openwork. The grooved surface design of the big bird is identical on both sides. There is perforation through the claw. Shang or 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

1943.50.214

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. 131, p. 116

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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