Jade Bird in Flight | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.218
Title: Jade Bird in Flight
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: ornament
Date: 12th-11th 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/204945

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Opaque greenish nephrite, largely calcified
Dimensions: H. 2.3 x W. 3.5 x D. 0.4 cm (7/8 x 1 3/8 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 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. 130 by Max Loehr:

130 Bird in Flight
Figure of a bird, possibly an owl, with spread wings, seen from above. Opaque greenish jade, largely calcified. Head, wings and tail are separated by grooves. A Tiny transverse hole is drilled though the beak. On the plain underside there is an incised character reading t’ien, “field” or “hunt.” Shang or Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.218

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. 130, 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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