Oblong Jade Tablet with Bird Decor

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.101
Title: Oblong Jade Tablet with Bird Decor
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: ornament
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/204951

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Greenish-gray, partially translucent nephrite
Dimensions: 10.8 x 3.3 x 0.7 cm (4 1/4 x 1 5/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 44 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. 332 by Max Loehr:

332 Oblong Tablet with Bird Décor
Greenish gray, partially translucent jade, which has for the most part decomposed and turned whitish and soft. The corners, with the exception of one at the bottom, are rounded off. The surfaces are decorated with the figure of a bird standing above the dragon’s head. The bird’s claws appear to coincide with the outline of the dragon’s ear. The bird’s large plume and wing are clearly drawn, his long legs are marked by spurs of conspicuous size. The carving is done in double contours and beveled cuts. Widely spaced double curves are the only pattern decorating the figures. In the center of the lower edge a hole was drilled. Middle to late Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.101

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

Dr. Minao Hayashi, "Chugoku kodai saigyoku zuigyoku (Ceremonial jade in ancient China)", Toho Gakuho (March 1969), no. 40, pl. 39: 5
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. 332, p. 221

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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