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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.427
Title
Small Jade Fish-Shaped Chisel
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
chisel
Date
16th cent. BCE - 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/204976

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque, gray-green and blackish, calcified nephrite
Dimensions
7.6 x 0.8 cm (3 x 5/16 in.)
unspecified: 8 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. 138 by Max Loehr:

138 Small Fish-shaped Chisel
Opaque, gray-green and blackish, much calcified jade object, shaped as a straight fish figure in the round with a short wedge-like extension beyond the tail. The head, with its protruding eyes and obtuse nose, and the row of incised rhombi in place of the dorsal fin, are feature that distinguishes this fish from the more usual types listed above. The pectoral fins and two low ridges marking the tail fin, on the other hand, are commonplace omelets. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.427
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. 138, p. 119

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