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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.260
Title
Jade Buffalo Carved from a Conical Bead
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
14th 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/205019

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Olive-green and cream-colored, partly calcified nephrite
Dimensions
L. 4.8 x Diam. 2.7 cm (1 7/8 x 1 1/16 in.)
46 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. 149 by Max Loehr:

149 Buffalo Carved from a Conical Bead
Olive-green and cream-colored, partly calcified jade. The conical bead with its wide conical perforation is carved in low relief to represent a crouching water buffalo. The narrow end of the tube is fashioned into the head, with large eyes, long horns, very small pointed ears, and shallow drill-holes for nostrils. The well-articulated legs are bent under. The opening of the perforation bisects the animal’s tail. Except for the thread-relief lines on the flat horns, the surfaces are plain. Late Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.260
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. 149, p. 124

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