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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.42
Title
Jade Scepter
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
scepter
Date
Longshan or Erlitou culture, c. 2000 BCE - c. 1700 BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Neolithic period
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/205201

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black nephrite with faint markings
Dimensions
33.2 x 10.4 x 0.8 cm (13 1/16 x 4 1/8 x 5/16 in.)
unspecified: 376 g
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: inscription of fifteen large seal-script characters

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. 222 by Max Loehr:

222 Scepter
Black jade with faint markings. Broad, flaring blade with asymmetrical prongs and deeply concave upper edges sharpened on one face only. On both sides of the base of the blade jut out double projections, single projections, and long, descending spurs, each set being connected by parallel, slanting grooves. The tang, which is perforated, shows a slanting, double-beveled butt; its lower corner is broken off. On the face of the sharpened edge, just above the slanting grooves, there is an incised inscription of fifteen Large Seal characters, which is discussed in the section on inscriptions in the Introduction. Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.42
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. 222, pp. 172-173

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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