Rectangular Jade Knife | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.51
Title: Rectangular Jade Knife
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: knife
Date: 770 BCE - 221 BCE (?)
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Zhou dynasty, Eastern Zhou period, 770-256 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/205255

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Subdued olive-green, fairly translucent nephrate with dark streak
Dimensions: 26.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 cm (10 7/16 x 2 3/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 259 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. 341 by Max Loehr:

341 Rectangular Knife
Subdued olive-green, fairly translucent jade with a long, undulating dark streak. The slender blade, with its curved lateral edges, is atypical in respect to the absence of holes along the back; it has two perforations of different sizes, drilled from the obverse side, near the right end. The cutting edge is beveled on both sides. The left side tapers off to an edge, reminiscent of a chisel or hoe. Possibly this tool was originally a chisel, and was late reground to function as a knife. Eastern Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.51

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. 341, p. 228

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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