A jade plaque that is oval in shape and brown and black in color. There is an engraved symmetrical, swirling pattern at the center of the plaque. There are small holes at the top and bottom corners and sides of the plaque.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The jade plaque is oval in shape and brown and black in color. It is shown vertically and on a dark grey background. There is an engraved symmetrical, swirling pattern at the center of the plaque. There is a thin engraved frame along its edges. There are small holes at the top and bottom corners and sides of the plaque.

Gallery Text

During the Warring States and Han periods, jades functioned not only as ritual and burial items, but also as objects of personal adornment for the living. Other luxury materials, such as gold, bronze, and glass began to be incorporated with jades with greater frequency.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.170
Title
Ornate Oval Jade Plaque
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
5th-4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/205271

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Greenish gray, dark brown, and russet nephrite
Dimensions
W. 4.7 x L. 7.1 x Thickness 0.5 cm (1 7/8 x 2 13/16 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 36 g

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

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. 509 by Max Loehr:

509 Ornate Oval Plaque
Greenish gray, dark brown, and russet jade. The slightly plano-convex plaque is decorated in relief on the upper side and by engraving on the underside. The relief décor, composed symmetrically along the main axis, shows masks without contours, whose curved eyebrows resemble bovine horns. Split body bands with claw-like feet undulate toward the sides, terminating in fluted curls. The bands are smooth, but their movement is accentuated by grooves running close to the inner curves. The ground is set off against these smooth bands by exceedingly fine cross-hatching. On the reverse side is an engraved pattern of rhombic fields with alternating geometric fillings framed by an oval border with curls and criss-crossed leaf-shaped elements. There are seven perforations along the perimeter. Late Eastern Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.170
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 (Cambridge, MA, Fogg Art Museum, 1975)., cat. no. 509, p. 344
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 240, 242, cat. 32C

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

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