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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.451
Title
Jade Bird and Dragon Configuration
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
475 BCE - 221 BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204727

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Highly polished, pale greenish and dark brown translucent nephrite
Dimensions
7 x 11.4 x 0.6 cm (2 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 55 g
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: 中八十二 (middle 82) - incised along edge

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. 425 by Max Loehr:

425 Bird and Dragon Configuration
Highly polished, pale greenish and dark brown translucent jade. The dragon figure moves in a more abrupt and unpredictable rhythm that do the comparable types listed before (Nos. 420, 421, 423, 424). The tail in particular, which terminates in a small, inconspicuous bird head, lacks the harmonious quality of the designs observed thus far. Appendages are few: a straight foot and claw above the steeply arched body, and a pointed hook beneath it. Accordingly, the outlines are tidy and of greater poignancy than in the more patterned designs. The surfaces are covered with plastic curls, arranged in a regular grid on the left side but arranged rather irregularly on the right side. Striations along the muzzle; cross-hatching at the lower jaw on the right side only, and again in the ears of the bird head. Two perforations at the top center. On the polished edge below the dragon’s neck there are four incised characters: chung pa-shih-erh, “middle, eighty-two.” 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
1943.50.451
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. 425, p. 292

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