Cylindrical Jade Eagle Pendant | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.247
Title: Cylindrical Jade Eagle Pendant
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: pendant
Date: c. 2500 BCE - c. 2000 BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Neolithic period, Shijiahe culture, c. 2500-2000 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204978

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Light green nephrite with tan spots, turning dark brown at the lower end
Dimensions: L. 7.9 x Thickness 1.3 cm (3 1/8 x 1/2 in.)
24 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. 329 by Max Loehr:

329 Cylindrical Eagle Pendant
Light green jade with tan spots, turning dark brown at the lower end. The head is shaped like that of an eagle with a large involute beak. The neck is indicated by a slightly recessed zone, below which the bird’s breast resumes the contour and crested form of the beak. At the front, the wings are marked by the faintest relief; from the sides to their tips, they are modeled by elegant fluting. The eagle’s talons, barely visible, are represented in relief. The lower portion of the object is cylindrical and, like the recessed, blunt conical end, is left plain. One perforation runs transversely through the neck; another one, from front to back through the lower portion. Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.247

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. 329, p. 220
Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), p. 84, fig. 1

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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