Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.346
Title
Jade Dragon Silhouette in Openwork
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/205012

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque light brown, partly calcified nephrite
Dimensions
7.6 x 1.7 x 0.3 cm (3 x 11/16 x 1/8 in.)
unspecified: 6 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. 437 by Max Loehr:

437 Dragon Silhouette in Openwork
Opaque light brown, partly calcified jade, wrought into the astonishingly delicate design of a dragon figure. The head differs in several features from the pieces described earlier: the muzzle is rendered as an openwork loop; the lower jaw shows an incredibly thin, curved fang that meets the tongue. A clawed leg touches the jaw at two points. A curved wing(?) swings around the volute that marks the shoulder joint and then curves back above the body, rejoining it as a pointed curl. Adjacent to this curl is a second wing-like element that cuts diagonally across the body, ending in a small openwork hook. The rear part of the dragon’s body tapers toward an elegant, fin-like cleft tail. The borders are slightly raised; the surfaces are plain except for sparingly applied double curves and a tiny cross-hatched umbel. 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
1943.50.346
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. 437, p. 299

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