A jade sculpture of a dark brown fish that lies flat on a light grey background. The fish faces the left and has a straight body. The fish is long and flat in shape with carved lines to show top and bottom fins as well as a circle for an eye.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A jade sculpture of a dark brown fish that lies flat on a light grey background. The fish faces the left and has a straight body. The fish is long and flat in shape with carved lines to show top and bottom fins as well as a circle for an eye. The lines are light in color and there is light pink coloring around the eye. The tail is darker in color.

Gallery Text

In the Zhou dynasty the number of jades in burial sites increased significantly, as multiple plaques and beads were sewn or strung together and draped over the face and body of the deceased. Jades in the forms of figures and animals became increasingly realistic, and surface patterns became more complex and highly decorative.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.412
Title
Jade Fish
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
pendant
Date
possibly 11th-10th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Western Zhou period, c. 1050-771 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/202773

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
Fine-grained grayish black stone
Dimensions
W. 1.6 x L. 9.1 x Thickness 0.5 cm (5/8 x 3 9/16 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 14 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. 275 by Max Loehr:

275 Fish
Fine-grained grayish black stone. Slender biconvex body, pointed head, and flaring tail. The fish is thicker along its belly than along its dorsal side. A perforation drilled from the front of the mouth connects to one drilled from underneath. Western Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.412
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

  • Dorothy W. Gillerman, ed., Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1969), no. 016, pp. 16-17
  • 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. 275, p. 201

Exhibition History

  • 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