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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.403
Title
Jade Arc-Shaped Tablet with Bird Figure
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
pendant
Date
early 20th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/203295

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque mottled green and black hardstone
Dimensions
9.2 x 3 x 0.5 cm (3 5/8 x 1 3/16 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 29 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. 626 by Max Loehr:

626 Arc-shaped Tablet with Bird Figure
Opaque mottled green and black hard-stone segment, possibly recarved from a broken disk. Part of the outer circumference is wrought into a sequence of serrate formations. A single formation of this kind projects from the rear of the awkwardly shaped bird’s head at the upper end of the tablet. Except for a minute notch below the tip of the wing, none of the bird’s remaining parts is expressed in the contour of the tablet. The wings, the tail, and the thin-clawed feet are indicated by raised lines, as are the eyes, which intrude upon the beak, and the spirals that fill the large and empty surface behind the eyes. Near the obtuse point of the plain, haphazardly cut-off lower end is a perforation that was drilled from both sides. Although this object might not be rejected on technical grounds alone, its undeniable lack of organic feeling and artistic form makes it impossible to group it among Shang or early Chou material. The discrepancy between the lapidary skill and the formal imperfection is puzzling, and is cause enough, I believe, to leave the date open.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.403
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. 626, p. 429

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