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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.637
Title
Jade Horse Head
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
head, sculpture
Date
206 BCE-220 CE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204548

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Sea-green nephrite with traces of pigment on the surface
Dimensions
6.3 x 13 x 5.1 cm (2 1/2 x 5 1/8 x 2 in.)
706 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. 561 by Max Loehr:

561 Horse Head
Glossy celadon-green jade with whitish specks. The left side of the head is coated with a dark brown calcareous incrustation, iron rust, and rust-stained mineralized wood. An oval socket of undetermined depth hollowed out below the neck contains a filling of iron and, again, mineralized wood held with a ferrule or sleeve of tarnished silver that fits tightly into the socket. The mouth and teeth, nostrils, and groove around the eyes are coated with cinnabar. The imposing head is modeled in sharply defined but coherent, somewhat geometrically conceived units. The dilated nostrils and the open mouth with its exposed teeth convey an expression of ferocity and pathos. There are no ears, nor is there any indication of a mane. Han.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.637
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 (Cambridge, MA, Fogg Art Museum, 1975)., cat. no. 561, p. 390
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 43-46, figs. 2.27a-b, 2.28a-b; pp. 294-5, cat. 43A
  • Katherine Eremin, Angela Chang, and Ariel O'Connor, Jade in the Lab, Early Chinese jades in the Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2019), Pages 28-47, Figure 2.27a-b, Page 45; Figure 2.28a-b, Page 46

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