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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.51.3
Title
Jade Spearhead in a Bronze Socket
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
spearhead
Date
16th cent. BCE - 11th cent. BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204559

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Calcified greenish brown nephrite blade with traces of cinnabar; bronze socket inlaid with turquoise
Technique
Inlaid
Dimensions
21 x 5.8 x 0.6 cm (8 1/4 x 2 5/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 142 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. 82 by Max Loehr:

82 Jade Spearhead in a Bronze Socket
Greenish brown jade, calcified and discolored to a considerable extent, covered with cinnabar on one face near the tip. The leaf-shaped blade has a raised median crest and irregularly shaped beveled edges. It is mounted in a heart-shaped socket on top of tapering bronze tube. Both the tube and the socket are embellished with turquoise inlay; a t’ao-t’ieh mask with convolute horns appears at the socket, while the design on the tube, presumably a “dragon” tail composed of lozenges, is hidden under an incrustation of green oxide. Remnants of the wooden shaft remain in the tube. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.51.3
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. 82, p. 81

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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