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Polished gray, green and brown jade spear tip in a bronze shaft with turquoise inlay

Mottled gray and green jade with brown markings has been polished and carved into a long oval blade that tapers to a point at the tip. From the center, the sides thin to a sharp edge, and both faces are encrusted with mineral deposits in places. The rounded base is set in a metal socket inlaid with a mosaic of small turquoise pieces. The tip of the socket is an upside down heart shape with the pointed end holding the blade, and its turquoise pieces form a stylized face. The turquoise on the shaft is set in a geometric design.

Gallery Text

A highly religious and ritualistic society, the Shang established their dynastic kingdom in northern China around 1600 BCE. Their king served as the intermediary between his subjects, a powerful god known as Shang Di, and deceased ancestors that the Shang believed could intercede on their behalf. The extraordinary emphasis placed on ancestor worship and state ritual during the Shang dynasty necessitated the production of massive numbers of bronze vessels and ceremonial weapons. Specific types of bronze vessels for cooking, warming, or serving sacrificial offerings of food and wine were required for ceremonies designed to feed and appease ancestral spirits. Like their ceramic prototypes, bronze legged vessels could be placed over a fire for heating. Covered vessels protected their contents from spills or contamination. Ceremonial weaponry, such as the jade blades with turquoise-inlaid bronze hafts displayed here, were an important part of state regalia, as Shang rulers owed their domination over neighboring societies to their military prowess. Ritual bronzes and weapons were essential burial objects, for they represented the power and authority that the deceased intended to take with him into the afterlife.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.51.4
Title
Jade Spearhead in a Bronze Socket
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
spearhead
Date
12th-11th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204589

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Mottled green and gray nephrite blade with dark brown markings and with deposits of earth and bronze oxide on both faces; bronze socket inlaid with turquoise
Technique
Inlaid
Dimensions
H. 22.5 x W. 5.3 x Thickness 0.4 cm (8 7/8 x 2 1/16 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 173 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. 84 by Max Loehr:

84 Jade Spearhead in a Bronze Socket
Leaf-shaped blade with a slightly curved crest and planes sloping to the edges, fashioned of a mottled green and gray jade with dark brown markings. Deposits of earth and bronze oxide on both faces. The bronze socket is similar to, but heavier than, that of No. 83; its orifice, moreover, is squarish. The turquoise particles are larger and more variegated here. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.51.4
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Takayasu Higuchi, ed., Chugoku bijutsu, dai 4-kan (Chinese Art in Western Collections vol. 4: Bronze and Jade), Kodansha (Tokyo, Japan, 1973), pl. 89 (left)
  • 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. 84, p. 82

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 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