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A jade piece that is shaped into a semicircle with the center cut out. It is green in color. There are swirling carved lines throughout the piece that make a pattern. The left and right edges of the piece are horizontal and irregularly-cut with a small ho

The jade piece is shaped into a semicircle with the center cut out and shown lying horizontally flat. It is green in color with some brown and red discoloration on a dark grey background. There are thin swirling carved lines throughout the piece that make a pattern. The left and right edges of the piece are horizontal and irregularly-cut with a small hole in each end.

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
1943.50.601.B
Title
Jade 'Huang' Disk Segment with Notched Ends
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
pendant
Date
10th-9th 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/204631

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
Dark green nephrite with remains of cinnabar on both sides
Dimensions
Chord 14.4 x W. 4.1 x Thickness 0.5 cm (5 11/16 x 1 5/8 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 76 g

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[A. W. Bahr, March 23, 1929] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1929-1943), 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. 326 by Max Loehr:

326 Huang, Disk Segment with Notched Ends
Slightly larger version of the preceding type, No. 325, with the arc about 180 degrees. This huang is carved from a darker green jade, but the design of the birds differs from that in No. 325 only in small details. There are more ample remains of cinnabar, present on both sides. Middle Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.601.B
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. 326, pp. 218-219
  • Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections (Volume IIA), Arthur M. Sackler Foundation and Arthur M. Sackler Museum (Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, MA, 1990)
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 178-79, 182-83, cat. 23A

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 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