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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
1943.50.445.A
Title
Jade Dragon Silhouette
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
5th-4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204686

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
Pale yellowish green translucent nephrite with tan and brown markings
Dimensions
H. 7.4 x W. 8.5 x Thickness 0.6 cm (2 15/16 x 3 3/8 x 1/4 in.)
Weight 51 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. 420 by Max Loehr:

420 Dragon Silhouette
Pale yellowish green translucent jade with tan and brown markings about the edges. The dragon’s body is an elegant display of related curves, in the main a curved band that widens from the neck down and then slowly narrows again to end in a pointed volute. The head has a long muzzle with striated border that curls back into a plastic spiral, while the lower jaw has the shape of a pointed hook, a shape repeated as an appendage lower down on the “neck.” The crest, or horn, with its blunt tip, is echoed several times in four claw-like elements along the contour of the body and below the tail. Except for the head and claws, the surfaces are covered with plastic curls, arranged in accordance with the given space rather than being entirely systematized. There are four cylindrical perforations: at the crest, at the lowermost point of the body, at a claw opposite the neck, and at the tail. Late Eastern Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.445.A
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. 420, p. 289

Exhibition History

  • S427: Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

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