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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.446.A
Title
Arch-Shaped Jade Dragon (one of a pair)
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
206 BCE - 9 CE (?)
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, Western Han period, 206 BCE-9 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204706

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Deep green, translucent, very slightly calcified nephrite
Dimensions
14 x 8.9 x 0.5 cm (5 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 61 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. 553a by Max Loehr:

553 Pair of Arc-shaped Dragons
Deep green, translucent, very slightly calcified jade. Rather summarily carved slabs, with some edges left in the raw. The bodies are covered with spirals in low relief, while the appendages are marked by grooved lines. The heads, characterized by axe-shaped lower jaws and protruding muzzles, are linked with the forepaws. The rear parts of the bodies turn into hindlegs, and from the backs rise large, forward-pointing volutes, which are linked by additional appendages to the dragons’ necks. They have long, flying tails and a pointed horn-like extension above the heads (broken off in b). Perforations in the middle of the bodies. Probably Western Han.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.446.A
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. 553a, p. 385

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