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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.449.B
Title
Jade Dragon Configuration (one of a pair)
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
475 BCE - 221 BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204708

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Translucent celadon-green nephrite with tan and dark brown markings
Dimensions
10.5 x 4.3 x 0.6 cm (4 1/8 x 1 11/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 49 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. 422 by Max Loehr:

422 Pair of Dragon Configurations
Translucent celadon-green jade with tan markings and dark brown marginal areas. Through unequal in size, the two pieces are nearly identical in design and apparently were carved from the same chunk of stone. The bodies of the dragons from continuously curved bands filled with small, plastic spiral-curls; the hooks and tail-ends are striated. A single claw connects the body with the neck. The heads resemble those of the types described above (Nos. 420, 421), except that in 422 a the lower jaw does not end in a pointed hook but forms a rectangle. Juxtaposed to the tail of each of these dragons is a small dragon whose head appears in low relief on the tail of the big one. The bodies of these smaller dragons show a different pattern, consisting of rope borders, cross-hatched scales, and engraved curls and chevrons. Holes in the middle of the forepart of the dragon bodies suggest that these pendants were suspended horizontally. In both cases the forward (or upper) edges are rather crudely finished. 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
1943.50.449.B
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. 422b, p. 290
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 214-15, cat. 26A

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