Jade Tiger-Like Figure | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.286
Title: Jade Tiger-Like Figure
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: pendant
Date: c. 11th cent. BCE - 771 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/204732

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Light gray and brownish translucent nephrite with opaque tan spots
Dimensions: 8 x 3.5 x 0.4 cm (3 1/8 x 1 3/8 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 15 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. 303 by Max Loehr:

303 Tiger-like Figure
Carved from a disk segment of light gray and brownish translucent jade with opaque tan spots. This crouching quadruped has a very thick tail that is bent sharply upward and forward, and it has a head shaped like a tiger’s except for the bottle-shaped horn such as is commonly seen in early dragon figures (e.g., Nos. 141, 142, 143). Identically engraved on both sides are such details as the outlines of the legs, a triangle on the horn, and a rhombic eye. Immediately above the eye, there is a conical drill-hole, while a second one pierces the tail. Early Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.286

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. 303, p. 209

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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

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