Resembling an S-shaped curve on its side, this ornament object is a combination of dragon, snake, and bird.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The left side reveals a dragon head with open mouth curled snout and bottom lip curled into the mouth, the body is serpentine, and the right end is a bird’s head turned to look back at the dragon head, clenching a short, curled snake in its large hooked beak. Small uniform bumps provide texture along its body, the surface is polished. The colors of the jade blend from warm honey color into deep browns.　

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
1943.50.468
Title
Jade Configuration of Dragon, Bird, and Snake
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
4th-3rd 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/204780

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
Highly polished, translucent brown and honey-colored nephrite
Dimensions
H. 13 x W. 7.8 x Thickness 0.5 cm (5 1/8 x 3 1/16 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 62 g
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: 中廿廿三 (middle 43) -- incised along edge

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. 427 by Max Loehr:

427 Configuration of Dragon, Bird, and Snake
Highly polished, translucent, brown and honey-colored jade. The incised designs are nearly the same on each side. The dragon’s head is distinguished from the preceding types by the axe-shaped silhouette of the lower jaw. There are no appendages except a long foot and claw in front—if these geometric and ornamental shapes may be described in organic terms. The dragon’s body is covered with the smooth surface and sparingly engraved patterns on the bird figure at the end. The bird is provided with a crest, strong beak, short, straight wings, and a curved tail that juts out over the dragon’s body. He holds a curled snake in his beak. Two perforations at the bottom center. On the edge below these perforations is an incised inscription of three characters: “middle, forty-three.” 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
1943.50.468
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. 427, p. 293
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), no. 15, pp. 22-23
  • Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), pp. 14-15
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 210-12, cat. 25B

Exhibition History

  • S427: Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
  • 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
  • Collection Highlights

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