A jade sculpture that is long in shape with the left side being wide with rounded engraved details and the right side coming to a narrow, blunt edge. It is colored golden yellow. The sculpture has a crack diagonally down the middle with red coloring around it.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The jade sculpture is long and flat in shape and shown horizontally. The left end is wide with a small hole through it. There is an engraved circle to show an eye as well as long, rounded engraved lines that reach the middle. The right side slopes upward to a narrow, blunt end with engraved lines that reach towards the middle. There is a cracked, diagonal line in the middle with red coloring around it. The sculpture is golden yellow in color.

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
1943.50.211
Title
Elongated Jade Bird Figure
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
pendant
Date
10th-9th century 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/204905

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
Clouded grayish brown nephrite
Dimensions
W. 1.9 x L. 11 x Thickness 0.3 cm (3/4 x 4 5/16 x 1/8 in.)
Weight 11 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. 261 by Max Loehr:

261 Elongated Bird Figure
Similar to No. 260, but of a more grayish brown color, and with a more buoyantly and elegantly outlined tail. The figure has been broken and repaired. Late Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.211
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. 261, p. 194

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

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