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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.214
Title
Jade Big Bird and Little Bird
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
16th-10th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty (c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE) to Western Zhou period (c. 1050-771 BCE)
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204916

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Translucent pale green nephrite
Dimensions
H. 5.1 x W. 4.7 x D. 0.2 cm (2 x 1 7/8 x 1/16 in.)
Weight 7 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. 131 by Max Loehr:

131 Big Bird and Little Bird
Translucent pale green jade. Profile figure of a bird with two jagged crests, pointed beak and long, striated tail. Between the bird’s tail and foot, a smaller bird is carved out, partly in openwork. The grooved surface design of the big bird is identical on both sides. There is perforation through the claw. Shang or 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
1943.50.214
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. 131, p. 116
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), p. 170, fig. 1

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