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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.218
Title
Jade Bird in Flight
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
12th-11th 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/204945

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque greenish nephrite, largely calcified
Dimensions
H. 2.3 x W. 3.5 x D. 0.4 cm (7/8 x 1 3/8 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 6 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. 130 by Max Loehr:

130 Bird in Flight
Figure of a bird, possibly an owl, with spread wings, seen from above. Opaque greenish jade, largely calcified. Head, wings and tail are separated by grooves. A Tiny transverse hole is drilled though the beak. On the plain underside there is an incised character reading t’ien, “field” or “hunt.” Shang or Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.218
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. 130, p. 116

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