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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.240
Title
Contorted Jade Griffin
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
4th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204964

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Glossy, translucent, light greenish and buff, slightly calcified nephrite
Dimensions
6 x 2.4 x 0.6 cm (2 3/8 x 15/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 13 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. 442 by Max Loehr:

442 Contorted Griffin
Glossy, translucent, light greenish and buff, slightly calcified jade. The feline head resembles that of No. 441, except that it is surmounted by a perforated loop and the ears are leaf-shaped. As in No. 441, the animal holds between its fangs a pointed, curved appendage that swings around the lower jaw. The clawed feet cut jerkily across the body, so that the claws touch the upper edge of the strongly curved wings at the back. The lower part of the body, ending in a two-pronged tail, is decorated with two incised, cross-hatched, bud-like motifs. On the neck appear two incised, comma-shaped, striated tufts. Carved identically on both sides. 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
1943.50.240
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. 442, p. 303

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