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A pair of hinged jade plaques that are shown lying horizontally flat. The two plaques are made of swirling shapes with the negative spaces cut out. The hinge at the center is square in shape. There are carved lines throughout the piece that swirl and curl

The pair of hinged jade plaques are shown lying horizontally flat on a dark grey background. The two plaques and the hinge are pale yellow-green in color with some white discoloration. The two plaques are made of swirling shapes with the negative spaces cut out. The plaque on the left side is cut to resemble an animalistic shape. The plaque on the right swirls outwards. The hinge at the center is square in shape and the two plaques connect to the hinge by rectangle shaped loops. There are carved lines throughout the piece that swirl and curl.

Gallery Text

During the Warring States and Han periods, jades functioned not only as ritual and burial items, but also as objects of personal adornment for the living. Other luxury materials, such as gold, bronze, and glass began to be incorporated with jades with greater frequency.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.246
Title
Hinged Pair of Jade Plaques
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
3rd-2nd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Warring States period (475-221 BCE) to Western Han period (206 BCE-9 CE)
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204977

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
Very light green translucent nephrite with ivory-colored calcified spots
Dimensions
L. 8.7 x W. 3.2 cm (3 7/16 x 1 1/4 in.)
Weight 16 g

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[C. T. Loo & Co., New York, January 27, 1932] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1932-1943), 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. 508 by Max Loehr:

508 Hinged Pair of Plaques
Very light green translucent jade with ivory-colored calcified spots. The two plaques and the oval ring linking them were carved from one tablet which, to judge from the finished state, was of uneven thickness. The flawlessly designed plaques represent the lively silhouettes of two creatures mounted on rectangular slotted frames: above is a feline with crest and long tail; below, a bird with turned head and enormously heavy tail feathers. A few exquisitely drawn linear motifs are engraved on the bodies. Only the oval ring has fully retained the original glossy polish. 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
1943.50.246
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Dorothy W. Gillerman, ed., Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1969), no. 029, pp. 24-25
  • Takayasu Higuchi, ed., Chugoku bijutsu, dai 4-kan (Chinese Art in Western Collections vol. 4: Bronze and Jade), Kodansha (Tokyo, Japan, 1973), pl. 95
  • 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. 508, p. 343
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 240-1, cat. 32B

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

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