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Flat carved pendant of a small bird figure in profile, with carved lines to describe winged details.　

The bird has a closed hooked beak and wide round eye on its small head as it faces left. Its stylized line-carved wing starts from the left side and swoops up to the top pointing right. Its claw is tucked up along the bottom, as if in flight. There’s a hole on the left side, middle. The color varies from a milky light green to light brown accents, its surface is polished.

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
1943.50.228
Title
Jade Bird Figure
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
pendant
Date
11th-10th 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/204992

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
Strongly translucent, mottled light green and light brown nephrite
Dimensions
H. 3 x W. 5.7 x Thickness 0.3 cm (1 3/16 x 2 1/4 x 1/8 in.)
Weight 9 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. 256 by Max Loehr:

256 Bird Figure
Strongly translucent, mottled light green and light brown jade. The bird has a hook-shaped beak, a double crest, grooved wings, and a long, bifurcated tail with central and marginal grooves. Behind the claw is a striated, fin-like part, similar to the of No. 252. The crest begins with a spiral, beyond which is a pair of incised curves, which are repeated behind the claws. The engraved lines are identical on the reverse side. Perforated at the breast. Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.228
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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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. 256, p. 192
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 170-73, cat. 21A

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 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