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Vertical shaped ornament of a dragon with arched back and parrot-like tail curled at the tip.　

The dragon faces right, with wide opened eye, ear slicked back and something in its opened mouth. Ornate thin lines and curls are carved into it to accentuate the face, and body. The curly tips of the mouth, tail, and other edges look pointy. The color is a warm cream to honey light browns, its surface is highly polished. It’s small enough to fit in one’s hand.

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
1943.50.233
Title
Jade Openwork Feline
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
5th-4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204993

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
Translucent, yellowish nephrite with creamy brownish calcified spots
Dimensions
H. 8.6 x W. 2.5 x Thickness 0.5 cm (3 3/8 x 1 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 18 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. 443 by Max Loehr:

443 Ornate Openwork Feline

This exquisite and flamboyantly designed figure, fashioned of translucent yellowish jade with creamy brownish calcified spots, shows an angular and tersely outlined head that contrasts with the curves and curls of the body and its appendages. Of these appendages, none is more conspicuous than the sweeping, plume-like curved hook issuing from the tail.1 The limbs are in less contorted positions than in the case of Nos. 441 and 442. The parts of the animal are defined in low relief, and the surface is ornamented with incised curvilinear patterns. Identical on both sides, except that on the left side part of the ear is broken off. Late Eastern Chou.

Zhè kuǎn jīngměi huálì de wàiguān shèjì, cǎiyòng bàn tòumíng de dàn huángsè yùshí, dài yǒu nǎiyóu sè de hésè gàihuà bāndiǎn, chéngxiàn chū yǔ jiǎozhì qūxiàn hé shēntǐ qūxiàn jí qí fùshǔ wù duìbǐ de yǒu jiǎodù hé jiǎnjié de tóu bù. Zài zhèxiē fùjiàn zhōng, méiyǒu yīgè bǐ cóng wěibù fāchū de qīngsǎo, yǔ zhuàng wānqū gōu gèng xiǎnyǎn. Sìzhī de wèizhì bǐ zài 441 hé 442 hào de qíngkuàng xià gèng shǎo niǔqū. Dòngwù de bùfèn bèi dìngyì wèi dī fúdiāo, biǎomiàn zhuāngshì yǒu qiē kāi de qūxiàn tú’àn. Liǎng cè xiāngtóng, chúle zài ěrduǒ de zuǒ cè bùfèn bèi dǎpò. Zhōumò dōngbù

1 这款精美华丽的外观设计，采用半透明的淡黄色玉石，带有奶油色的褐色钙化斑点，呈现出与角质曲线和身体曲线及其附属物对比的有角度和简洁的头部。在这些附件中，没有一个比从尾部发出的清扫，羽状弯曲钩更显眼。四肢的位置比在441和442号的情况下更少扭曲。动物的部分被定义为低浮雕，表面装饰有切开的曲线图案。两侧相同，除了在耳朵的左侧部分被打破。周末东部

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. 443 by Max Loehr:

443 Ornate Openwork Feline
This exquisite and flamboyantly designed figure, fashioned of translucent yellowish jade with creamy brownish calcified spots, shows an angular and tersely outlined head that contrasts with the curves and curls of the body and its appendages. Of these appendages, none is more conspicuous than the sweeping, plume-like curved hook issuing from the tail. The limbs are in less contorted positions than in the case of Nos. 441 and 442. The parts of the animal are defined in low relief, and the surface is ornamented with incised curvilinear patterns. Identical on both sides, except that on the left side part of the ear is broken off. 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
1943.50.233
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. 443, p. 303
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 220-23, cat. 27B

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 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