Jade Recumbant Buffalo in the Round

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.261
Title: Jade Recumbant Buffalo in the Round
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: pendant
Date: 12th cent. BCE - 10th cent. 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/205054

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Translucent light green nephrite with creamy white speckles caused by calcification.
Dimensions: 1.3 x 3.6 x 1.8 cm (1/2 x 1 7/16 x 11/16 in.)
unspecified: 17 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. 151 by Max Loehr:

151 Recumbent Buffalo in the Round
Translucent light green jade with creamy white speckles caused by calcification. The head is turned at right angles to the body, the tips of the horns jutting out slightly over the compact shape. The buffalo’s eyes are indicated by incised rhombi. His legs are in relief, with the right foreleg disproportionately lengthened and bent under, while the left one is short and straight. Below the head is a large perforation, drilled from the side and from the bottom. Late Shang or early Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.261

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. 151, p. 125

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

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