Dragon inspired flat ornament; its head is on the right as it’s turned back to look to the left.　
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The dragon figure is designed in a wave-like shape. A small bird head emerges from the tail on the left with two round eyes, and a small closed hooked beak, with a curl on top of its head. The object has small curled bumps over most of its body that form texture. It’s a creamy light green color with light to brown accents along some of the tips, and its surface is polished. There are two holes next to each other in the top middle.

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
1943.50.447
Title
Jade Dragon and Bird Configuration
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/205061

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 grayish brown nephrite with blackish brown marking
Dimensions
H. 5.5 x L. 15 x Thickness 0.7 cm (2 3/16 x 5 7/8 x 1/4 in.)
Weight 97 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. 424 by Max Loehr:

424 Dragon and Bird Configuration
Rectangular slab of translucent grayish brown jade with blackish brown markings along the lower edge, carved into the shape of an undulating dragon. The head, with its pointed crest, is turned back. Its lower jaw is the same length as the upper one and parallel with it. A fluted band borders the mouth, ending in a spiral behind the upcurled nose. Large plastic spirals cover the dragon’s body. Beneath the arched center part of the body is a hooked appendage, which is echoed in the tail. What might be described as a forepaw resembles the rest but is mirror-reverse. Two fluted, blunt, feet- or wing-like appendages issue from the rear part of the body from whence the incomplete figure of a crested bird emerges. Incised below the bird’s head are narrow, cross-hatched, and plain scales suggesting the plumage. The bird’s feet, disproportionately small, are wrought in low relief. Two perforations at top center. 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
1943.50.447
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. 424, p. 291
  • Max Loehr, "Aesthetic Delight: An Anthology of Far Eastern Art", Apollo (New Series), Apollo Publications Inc. (London, England, May 1978), vol. CVII, no. 195, pp. 414-421, p. 415, fig. 2
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 210-12, cat. 25A

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

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