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A jade tablet that is in a narrow, rectangular shape and green in color with some orange discoloration. There are engraved curved lines throughout the piece that outline the body of a bird. The bird faces to the right. There is a small hole at the top-cen

The jade tablet is a narrow, rectangular shape and green in color with some orange discoloration. It is shown vertically and on a black background. The edges are flat and straight. There are engraved curved lines throughout the piece that outline the body of a bird in the center. The bird faces to the right and has a large, circular eye and curved beak. There is a small hole at the top-center of the tablet.

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
1943.50.134
Title
Jade Tablet with Bird Decor
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
c. 1100-771 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/205169

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
Green nephrite
Dimensions
H. 6.1 x W. 2.3 x Thickness 0.5 cm (2 3/8 x 7/8 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 20 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. 334 by Max Loehr:

334 Tablet with Bird Décor
Nearly rectangular, small tablet of green jade, with a transverse perforation at the upper end. On each side appear virtually identical bird figures in the grand curvilinear manner of Western Chou, executed in beveled cuts and incised lines. Middle Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.134
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. 334, p. 222

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