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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.51
Title
Rectangular Jade Knife
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
knife
Date
770 BCE - 221 BCE (?)
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Zhou dynasty, Eastern Zhou period, 770-256 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/205255

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Subdued olive-green, fairly translucent nephrate with dark streak
Dimensions
26.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 cm (10 7/16 x 2 3/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 259 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. 341 by Max Loehr:

341 Rectangular Knife
Subdued olive-green, fairly translucent jade with a long, undulating dark streak. The slender blade, with its curved lateral edges, is atypical in respect to the absence of holes along the back; it has two perforations of different sizes, drilled from the obverse side, near the right end. The cutting edge is beveled on both sides. The left side tapers off to an edge, reminiscent of a chisel or hoe. Possibly this tool was originally a chisel, and was late reground to function as a knife. Eastern Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.51
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. 341, p. 228

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