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A jade piece that is cut into the shape of a demon face with a wide, flat neck at the bottom, ears pointing out with large hoop earrings on its side, two wide pointed shapes on the top corners, and a short point at the top center. There are engraved lines

The jade piece is cut into the shape of a demon face and shown lying flat on a grey background. It is white and yellow in color with grey discoloration. The piece is cut with a wide, flat neck at the bottom, ears pointing out with large hoop earrings on its side, two wide pointed shapes on the top corners, and a short point at the top center. The top-left point has been broken off or has been softened in shape. There are engraved lines to show the demon’s mouth, teeth, and eyes.

Gallery Text

The Shang refined Neolithic jade-making practices, fashioning ritual blades and implements of even greater sophistication than those of their predecessors, incorporating jade blades into turquoise-inlaid bronze hafts, and expanding their jade repertoire into representational shapes of humans and animals.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.154
Title
Jade Demon Face
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
Neolithic or Shang period, c. 2500 - c. 1500 BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Neolithic period to Shang dynasty
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/205282

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Light yellowish green jade with decomposed white streaks
Dimensions
H. 5 x W. 4.1 x Thickness 0.4 cm (1 15/16 x 1 5/8 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. 246 by Max Loehr:

246 Demon Face
Light yellowish green jade with decomposed white streaks. The mask is carved out in thread relief lines from a concave piece of stone with a vertical crest down the middle. The eyes have the shape characteristic of Shang or Western Chou zoomorphs; the nose is almost flat; the mouth bares rows of squarish teeth and log fangs. Instead of earlobes there are small perforated disks. The forehead rises to an obtuse point, and beyond the eyes expands into flamboyantly outlined wing-shapes. The back is left plain. Probably 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
1943.50.154
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. 246, p. 188
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), p. 87, fig. 2

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