Ritual ImplementsChinese

Jade Big Bird and Little Bird

16th-10th century BCE

Classification

Ritual Implements

Medium

Translucent pale green nephrite

Culture

Chinese

Period

Shang dynasty (c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE) to Western Zhou period (c. 1050-771 BCE)

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 5.1 x W. 4.7 x D. 0.2 cm (2 x 1 7/8 x 1/16 in.) Weight 7 g

Related Artworks

Ritual Implements

Elongated Jade Fish Silhouette

Unknown Artist, c. 11th cent. BCE - 771 BCE

Opaque, brownish green and dark green nephrite; traces of cinnabar

11th-8th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Stylus-Like Object

Unknown Artist, c. 16th cent. BCE - c. 11th cent. BCE

Pale green nephrite with white streaks

16th-11th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Tiger Pendant

Unknown Artist, date uncertain

Mottled gray-green nephrite

1st millennium CEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade 'Bi' Disk

Unknown Artist, possibly c. 3000 BCE - c. 2000 BCE

Large and heavy disk of an inferior stone of brownish and greenish color, with a smooth but dull surface.

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Disk with Pattern of Plastic Curls

Unknown Artist, 475 BCE - 221 BCE

Buff and opaque nephrite with brown markings and a small area of green

5th-3rd century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade 'Cong'

Unknown Artist, c. 1100 - 771 BCE

Yellowish-green translucent nephrite, largely calcified

11th-8th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Fragment of a Trapezoidal Jade Knife

Unknown Artist, c. 2500 BCE - c. 1900 BCE

Bluish gray-green stone with black and light brown markings

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Notched Jade Disk with Openwork Edge

Unknown Artist, Longshan culture (?), c. 2500 - c. 2000 BCE

Translucent, pale green nephrite

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Large Ceremonial Jade Object, Perhaps a Headdress

Unknown Artist, c. 4700 - c. 2920 BCE

Mottled green, bluish green, and buff nephrite

5th-3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Small, Decorated Jade Cylinder (one of a pair)

Unknown Artist, early 8th-3rd century BCE

Greenish yellow nephrite

Chinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Dragon Silhouette

Unknown Artist, 4th century BCE

Highly polished, faintly translucent, cream-colored and gray-green nephrite

4th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Ornamental Jade Archer's Ring

Unknown Artist, 3rd-2nd century BCE

Strongly translucent, white, yellowish, and brown jade with a lustrous polish

3rd-2nd century BCEChinese