Ritual ImplementsChinese3rd millennium BCE

Jade Chisel

c. 2500 BCE - c. 2000 BCE

Classification

Ritual Implements

Medium

Light gray and pale green, slightly calcified nephrite, polished smooth and glossy

Culture

Chinese

Period

Neolithic period, Longshan culture, c. 3000-1900 BCE

Century

3rd millennium BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 20.4 x W. 5.3 x Thickness 0.9 cm (8 1/16 x 2 1/16 x 3/8 in.) Weight 184 g

Provenance

Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Related Artworks

Ritual Implements

Jade Slit Disk (Jue)

Unknown Artist, c. 4000 BCE - c. 2000 BCE

Calcified, whitish nephrite; only a few spots of the original dark green color remain

4th-3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Heavy Jade Knife with Concave Cutouts

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

Mottled gray-green and dark brown stone

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Notched, Serrate Jade Slab

Unknown Artist, c. 2500 BCE - c. 1500 BCE

Translucent stone in a relatively dark shade of celadon-green, becoming a greenish brown along the straight edge which has no teeth

3rd-2nd 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

Flat Jade Axe with Rounded Edge

Unknown Artist, c. 3300 - c. 2000 BCE

Creamy white nephrite with dark green markings, polished to a brilliant gloss

4th-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

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

Axe-Shaped Jade Tablet

Unknown Artist, c. 4000 BCE - c. 2000 BCE

Mottled green, gray, and black nephrite with whitish veins

4th-3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Small Trapezoidal Jade Knife

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

Mottled, olive-greenish nephrite with whitish markings

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Ring with Concave Wall

Unknown Artist, c. 3300 BCE - c. 2000 BCE

Mottled light gray and brown stone

4th-3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Animal Mask

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

Light olive-green translucent nephrite

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Cylindrical, Tapering Jade Plug

Unknown Artist, c. 4000 - c. 2000 BCE?

Pale green and ivory-colored, slightly calcified nephrite

4th-3rd millennium BCEChinese