Sheath with Bird and Feline or Dragon
-300–-100
- Medium
- Jade
- Dimensions
- 10.6 × 5.7 × 0.5 cm (4 3/16 × 9 3/8 × 1/8 in.)
- Genre
- Weapon
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
nephriteasian artChinese (culture or style)weaponritual objects
About
Artists of China's late Bronze Age achieved both technical mastery and visual sophistication in elegant objects like this jade sheath, designed to fit a small blade. Its fluid contours and subtle surface modeling are remarkable because they were achieved by slowly grinding down, drilling, and polishing the stone.