Pendant
Unknown Artist
Medium
Jade
Dimensions
H. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm); Diam. 7/16 in. (1.1 cm)
Classification
Jade
Culture & Period
China · Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Samuel T. Peters, 1911
Accession Number
11.190.248
Art Historical Context
This exquisite jade pendant, crafted during China's Han dynasty (206 B.CA.D. 220), exemplifies the era's reverence for jade as a material of profound spiritual and aesthetic value. Measuring just 3½ inches in height and less than half an inch in diameter, its slender form suggests it was designed for personal adornment—perhaps worn as a necklace or attached to clothing or belts. The Han period marked a golden age for jade carving, where artisans transformed the stone's natural translucency and durability into symbols of purity, immortality, and imperial virtue, often used in rituals, burials, ...