Forked blade (zhang 璋)

Ceremonial implement of the type kuei [gui] 圭; long, wide form with bevelled end and perforation above handle; mottled pale cream and dark reddish brown with traces of black; smooth surface. (Slightly chipped, gouge at end of handle.)

Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period or early Shang dynasty, ca. 1600-1400 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 33.5 x 7.1 x 1.3 cm (13 3/16 x 2 13/16 x 1/2 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1915.69
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: forked blade (zhang)

Keywords
China, Erligang period (ca. 1500 - ca. 1300 BCE), Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
Provenance

To 1915
Huang Zhonghui (circa 1870- after 1923), to 1915 [1]

From 1915 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Huang Zhonghui, in New York, in 1915 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 657, pg. 157, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Curatorial Remarks.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Huang Zhonghui (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1870-after 1923

Description

Ceremonial implement of the type kuei [gui] 圭; long, wide form with bevelled end and perforation above handle; mottled pale cream and dark reddish brown with traces of black; smooth surface. (Slightly chipped, gouge at end of handle.)

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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