Dagger-axe (ge 戈) with bird, fragment reworked

Miniature blade. Ornament in form of miniature curved blade with two conical perforations drilled from the same side; gray and terra cotta color with traces of ochre stain; blade beveled, handle in form of crested bird, decoration incised on one side, in relief on the other; satin smooth surface except for area of granular white disintegration on one side. (Tip of blade slightly chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 3.2 × 8.4 × 0.4 cm (1 1/4 × 3 5/16 × 3/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1916.149
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Ceremonial object: dagger-axe (ge)

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), bird, China
Provenance

To 1916
Lai-Yuan and Company, New York, to 1916 [1]

From 1916 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Lai-Yuan and Company in 1916 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 886, pg. 194, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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
Lai-Yuan & Company (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1915-April 1921

Description

Miniature blade. Ornament in form of miniature curved blade with two conical perforations drilled from the same side; gray and terra cotta color with traces of ochre stain; blade beveled, handle in form of crested bird, decoration incised on one side, in relief on the other; satin smooth surface except for area of granular white disintegration on one side. (Tip of blade slightly chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

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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