Harvesting knife (hu 笏), fragment

Tablet, in long narrow trapezoidal form, a fragment of a larger original. Single bevel on one face; double bevel on the other. Type hu. Two perforations. (Color: dull olive green, slightly mottled, and with grayish areas of incipient disintegration. Decoration incised. Textile impression on both sides.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Maker(s)
Artist: Erlitou culture 二里頭 (ca. 2000-1600 BCE)
Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 2000-ca. 1600 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 8.8 × 33.3 × 0.8 cm (3 7/16 × 13 1/8 × 5/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1919.60
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: harvesting knife (hu)

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

Reportedly excavated at Anxi, in Chekiang [1]

To 1919
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1919 [2]

1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, in 1919 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record states: "Said to have been excavated at Anxi, in Chekiang."

[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1440, pg. 347, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[3] See note 2.

[4] 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

Description

Tablet, in long narrow trapezoidal form, a fragment of a larger original. Single bevel on one face; double bevel on the other. Type hu. Two perforations. (Color: dull olive green, slightly mottled, and with grayish areas of incipient disintegration. Decoration incised. Textile impression on both sides.)

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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