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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.64
Title
Jade Dagger-Axe
Other Titles
Alternate Title: ko
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
dagger-axe
Date
12th cent. BCE - 11th cent. BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/199635

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque gray nephrite with tan colored surface alteration, traces of cinnabar, and dark brown accretions that preserve textile impressions
Dimensions
26.2 x 8.2 x 0.8 cm (10 5/16 x 3 1/4 x 5/16 in.)
unspecified: 237 g

Published Text

Catalogue
Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Authors
Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber
Publisher
Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975)

Catalogue entry no. 27 by Max Loehr:

27 Dagger-Axe
Bluish green and cream-colored stone in a state of partial calcification, with brown stains and a shiny, curiously lacquer-like surface. The sturdy blade, with a descending median crest and beveled edges, ends with a sharp point. The tang is flattish and narrows toward the butt, which cuts through a perforation and is ground off irregularly; apparently the tang was originally longer. Another, biconical, perforation is drilled along the median at the base of the blade. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.64
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, Fogg Art Museum, 1975)., cat. no. 27, p. 53
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 37-38, fig. 2.12
  • Katherine Eremin, Angela Chang, and Ariel O'Connor, Jade in the Lab, Early Chinese jades in the Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2019), Pages 28-47, Figure 2.12, Page 38

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu