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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.51.13
Title
Jade Dagger-Axe in a Bronze Haft with Curved Butt
Other Titles
Alternate Title: ko
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
dagger-axe
Date
16th-11th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204557

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bone-colored and mottled light brown nephrite blade; bronze haft
Dimensions
L. 29 x W. 6 x Thickness (of blade) 0.5 cm (11 7/16 x 2 3/8 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 251 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. 77 by Max Loehr:

77 Jade Dagger-Axe in a Bronze Haft with Curved Butt
The blade, which has been broken, is fashioned of a bone-colored and mottled light brown jade with a green area adjoining the bronze socket. The blade lacks a median crest; its marginal bevels, which continue to the point, are ill-defined. The socket is shield-shaped as in No. 76; it is decorated with a t’ao-t’ieh mask composed of densely placed lines in low relief, a pattern unfit for any inlay. A fragment of fine-textured cloth, now mineralized, obscures part of the design on the right face of the socket. The butt, unlike those of the preceding types, curves downward; its décor consists of a “dragon” figure in cloisons such as may have held an inlay of turquoise particles. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.51.13
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. 77, p. 78
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 37, 39, fig. 2.13
  • 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 2.13, Page 39

Related Works

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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