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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.51.14
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 cent. BCE - 14th cent. BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204558

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Creamy yellow, slightly translucent nephrite blade; bronze haft
Dimensions
23 x 7.5 x 0.5 cm (9 1/16 x 2 15/16 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 171 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. 80 by Max Loehr:

80 Jade Dagger-Axe in a Bronze Haft with Curved Butt
Small, crested blade with outward-curving longitudinal bevels, fashioned of a creamy yellow, slightly translucent jade. Near the tip, the blade has begun to calcify; the point is broken off. The blade is inserted into a very short, rectangular, plain socket behind which is a hafting bar and a sloping butt. The butt is decorated with a “dragon” figure in cloisons, similar to No. 79, but without any inlay. Along the back of the butt, the metal is thoroughly mineralized; across the hafting section, by contrast, the bronze still gleams yellow. Apparently the metal was protected here by the wooden shaft, remnants of which, in a mineralized state, still adhere. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.51.14
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. 80, p. 79

Related Works

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