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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.51.8
Title
Jade Dagger-Axe in a Bronze Haft
Other Titles
Alternate Title: ko
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
dagger-axe
Date
16th 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/204561

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Light green and brown nephrite blade; bronze haft inlaid with turquoise
Technique
Inlaid
Dimensions
24.2 x 7.5 x 0.7 cm (9 1/2 x 2 15/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 423 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. 73 by Max Loehr:

73 Jade Dagger-Axe in a Bronze Haft
Heavy blade of light green and brown jade, with discolored, buff areas. Traces of cinnabar on the left side. The blade shows a gently curved crest, while its edges are beveled somewhat indistinctly; it widens toward the base, which is inserted into a bronze socket shaped in agreement with the outline of the blade. A vertical bar projects above and below the socket and behind it is a perforated rectangular butt. Both the socket and the butt carry a décor, identical on both sides, of zoomorphic designs inlaid with turquoise. The designs represent two variants of t’ao-t’ieh masks, the eyes of which, made from particles en cabochon, protrude slightly. In the case of the socket, the masks are flanked by dragon heads. The patina that has formed on top of the thin bronze walls, or cloisons, separating the pieces of turquoise, has overgrown the latter in a manner shown that the inlay is original. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.51.8
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. 73, p. 76

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