A blue-green bronze blade that is long with a short, curved handle. A thick line runs through the center of the blade that has small turquoise inlaid pieces. The round end of the handle also has turquoise inlaid pieces.
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side A Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A blue-green bronze blade that is long with a short, stout curved handle shown horizontally on a grey background. The point of the blade points to the right and the handle curves downward. A thick line runs through the center of the blade that has small turquoise inlaid pieces set in a diamond-shaped pattern. The round end of the handle also has turquoise inlaid pieces set in a swirling pattern. The bare space between the end of the handle and the bottom of the blade has a small hole through it.

Gallery Text

At its most basic level, casting bronze entails pouring a molten mixture of copper and tin into a mold and letting the mixture harden as it cools. In ancient China, the actual process was quite complex and involved ceramics technology in virtually every step. First, a model of the desired shape was created in clay and fired in a kiln; next, fresh clay was packed around this ceramic model, removed in multiple sections, and fired; and finally, the hardened section molds created in this process were reassembled around a ceramic core with space set between core and molds, and molten bronze was poured into this assemblage. The production of bronzes in China was inextricably linked to the region’s millennia-long ceramics tradition — in its use of kiln technology, its adaptation of ceramic vessels for bronze vessel shapes (such as the tripod ewer displayed here), and the creation of a casting method reliant on a potter’s skills.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.52.8
Title
Long Turquoise-Inlaid Dagger-Axe with Curved Haft
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
dagger-axe
Date
14th-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/204618

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze with turquoise inlay
Technique
Inlaid
Dimensions
L. 40.2 x W. 9.4 x Thickness 1.0 cm (15 13/16 x 3 11/16 x 3/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[C. T. Loo & Co., New York, October 1, 1940] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1940-1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.52.8
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

  • S427: Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

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