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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.26
Title
Jade Dagger-Axe or Knife Blade
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/205194

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque, bluish gray-green nephrite that has turned a dull buff and light brown color over a large part of the surface
Dimensions
29.8 x 8.6 x 0.5 cm (11 3/4 x 3 3/8 x 3/16 in.)
unspecified: 203 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. 60 by Max Loehr:

60 Dagger-Axe or Knife Blade
Opaque, bluish gray-green jade that has turned a dull buff and light brown color over a large part of the surface. The blade has a crest from tip to butt, and neatly ground, longitudinal facets that curve out at the beginning of the tip. The tip is quite unusual; its shape might require that the blade be interpreted as an upward-pointing, recurved knife rather than as down-ward-pointing ko. The edges are nearly straight, ending with sharply cut shoulders, from which the broad, plain tang issues. A conical hole is drilled through the crest, behind the shoulders. The axis of the tang seems to favor the interpretation of this blade as a knife. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.26
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. 60, p. 70

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