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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.21
Title
Small Jade Dagger-Axe with Grooved and Crenelated Tang
Other Titles
Alternate Title: ko
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
dagger-axe
Date
12th cent. BCE - 10th cent. BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Shang dynasty (c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE) to Western Zhou period (c. 1050-771 BCE)
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/205225

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ivory-colored opaque jade, with cinnibar stains on the right face of the blade.
Dimensions
16.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 cm (6 1/2 x 2 3/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 77 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. 46 by Max Loehr:

46 Small Dagger-Axe with Grooved and Crenelated Tang
Ivory-colored opaque jade, with cinnabar stains on the right face of the blade. This blade shows several unusual features: a symmetrical outline and symmetrical bevels; a straight median ridge; deeply hollow-ground faces; and finally, blunt edges and a blunt point. Near the base of the blade is a slanting, conical bore-hole, drilled from the left side. The tang is transformed into a sharply cut set of five ribs with lateral grooves; the sunken interstices are ground down to form gentle slopes toward the butt, where they end in four deep, angular recesses. Late Shang or Western Chou.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.21
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, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), cat. no. 46, p. 63

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