Heavy Jade Dagger-Axe | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.72
Title: Heavy Jade Dagger-Axe
Other Titles: Alternate Title: ko
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: dagger-axe
Date: 16th-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/204927

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Black serpentine
Dimensions: H. 27.4 x W. 7.8 x D. 1 cm (10 13/16 x 3 1/16 x 3/8 in.)
Weight 334 g
Technical Details: Technical Observations:

Raman Spectroscopy

Raman was performed by Katherine Eremin, and the object was identified as antigorite (a serpentine mineral).

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. 26 by Max Loehr:

26 Heavy Dagger-Axe
Black stone, mottled with greenish gray. The blade, rhombic in cross-section, has a median crest which descends gradually toward the point. The tang is flat and sharply set off from the blade; it widens toward the butt and is perforated in the middle by a biconical hole. The surfaces of this ko are beautifully polished. It is a rare type, and unique in this collection. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.72

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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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. 26, p. 53

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

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