Small Jade Dagger-Axe | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.79
Title: Small Jade Dagger-Axe
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/204931

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Creamy white nephrite, beautifully polished but partly calcified; cinnabar stains on the left side of the blade
Dimensions: 16.3 x 4.6 x 0.2 cm (6 7/16 x 1 13/16 x 1/16 in.)
unspecified: 29 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. 62 by Max Loehr:

62 Small Dagger-Axe
Creamy white jade, beautifully polished but partly calcified; cinnabar stains on the left side of the blade. The tip bends only slightly. Crest and facets lack a sharp definition. The tang is drilled twice, with a small hole in the middle between the shoulders, and with a large one that is off center and may have been the result of refashioning. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.79

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. 62, p. 71

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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