Jade Dagger-Axe with Ornate Tang | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.95
Title: Jade Dagger-Axe with Ornate Tang
Other Titles: Alternate Title: ko
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: dagger-axe
Date: 16th-10th century 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/204989

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Light buff nephrite with sparse grayish green veins; traces of cinnabar adhering to the surfaces
Dimensions: H. 23 x W. 6.5 x D. 0.4 cm (9 1/16 x 2 9/16 x 3/16 in.)
Weight 127 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. 59 by Max Loehr:

59 Dagger-Axe with Ornate Tang
Light buff jade with sparse grayish green veins; traces of cinnabar adhering to the surfaces. The rather awkwardly shaped blade curves down steeply at the point, shows an irregularly curved lower edge, and lacks a clear articulation of the tang. Without any indication of a break, the blade blends into the curved, drooping tang, which is notched along the back and engraved on both faces with a large eye and with a hooked beak filled with three chevrons. Possibly the carving of this piece was left unfinished. Shang,

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.95

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. 59, p. 69

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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