Jade Dagger-Axe with Grooved Shoulders

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.67
Title: Jade Dagger-Axe with Grooved Shoulders
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/205286

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Creamy white nephrite, clouded with light gray, beginning to decompose at the now blunted point of the blade
Dimensions: 21.2 x 6.2 x 0.3 cm (8 3/8 x 2 7/16 x 1/8 in.)
unspecified: 72 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. 57 by Max Loehr:

57 Dagger-Axe with Grooved Shoulders
Creamy white jade, clouded with light gray, beginning to decompose at the the now blunted point of the blade. The distinguishing feature is the elaboration of the edges at the base of the blade, carved in the shape of small, fin-like paired ridges separated by grooves. A small drill-hole is placed between these ornaments. The tang is atypically short and chamfered at the upper corner. Shang,

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

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

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.67

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. 57, p. 68
Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 122-24, fig. 2

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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