Forked blade (zhang 璋)

Ceremonial implement of the type kuei [gui] 圭; opaque, moss green with minute silvery specks and scattered light tan strata marks; area of mottled grayish brown decomposition at handle and a blue green streak at conical perforations; smoothed depressions near each end on one side; upper corner chamfered. (Handle and corner chipped.)

Acquired with an inscribed box, now lost.

Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period or early Shang dynasty, ca. 1600-1400 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 33.7 x 4.6 x 0.9 cm (13 5/16 x 1 13/16 x 3/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1916.369
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: forked blade (zhang)

Keywords
China, Erligang period (ca. 1500 - ca. 1300 BCE), Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
Provenance

To 1916
Wang Jiantang, Shanghai to 1916 [1]

From 1916 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang in 1916 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1009, pg. 216, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Wang Jiantang (C.L. Freer source) late 19th-early 20th century

Description

Ceremonial implement of the type kuei [gui] 圭; opaque, moss green with minute silvery specks and scattered light tan strata marks; area of mottled grayish brown decomposition at handle and a blue green streak at conical perforations; smoothed depressions near each end on one side; upper corner chamfered. (Handle and corner chipped.)

Acquired with an inscribed box, now lost.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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