Sword

Sword. Broken in five pieces, and lacking one piece. Grey-green patina. Guard with design cast in relief and fragments of turquoise inlay. Hilt with two rings cast in relief and traces of turquoise inlay. Pommel round and concave containing thin concentric rings.

Historical period(s)
Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, ca. 5th-4th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 52.4 x 4.8 cm (20 5/8 x 1 7/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1924.15a-f
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Weapon and Armament
Type

Weapon: sword

Keywords
Carl Whiting Bishop collection, China, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE), Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE)
Provenance

To 1924
Orvar Karlbeck, Peking, China. [1]

From 1924
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased by Carl Whiting Bishop from Orvar Karlbeck, Peking, China. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Orvar Karlbeck 1879-1967

Description

Sword. Broken in five pieces, and lacking one piece. Grey-green patina. Guard with design cast in relief and fragments of turquoise inlay. Hilt with two rings cast in relief and traces of turquoise inlay. Pommel round and concave containing thin concentric rings.

Published References
  • Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 29, p. 72.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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