Sword

Sword. The edges foliated and heavily encrusted; areas elsewhere of a light green aerugo. The pommel inlaid with a gold ornament; the guard with gold and turquoise; and the center of the blade on both sides with inscriptions inlaid with gold.

Historical period(s)
Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, ca. first half 5th century BCE
Medium
Bronze, gold, turquoise
Dimensions
H x W: 55 x 4.1 cm (21 5/8 x 1 5/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1929.19
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Weapon and Armament
Type

Weapon: sword

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

To 1929
Edgar Worch (1880-1972), Berlin. [1]

From 1929
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Edgar Worch, Berlin. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Edgar Worch 1880-1972

Description

Sword. The edges foliated and heavily encrusted; areas elsewhere of a light green aerugo. The pommel inlaid with a gold ornament; the guard with gold and turquoise; and the center of the blade on both sides with inscriptions inlaid with gold.

Inscription(s)

1. (From original folder sheet note 2) (J.E.L., 1929)

Inscription on the blade:
Obverse: [chn]
Reverse: [chn]

The last character doubtful, perhaps; also the ninth, which may be [chn]. The passage [chn] may refer to the decoration and inscription in gold; but it is not clear to me. The rest of the text means: "On the lucky day jen-wu, made for righteous use, -----I myself named it, calling it Shao-chin." [chn] may be a name, "I, Yu," etc. It is worth noting that [chn] chen was a common word for the pronouns I and me, but was appropriated by [chn] Ch'in Shih Huang-Ti for the royal We, Ourself.

The dealer reports that this sword is supposed to have been excavated near Kalgan.

Published References
  • Moruo Guo. Liang Chou chin wen tzu ta hsi tu lu kao shih: Inscriptions on bronzes of the Chou period. Tokyo. vol. 5: p. 279, b and c.
  • Luo Zhenyu. Chen sung tang chi ku i wen [Ancient Inscriptions in the Collection of Lo Chen-yu]. multi-vol., . vol. 12: p. 20.
  • Sueji Umehara. Shina kodo seikwa [Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and Asia]. 3 vols., Osaka. vol. 2: pl. 101.
  • Otto Kümmel. Jörg Trübner zum Gedächtnis: Ergebnisse seiner letzten chinesischen Reisen. Berlin. pl. 35.
  • Robert Dale Jacobsen. Inlaid Bronzes of Pre-Imperial China: A Classical Tradition and Its Later Revivals. 2 vols. Ann Arbor. pls. 60, 64, 65.
  • Sueji Umehara. Etude des Bronzes des Royaumes Combattants. Memoire de Toho-bunka-gakuin Kyoto kenkyusho, vol. 7 Kyoto. p. 27, pl. 25, fig. 2.
  • Huang Jun. Tsun ku chai so chien chi chin t'u/Zun gu zhai suo jian ji jin tu: Illustrations of bronzes seen by the author. Beijing. p. 43, pl. 4.
  • Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 28, p. 70.
  • Compiled by the staff of the Freer Gallery of Art. A Descriptive and Illustrative Catalogue of Chinese Bronzes: Acquired During the Administration of John Ellerton Lodge. Oriental Studies Series, no. 3 Washington, 1946. p. 99, pl. 50.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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