Dagger axe (ge) with dragons and birds, fragment

Historical period(s)
Early Western Zhou period, ca. 1050-1000 BCE
Medium
Bronze with meteoritic iron blade
Dimensions
H x W x D: 18.3 × 7 × 1.9 cm (7 3/16 × 2 3/4 × 3/4 in)
Geography
China, Henan province, purportedly from Xunxian
Credit Line
Purchase -—Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1934.11a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Weapon and Armament
Type

Weapon: dagger-axe (ge)

Keywords
China, dragon, Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Published References
  • Greg Brennecka. Impact: How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong. New York, NY, February 1, 2022. pg. 68.
  • Sueji Umehara. Chugoku shutsudo no ichigun no doriki ni tsuite [One Find of Ancient Bronze Tools in China]. Kyoto. pl. 2.
  • Hiroshi Shiomi. Higashi Ajia no shoki tekki bunka. Tokyo. fig. 5.
  • Rutherford John Gettens, Roy S. Clarke, Jr., W. Thomas Chase. Two Early Chinese Bronze Weapons with Meteoritic Iron Blades. vol. 4, no. 1 Washington, 1971. p. 14, 59, fig. 7, 28.
  • unknown title. no. 8. p. 43.
  • Hsueh-chin Li. Several Shang, Chou Objects Collected in America and Australia. no. 12. pp. 72-76.
  • 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. 98, pl. 49.
  • Robert Hutchinson, Alex W. R. Bevan, J. M. Hall. Catalogue of Meteorites., incl. appendix. London. p. 253.
  • Edwards Park. Treasures from the Smithsonian Institution., 1st ed. Washington and New York. p. 339.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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