Axe

Blade of the type tao [chn]. Both socketed and looped for hafting. Decorated with casting in relief. Lightly patinated with malachite and some azurite; areas of unaltered metal. Inscription of 2 characters.

Historical period(s)
Western Zhou dynasty, Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-771 BCE
Medium
Bronze with a wood stick
Dimensions
H x W: 29.7 x 12.3 cm (11 11/16 x 4 13/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1934.6a-d
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Weapon and Armament
Type

Weapon: axehead

Keywords
animal, China, Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE), Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 221 BCE)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Blade of the type tao [chn]. Both socketed and looped for hafting. Decorated with casting in relief. Lightly patinated with malachite and some azurite; areas of unaltered metal. Inscription of 2 characters.

Inscription(s)

See original folder sheet note.

Published References
  • Sueji Umehara. Chugoku shutsudo no ichigun no doriki ni tsuite [One Find of Ancient Bronze Tools in China]. Kyoto. pl. 1.
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. cat. 8668.
  • Hsueh-chin Li. Several Shang, Chou Objects Collected in America and Australia. no. 12. .
  • Chin wen tsung chi. Taipei. vol. 10: p. 4529.
  • 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. 41.
  • Theresa B. Frisch. Scythian Art and Some Chinese Parallels, Part II. vol. 2, no. 2, Autumn 1949. pp. 57-67, fig. 9a.
  • 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. 59, fig. 28.
  • 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. 94, pl. 47.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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