Dagger-axe (ge) with dragon

Blade decorated with casting in relief. Encrusted with malachite and some azurite patination.

Historical period(s)
Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1050-771 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 28 x 15 cm (11 x 5 7/8 in)
Geography
China, Henan province, purportedly from Xun Xian
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1934.9a-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.
Description

Blade decorated with casting in relief. Encrusted with malachite and some azurite patination.

Published References
  • Li Ji, Academia Sinica, Institute of History and Philology. Preliminary Reports of Excavations at Anyang [An yang fa qu bao gao]. 4 vols., Shanghai, 1929-1933. vol. 3: pls. 6-8.
  • 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.
  • 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. 95, pl. 48.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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