Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked

Small dagger-axe, type ge 戈. Smoothly polished, mottled cream-buff jade dagger-axe, with earth accretions. The curving blade has a median crest that stops at the conical perforation (drilled from both sides) on the tang. The tang has a diagonal butt.

The narrow upper and lower facets of the blade curve outward from the beginning of the sharp pointed tip.

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 2.3 x 8.4 x 0.3 cm (7/8 x 3 5/16 x 1/8 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1979.33
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: dagger-axe (ge)

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), Carl Whiting Bishop collection, China
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Small dagger-axe, type ge 戈. Smoothly polished, mottled cream-buff jade dagger-axe, with earth accretions. The curving blade has a median crest that stops at the conical perforation (drilled from both sides) on the tang. The tang has a diagonal butt.

The narrow upper and lower facets of the blade curve outward from the beginning of the sharp pointed tip.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 3, p. 13.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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