Knife (dao 刀)

Blade; notched on straight side; pierced twice; opaque marbled greens and tans. (Broken and repaired; nicks and chipped flaws.)

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 3.4 × 13.1 × 0.3 cm (1 5/16 × 5 3/16 × 1/8 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.568
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: knife

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), China
Provenance

To 1963
J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York [1]

From 1963 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York, in 1963 [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

[2] See note 1.

[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dr. Arthur M. Sackler 1913-1987
J.T. Tai & Co. established in 1950

Description

Blade; notched on straight side; pierced twice; opaque marbled greens and tans. (Broken and repaired; nicks and chipped flaws.)

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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