Axe, probably reworked from a collared disk

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 9.2 × 9 × 0.3 cm (3 5/8 × 3 9/16 × 1/8 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S2012.9.269
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 23b: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: axe

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

To 1982
S. N. Ferris Luboshez (1896-1984) [1]

1982
Sale, New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., Chinese and Japanese Works of Art, November 20, 1982, Sale #4966, lot 358: “Small Archaic Jade Axe" [2]

To 1997
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997), Summit, New Jersey [3]

From 1997 to 1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC [4]

From 1999
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler [5]

Notes:

[1] See auction catalogue from the Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, November 20, 1982, Sale #4966.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See object record.

[4] Between 1997 and 1999, The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art was in the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington DC

[5] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement” from March 1999, Collections Management Office. The object was formally accessioned into the museum’s permanent collection in 2012. See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

S.N. Ferris Luboshez 1896-1984
Dr. Paul Singer 1904-1997

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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