Jade Dagger-Axe with Crenelated Tang

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.27
Title: Jade Dagger-Axe with Crenelated Tang
Other Titles: Alternate Title: ko
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: dagger-axe
Date: 12th cent. BCE - 11th cent. BCE
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Shang dynasty, c. 1600-c. 1050 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/205137

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Light buff, slightly translucent nephrite with bluish gray spots and black markings
Dimensions: 35.2 x 7.4 x 0.6 cm (13 7/8 x 2 15/16 x 1/4 in.)
unspecified: 208 g

Published Text

Catalogue: Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Authors: Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber
Publisher: Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975)

Catalogue entry no. 55 by Max Loehr:

55 Dagger-Axe with Crenelated Tang
Light buff, slightly translucent jade with bluish gray spots and black markings. The blade is hollow-ground on either side of the median crest. The faceted edges curve outward where the tip begins, while at the base, the blade flares slightly. The tang is very long; its fore part is decorated with recessed rows of three blunt teeth separated by rounded notches, which are followed by larger, spiky projections. The back part of the tang is narrow and plain. Below the first of the three teeth is a perforation, drilled from the left side. Shang.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.27

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Publication History

Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), cat. no. 55, p. 67
Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 122-24, fig. 3

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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