Object Details
- Description
- Ceremonial weapon of the type ko [ge] 戈. The blade of mottled warm gray and white nephrite (stained by burial) mounted in bronze inlaid with turquoise (one bit missing); perforated tang heavily patinated.
- Label
- Tiny turquoise mosaics define the coiled dragons, with beaked head, three-clawed paw, and spiraling tail, on the projecting tang of this dagger-axe. X-radiographs of this object reveals it was assembled from different pieces that might not have belonged together originally and were pinned and soldered in place in modern times. These repairs explain the disorderly areas of turquoise inlay.
- Provenance
- Reportedly excavated in Anyang, Henan province, China [1]
- From 1940 to 1941
- C. T. Loo & Company, New York from October 1940 [2]
- From 1941
- Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on March 20, 1941 [3]
- Notes:
- [1] According to John Lodge's curatorial remark, dated 1941, in object file.
- [2] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. 86942: "Jade knife with bronze handle. One large jade KU with plain bronze handle inlayed with turquoise with designs of birds and an animal mask near the guard. An Yang Shang," C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file. The object was brought by Loo to the Freer Gallery for examination on November 13, 1940.
- [3] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated March 20, 1941, copy in object file.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)
- Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
- Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
- Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)
- Chinese Art (June 15, 1982 to September 24, 1982)
- Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)
- Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)
- Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
- Chinese Bronze, Jade, Marble (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
- Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1955 (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)
- Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1955 (October 24, 1955 to February 25, 1956)
- Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1945 (January 9, 1945 to August 20, 1955)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)
- Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 17, 1944)
- Previous custodian or owner
- C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- ca. 1200 BCE
- Period
- Late Shang dynasty, early Anyang period
- Accession Number
- F1941.5
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Ceremonial Object
- Medium
- Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (overall): 10.6 × 41.9 × 0.9 cm (4 3/16 × 16 1/2 × 3/8 in)
- Origin
- Anyang, probably Henan province, China
- On View
- Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- Jades for Life and Death
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- inlay (process)
- metal
- bronze
- nephrite
- Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE)
- China
- Chinese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1941.5
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3fd66e07d-3be2-434d-b7f7-0bf142b7a20a
