Dagger-axe (ge) with geometric decoration

1. (Undated folder sheet note) Purchased from Ton-Ying & Co., New York. For price, see <u>Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920<e>.

2. (Undated folder sheet note) The broken end of the <u>nei<e> was mended at the Gallery by Y. Kinoshita, Nov. 22. 1941.

3. (J.A.P., 1944) One of a group of twelve weapons said to have been found at Hsun  Hsien, Wei-hui Fu, Honan Province. (<u>cf<e>. 34.3)

Of the several types of ancient Chinese weapons known today, the <u>ko<e> is the most common; and consequently has been most frequently described.  (See Yetts, The George Eumorfopoulos Collection, Vol. I, pp. 65-66; the Cull Chinese Bronzes, pp. 95-104; and Karlbeck, Catalogue of the Chinese and Korean Bronzes at Hallwyl House, Stockholm, pp. 17-20). In Western publications it has most often been called dagger-axe, halberd, or <u>hache-poignard<e> though none of these terms fits precisely. The type existed in stone in Neolithic times and continued in bronze in gradually changing form. (See Andersson, An Early Chinese Culture, Bull. Geol. Survey of China, 5, 1 (Oct. 1929) pp. 45-47). The principal parts of the ,u>ko<e> are the <u>yuan<e> [chn] or main blade, the <u>nei<e> [chn] or tang projecting backward which was inserted through a hole in the harf, and the <u>hu<e> [chn] or down curving member below the <u>yuan<e>. This was provided with a narrow flange which fitted into a vertical slot in the haft to strengthen the joint, and one or more holes through which passed a thong to bind the head and haft together. In many cases there is a horizontal slot through the <u>nei<e> into which a wedge-shaped peg could be driven for the same purpose. Variations occur in the relative proportions of the three parts, principally in the length of the <u>hu<e>; and while no absolute dating can be based on form, the relative chronology has been tentatively established. Apparently the earliest examples lacked the <u>hu<e> altogether, and this member gradually developed and was extended for practical reasons. Examples with as many as seven holes have been noted.

Related to the <u>ko<e> is a weapon called the <u>chu<e> [chn] to which the haft was attached by inserting it through a tubular process immediately behind the <u>yuan<e>. Extending behind this tube is a vestigial <u>nei<e> whose function was perhaps to improve the balance of the weapon, or, when sharpened, to provide a short chopping blade as was sometimes done on the true <u>ko<e> as well.

In what appear to be later examples of the <u>ko<e>, those with very long <u>hu<e>, the angle between <u>yuan<e> and <u>hu<e> is often greatly increased so that the <u>yuan<e> points upward as much as 45 above the horizontal. (See White, Tomb Tile Pictures of Ancient China, pls. XXXIX, XL, XLI, LXVI, LXVII). This tendency ultimately led to the development of the weapon called <u>chi<e> [chn] in which the <u>yuan<e> and the <u>hu<e> formed a continuous vertical blade, and the <u>nei<e> performed its usual function of fitting through the haft. A series of examples illustrating this development is in the collections of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, but has not been published. The <u>chi<e> occurs in late Chou and Han times (See Chavannes, mission Archeologique dans la Chine septentrionale, figs. 47, 48, etc.); and appears to have superseded the <u>ko<e> about that date.

The present example has two holes in the <u>hu<e> and the cutting edge is cast with a concave bevel. On each side of the yuan is inlaid a flat ring of mother-of-pearl, and two curving pieces of the same material are inlaid on either side of the <u>nei<e>.  

[In original folder, there is a separate hand-writing note]

4. (J. Smith per Keith Wilson, 8/12/2008) Weapon and Armament added as secondary classification.

5. (J. Smith per Keith Wilson, 3/2009) Dagger axe (ge) with geometric decoration; Western Zhou dynasty; Purportedly from Xun xian, Henan Province.

6.  (S. Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, 13 July 2010) Object name changed from "Dagger axe (ge)" to "Weapon."