Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Weapon and Armament

Historical period(s): late Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1100-1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1100-1050 BCE

Medium: Bronze with meteoritic iron blade

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 16.8 × 11.1 × 2 cm (6 5/8 × 4 3/8 × 13/16 in)

Origin: China, Henan province, purportedly from Xunxian, but probably Anyang

Notes: purportedly from Xunxian, but probably Anyang

Credit Line: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1934.10

Description: Blade decorated with casting in relief. Broken off, and heavily encrusted with aerugo to which fragments of wood adhere. Other parts patinated with malachite and some azurite; areas of unaltered metal.

Past label text: 1. (Keith Wilson, Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

Dagger-axe with dragons and birds
Early Western Zhou period,
ca. 1050–1000 BCE
Bronze with meteoritic iron blade
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment F1934.11a–c

Axe with masks (taotie)
Late Anyang period, ca. 1100–1050 BCE
Bronze with meteoritic iron blade
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment F1934.10

Axe with masks (taotie)
Inscribed on one side,
Zheng 正 (“Military Officer of Campaigns Abroad”)
Early Anyang period, ca. 1200 BCE
Bronze
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment F1946.5

Ritual cauldron (ding) with masks (taotie)
Inscribed on interior wall, Ci 垖 (次) (“Military Outpost Officer”)
Middle Anyang period, ca. 1150 BCE
Bronze
Purchase—Charles lang Freer Endowment F1960.18

Ritual wine container (zun) with masks (taotie) and dragons
Inscribed in the foot, Ge 戈 (“Infantry Officer”)
Late Anyang period, ca. 1100–1050 BCE
Bronze
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment F1955.1

Ritual wine warmer (jia) with masks (taotie) and dragons
Inscribed on the bottom of the interior, Zheng 正 (“Military Officer of Campaigns Abroad”)
Early Anyang period, ca. 1200 BCE
Bronze
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.60

Military Officers
The king used his armies to gain control of land for agricultural production and the extraction of raw materials. Subdued populations added to the labor force or contributed to Anyang’s ritual sacrifices. It is not surprising that many Anyang bronzes carry inscriptions naming military officials. The large, early axe and the wine warmer below it name a high-ranking military leader engaged in foreign campaigns. The title, represented by two feet facing an enclosure, is adapted on the axe to incorporate its round opening as part of the character. The cylindrical wine container in the middle is inscribed with the depiction of a hafted dagger-axe, signifying its maker was an infantry officer, a prevalent rank. The cauldron at the left may have been made for a garrison or an outpost officer.

Harvesting Meteors
The two smaller, damaged weapons in this case are exceedingly rare and must have served a special purpose. Why? Their blades, now corroded, were made from iron, a metal whose ores were not mined and smelted in China until several centuries later. A study over fifty years ago of these blades by the Freer Technical Laboratory revealed that the metal was composed of naturally occurring iron taken from meteors. The bronze that makes up the rest of these weapons was cast onto the blades, locking them in place, a procedure made possible by iron’s higher melting point.

Curatorial Remarks

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

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

In the central part of this fragmentary axe-head is a hole 11/16 in. in diameter; and around this are cast degenerated dragon forms in intaglio with the eyes in low relief. Two narrow holes at the back probably received thongs for hafting; and a small round hole in the nei<e> may have held a transverse pin to help strengthen the joint. At the back of the nei<e> is a field of deep intaglio within which are raised lines in the form of a t'ao-t'ieh<e>. Here, as in 34.9, an original inlay of some sort was probably used.

3. (Herbert Maryon, British Museum, 1954) The blade is of wrought iron. The handle may have been cast around the blade. The eyes of the mask may be rivets to hold the blade together. However, the "heads" of the rivets seem to be modelled -not hammered.

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

5. (J. Smith per Keith Wilson, 3/2009) Axe (qi) with dragons and masks; Western Zhou dynasty; Purportedly from Xun xian, Henan Province.
6. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 22, 2023)
Change title from "Axe (qi) with dragons and masks" to "Axe with masks (taotie)."
Change period from "Western Zhou dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty, late Anyang period."
Change date from "ca. 1050-771 BCE" to "ca. 1100-1050 BCE."
Change geography from "China, Henan province, purportedly from Xunxian" to "China, Henan province, purportedly from Xunxian, but probably Anyang."
Change medium from "Bronze with iron blade, meteoric metal" to "Bronze with meteoritic iron blade."

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Axe with masks (taotie)

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