Object: Dagger axe (ge) with dragons and birds, fragment F1934.11a-c

Classification: Weapon and Armament

Historical period(s): Early Western Zhou period, ca. 1050-1000 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1050-1000 BCE

Medium: Bronze with meteoritic iron blade

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 18.3 × 7 × 1.9 cm (7 3/16 × 2 3/4 × 3/4 in)

Origin: China, Henan province, purportedly from Xunxian

Notes: purportedly from Xunxian

Credit Line: Purchase -—Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1934.11a-c

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)

This ko<e>with a single thong-hole and totally lacking any hu<e> is of the type generally considered to represent an early stage in the development of this weapon. What remains of the blade is elliptical in section, and has dragon forms sharply cast in low relief on both sides. A hole 3/16 in. in diameter pierces the back end of the yuan<e>. Thin bits of wood from an old haft adhere to one side of the nei<e>; and, at the back end of this member a small dragon is cast in relief in an intaglio field on each side. It is possible that the fossae in this design once carried an inlay material of some sort, though the raised lines are broader here, and not so obviously made for that purpose as on 34.9 and 34.10.

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

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

5. (S. Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, 13 July 2010) Object name changed from "Dagger-axe (ge)" to "Weapon."
6. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 22, 2023)
Change title from "Dagger-axe (ge) with dragons (fragment)" to "Dagger axe (ge) with dragons and birds, fragment."
Change period from "Western Zhou dynasty" to "Early Western Zhou period."
Change date from "ca. 1050-771 BCE" to "ca. 1050-1000 BCE."
Change medium from "Bronze with iron core, meteoric metal" to "Bronze with meteoritic iron blade."

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Dagger axe (ge) with dragons and birds, fragment

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