Object: Dagger-axe (ge 戈) with masks (taotie) and dragons F1940.10a-e

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): early Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1200 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1200 BCE

Medium: Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade

Dimension(s): H x W x D (overall): 34.5 x 17.5 x 5.4 cm (13 9/16 x 6 7/8 x 2 1/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1940.10a-e

: 戈
晚商安陽時期（公元前1200年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
青銅鑲嵌綠松石，軟玉刀片
高34.5、寬17.5、厚5.4釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾基金捐購
器物標號:F1940.10a-d

Provenance: From 1939 to 1940
C. T. Loo & Company, New York from September 26, 1939 [1]

From 1940
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on May 3, 1940 [3]

Notes:

[1] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. 86520: "Set of four pieces, bronze ornaments, Shang," C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file. According to information on the stockcard the object was inventoried on September 26, 1939. See also "List of objects owned by C. T. Loo & Co., New York and [left] at the Gallery for examination," with an annotation that the piece was delivered by Loo to the Freer Gallery on November 4, 1939, copy in object file.

[3] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated May 3, 1940, copy in object file.

Previous owner(s): C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)

Description: Ceremonial sickle in four parts: three of bronze inlaid with turquoise, one (the blade) of jade decorated in linear relief with notched back and ground edge.

Past label text: 1. Ancient Chinese Bronzes, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1941.5 and F1941.4)

Hafted axe with dragons
China, Shang 商 dynasty, early Anyang 安陽 period, ca. 1300–1200 BCE
Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade

During the Neolithic period and early Bronze Age, ceremonial tools and weapons were created as symbols of power. The hafted axe and dagger axe forms are based on efficient bronze weapons mounted on shafts. The undecorated surface near the raised bar at the base of the dagger axes shows where the now missing handle would have been attached. Motifs of coiled dragons and animal masks on all four objects were rendered in cast raised lines. After the bronzes were removed from their casting molds, channels between the raised lines were meticulously fitted with turquoise. This extremely rare inlay technique is associated with bronze objects belonging to monarchs of the Shang 商 dynasty.

No objects of this type have yet been scientifically excavated in China, so it is difficult to know the purpose of this extremely rare axe. It consists of four separate pieces: a tubular bronze handle, two caps with dragon motifs, and an unusual serrated jade blade that might not be original. Traces of wood inside the handle suggest it was lengthened with additional elements that are now missing.

2. Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades, October 14, 2017–April 15, 2018; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1941.5 and F1941.4)

Hafted axe with dragons
China, Shang 商 dynasty, early Anyang 安陽 period, ca. 1300–1200 BCE
Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blades

Mixed Media
These eye-catching objects combine jade blades with turquoise-inlaid bronze mounts. Belonging exclusively to the highest classes of Shang 商 society, they conveyed power and status. Chips of turquoise held in place with resin or another natural adhesive were set in grooves cast in the bronze fittings, while jade blades were pinned in dedicated sockets.

No objects of this type have yet been scientifically excavated in China, so it is difficult to know its purpose. This rare axe consists of four separate pieces. Traces of wood inside the shaft suggest the handle was once longer.

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

Dagger-axe with handle
Early Anyang period, ca. 1200 BCE
Bronze with turquoise inlay and
jade (nephrite) blade
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment
F1940.10a–e

Dagger-axes
Early Anyang period, ca. 1200 BCE
Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade
(nephrite) blade or bronze with turquoise
inlay
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment F1941.5
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.712
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment F1950.9

Round axe
Anyang period, ca. 1250–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer F1968.48

Axe with handle
Early Anyang period, ca. 1200 BCE
Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment
F1941.4

Axe
Anyang period, ca. 1250–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler S1987.673

Weapons for Show
War was a constant preoccupation for the early Anyang kings, and they regularly appealed to the gods and ancestors when raising armies and launching military campaigns. The infantry weapon of choice was a dagger-axe made of bronze that was fastened to a wooden handle typically about three feet in length. The bronze and jade weapons seen here, some richly inlaid with turquoise, were not intended for common foot soldiers; instead, they reflect the importance of ceremonial display at Anyang. These flashy weapons would have been suitable for a martial king like Wu Ding or one of his leading generals to brandish while presiding over rituals of human sacrifice involving enemy captives.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from C. T. Loo [Lu Qinzhai] 盧芹齋 and Company, New York. For price, see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920.

2. (Tim Kirk, December 19, 2001)
Cap: 3.8 x 5.5 cm overall (1 1/2 x 2 3/16 in)
Shaft: 24.2 cm (9 9/16 in) long; lower socket: 1.7 cm (21/32 in) in diameter
Ferule: 6.3 x 6.3 cm (2 1/2 in) overall; socket: 1.7 cm (21/32 in) in diameter; hole for pin (under animal's chin): 1.2 x 0.7 cm (15/32 x 9/32 in) Blade: 12 x 6 x 0.7 cm (4 3/4 x 2 3/8 x 9/32 in).
When assembled with all parts in contact: 3.45 x 1.75 cm (13 9/16 x 6 7/8 in) overall

3. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 16, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Date from "ca. 12th--11th centuries BCE" to "ca. 13th--12th century BCE." Also changed Object Name from "Ritual object" to "Ceremonial object"; changed Title from "Ritual sickle" to "Dagger axe (ge 戈)." Added designation "nephrite" to Medium per Elisabeth West Fitzhugh, as determined by x ray diffraction in August 1959. Added Dimensions (overall, blade) per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

4. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

5. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, July 14, 2010) Title changed from "Dagger axe (ge 戈)" to "Ceremonial axe (?) with dragons"; Period changed from Shang 商 to Late Shang 商 dynasty; period two changed from Anyang 安陽 to Early Anyang 安陽 period; added Henan 河南 province to geographical location; date changed from ca. 13th--12th century BCE to ca. 13th century BCE; medium changed from "Bronze, turquoise, and jade (nephrite)" to "Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade."

6. (Susan Kitsoulis per exhibition label text, Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes, November 20, 2010) Title changed from "Ceremonial axe (?) with dragons" to "Hafted axe with dragons"; date changed from "ca. 13th century BCE" to "ca. 1300--1200 BCE."

7. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 22, 2017) Title changed from "Hafted axe with dragons" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈)"; period two changed from "Early Anyang period" to "Anyang period"; geography changed from "China, Henan province, Anyang" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; and date changed from "ca. 1300-1200 BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE".

8. (Najiba Choudhury, January 29, 2019) Added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang.
9. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 10, 2023)
Change title from "Dagger-axe (ge 戈)" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈) with masks (taotie) and dragons."
Change period from "Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period" to "Late Shang dynasty, early Anyang period."
Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to " ca. 1200 BCE." Change date from "公元前1250-1050年" to "公元前1250-1050年" in the translation field.

Published References

Sekai bijutsu zenshu [A Complete Collection of World Art]. 40 vols., Tokyo, F1951-1953. cat. 72, vol. 2.
Mizuno Seiichi. In Shu seidoki to tama [Bronzes and Jades of Ancient China]. Tokyo. pl. 1.
William Watson. China Before the Han Dynasty. Ancient Peoples and Places, vol. 23 New York. fig. 22.
William Watson. The Art of Dynastic China. New York, 1981. ill. 210.
Umehara Sueji. Yin hsu: Ancient Capital of the Shang Dynasty at An-yang. Tokyo. pl. 38.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Cheng Te-k'un. Archaeology in China. 3 vols., Cambridge, England. vol 2: pp. 15, 295, vol. 2: pl. 35a.
Chugoku no bijutsu [The Arts of China]. 6 vols., Kyoto. vol. 6: p. 201, pl. 47.
Sekai kokogaku taikei [Archaeology of the World]. 16 vols., Tokyo, 1958-1962. vol. 6: p. 98, fig. 275.
Rene Grousset. La Chine et son Art. Collection Ars et historia Paris. facing p. 29.
Umehara Sueji. Furia bijutsukan Shuzo no Gijo no Riki to sono ichirui [An Example of a Ceremonial Axe in the Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art]. vol. 13, no. 4 Kyoto, October 1954. pp. 1-17, pl. 1.
Grace Dunham Guest, Archibald Gibson Wenley. Annotated Outlines of the History of Chinese Arts. Washington, 1949. p. 6.
Smithsonian Institution. Report of the Secretary, 1940. Washington. p. 43, pl. 1.
Werner Speiser. China: Geist und Gesellschaft. Kunst der Welt Baden-Baden. p. 47.
Zusetsu sekai bunkashi taikei [Cultural History of the World]. 27 vols., Tokyo, 1958-1961. p. 70, fig. 97.
Na Chih-liang. "玉器通史." Yu ch'i t'ung shih [A General Study of Chinese Jade]. Hong Kong, 1965. p. 71, fig. 94.
Compiled by the staff of the Freer Gallery of Art. A Descriptive and Illustrative Catalogue of Chinese Bronzes: Acquired During the Administration of John Ellerton Lodge. Oriental Studies Series, no. 3 Washington, 1946. p. 88, pl. 42.
Archibald Gibson Wenley. Early Chinese Jade. vol. 63, no. 5 Washington, November 1946. p. 342.

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Dagger-axe (ge 戈) with masks (taotie) and dragons

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