Object: Axe (yue 鉞), made from a collared disk F1968.48

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250 - ca. 1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1250 - ca. 1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 22.5 x 20.3 x 1.1 cm (8 7/8 x 8 x 7/16 in) Diam (hole): 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1968.48

: 鉞，由有領璧加工而成
晚商安陽時期（公元前1250-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高22.5、寬20.3、厚1.1釐米
孔徑：6.4釐米
尤金·梅耶和阿格尼斯·梅耶夫妇贈送
器物編號: F1968.48

Provenance: Duanfang (1861-1911) [1]

From at least 1929 to 1968
Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), Washington, DC, and Mt. Kisco, NY, from at least January 12, 1929 [2]

From 1968
Freer Gallery of Art, given by Agnes E. Meyer in 1968 [3]

Notes:

[1] The jade is included in Duanfang’s catalogue of his jade collection, published posthumously in 1936 with a preface by Wang Dalong, see Duanfang, Taozhai gu yu tu vol. 1 (Shanghai, 1936), p. 1a. Duanfang was a late Qing dynasty government official and a well-known collector of Chinese art. See also Thomas Lawton, A Time of Transition: Two Collectors of Chinese Art (Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1991), pp. 37-39, fig. 36.

[2] Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer lent the jade to an exhibition in Berlin in 1929, see Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst Veranstaltet von der Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst und der Preußischen Akademie der Künste Berlin, exh. cat. (Berlin, January 12 – April 2, 1929), cat. 151, and Chinesische Kunst: zweihundert Hauptwerke der Ausstellung der Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst in der Preussischen Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 1929, herausgegeben von Otto Kümmel (Berlin: Bruno Cassirer Verlag, 1930), cat. XVIII.

[3] See Agnes E. Meyer’s Deed of Gift, dated July 24, 1967, where the jade is listed as no. 32 in the document’s Annex, copy in object file. The object was accessioned to the Freer Gallery’s collection in 1968.

Previous owner(s): Duanfang 端方 (1861-1911)
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer ((1875-1959) and (1887-1970))

Description: Ch'i-pi [qibi] 戚璧, or battle axe pi [bi] 璧 disc. Buff colored with some darker mottling.

Past label text: 1. Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1919.39, F1916.498, and F1916.512; other jade forked blades and dagger-axes shown in same case)

Halberds
Late Shang 商 dynasty, Anyang 安陽 period, ca. 1300–1050 BCE
China
Jade (nephrite)

Ceremonial Tools and Weapons
Functional tools and weapons, such as axes (fu 斧), forked blades (zhang 璋), and halberds (ge 戈), inspired ceremonial forms that probably served as symbols of power. Typically made too thin for actual farming, hunting, or warfare, these luxury objects were also made too large for practical use but are quite suitable for display. Bored holes indicate where the blades may have been attached to perpendicular shafts as handles.

2. Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades, October 14, 2017–April 15, 2018; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1919.39, F1916.498, F1917.78, F1916.512, and F1970.39; other jade forked blades and dagger-axes shown in same case)

Round axe
Late Shang 商 dynasty, Anyang 安陽 period, ca. 1300-1050 BCE
China
Jade (nephrite)

From Weapons to Emblems
These tools and weapons look like real axes (fu) 斧, halberds (ge) 戈, and other practical items, but in fact they are purely symbols of power. Made of brittle jade with a remarkably thin edge, the items were intended only for display.

The custom of making ceremonial jades that look like familiar objects continued well after the Neolithic period. The thin, forked blades at the top and the halberds below them are not found in Liangzhu 良渚 burials. They instead represent innovations associated with later cultures to the north, west, and southwest.

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. Acquired by gift from Mrs. Eugene Meyer, Washington, D.C., and Mt. Kisco, New York. To be acknowledged as Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer.

2. (Thomas Lawton, 1968) This type of jade is discussed by Na Chih liang, "The Ch'i pi, or Battle axe pi disc," National Palace Museum Bulletin, vol. I, no.5 (November 1966), pp. 1--7; vol. I, no. 6 (January 1967), pp. 8--10. A similar piece is reproduced by Alfred Salmony, Archaic Chinese Jades from the Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein Collection (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1952), pl. XIV, 1.

3. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) The circular axe with lateral notches, or "ring axe," resembles a combination of the pi [bi] 璧 disk and the quadrilateral axe (for a general discussion of jade axes, see Folder Sheet F1918.35). However, the shape may have evolved solely from the Neolithic stone axe, which had rounded contours (see two examples excavated from 4th millennium BCE remains at Pei yin yang ying [Beiyinyangying] 北陰陽營, Nanking [Nanjing] 南京; reproduced in Nanking po-wu-yuan [Nanjing bowuyuan] 南京博物院, Chūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku Nankin hakubutsuin ten 中華人民共和國南京博物院展 = Art Treasures from the Nanjing Museum [Nagoya-shi: Nagoya-shi hakubutsukan, 1981], cats. 5 and 6). The upper edge of the ring axe F1968.48 is blunt, while the longer, lower edge is sharpened as a blade. The flanges on the sides of the ring axe F1968.48 are a type often seen on Shang 商 quadrilateral axes (for some 12th-century examples, see Chung-kuo she-huei k'e-hsueh-yuan k'ao-ku yen-chiu-suo [Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo] 中國社會科學院考古研究所, Yin-hsu Fu Hao mu [Yinxu Fu Hao mu] 殷墟婦好墓 [Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980], pls. 115 and 116). The earliest excavated ring axes come from early Shang 商 remains at Erh li t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭, Yen shih [Yanshi] 偃師, Honan [Henan] 河南 (reproduced in Chung-kuo k'e-hsueh yuan k'ao-ku yen-chiu-suo Erh li t'ou kung-tso-tui [Zhongguo kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo Erlitou gongzuodui] 中國科學院考古研究所二里頭工作隊, "Yen-shih Erh-li-t'ou i-chih hsin fa-hsien ti t'ung-ch'i ho yu-ch'i [Yanshi Erlitou yizhi xin faxian de tongqi he yuqi] 偃師二里頭遺址新發現的銅器和玉器," K'ao-ku [Kaogu] 考古 1976.4, pl. 6: 1 upper); on these, the blade is not one continuous arc, but several short arcs meeting at angular points. The diameter of the central perforation, moreover, is quite large relative to the size of the whole. A ring axe whose shape and proportions are comparable to those of F1968.48 was found in a late Shang 商 tomb in the western suburb of Anyang 安陽 (reproduced in Chao Hsia-kuang [Zhao Xiaguang] 趙霞光, "An-yang shih hsi-chiao ti Yin-tai wen-hua i-chih [Anyang shi xijiao de yindai wenhua yizhi] 安陽市西郊的殷代文化遺址," Wen-wu [Wenwu] 文物 1958.12, inside back cover, fig. 13). It is not possible to determine from the photograph of the excavated ring axe whether the short arc is the blade edge or whether the photograph is upside down and the long arc is the blade, as in the case of F1968.48.

4. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) Tool and Equipment added as secondary classification.

5. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 2, 2010) Object name changed from "Axe (fu 斧)" to "Ceremonial object." Title changed from "Axe (fu 斧)" to "Round axe (qibi 戚璧)."

6. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, May 12, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.

7. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 10, 2010) Period changed from "Shang 商 dynasty" to "Late Shang 商dynasty"; added "Anyang 安陽 period" to Period two field; added "Probably Henan 河南 province" to Geographical location; added "with flanges" to Title.

8. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, December 2, 2010) Title changed from "Round axe (qibi 戚壁) with flanges" to "Round axe with flanges"; added "Anyang 安陽" to Geographical location; Date changed from "ca. 12th--11th century BCE" to "ca. 1300--1050 BCE."

9. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, December 20, 2011) "Probably Anyang 安陽" added to Geography.

10. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 15, 2017) Title changed from "Round axe with flanges" to "Axe (yue 鉞)"; and changed classfication 2 keyword from "Tools and Equipment" to "Ceremonial object".

11. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 28, 2019) Title changed from "Axe (yue 鉞)" to "Axe (yue 鉞), made from a collared disk"; added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; removed the following from the description field, "Ch'i-pi, or battle-axe pi disc. Buff colored with some darker mottling."; added the following to the description field, "Ch'i-pi [qibi] 戚璧, or battle axe pi [bi] 璧 disc. Buff colored with some darker mottling."; and added past label text by Keith Wilson for the exhibition, Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010-January 3, 2016.
12. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 10, 2023)
Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to " ca.1250-ca.1050 BCE."
Change date from "公元前1300-1050年" to "公元前1250-1050年" in the translation field.
Change geography from "China, Henan province, probably Anyang" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang."

Published References

Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 15, vol. 1: p. 154.
Thomas Lawton. Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Memorial Exhibition. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 1, pp. 2-3.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 29.

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Axe (yue 鉞), made from a collared disk

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