Harvesting knife (hu 笏), fragment

1. Original Folder Sheet note indicates name of source and location at date of acquisition. Source address listed in this record is most current.
 
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, 1970) The shape of this type of ceremonial blade must have been based on metal prototypes, which, in turn, may have been derived from Neolithic stone harvesting knives. The six character inscription carved into the cover of the box in which the jade is kept reads: Chou [Zhou] 周, T'ing [Ting] 珽, T'ao chai chen ts'ang [Taozhai zhencang] 陶齋珍藏. The blade is not reproduced in Tuanfang [Duanfang] 端方's (1861--1911) jade catalogue, T'ao chai ku-yu t'u [Taozhai guyu tu] 陶齋古玉圖 (Shanghai: Laiqingge, 1936). 
 
3. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) Compared to other horizontal jade blades, F1970.40 is unusually regular and rectangular. The arrangement of the holes in a seemingly arbitrary configuration suggests that F1970.40 represents considerable evolution from the Neolithic origins of the shape. In the stone prototype the holes would have served to attach a handle or cord. For a further discussion, see F1917.24.
 
4. (Stephen Allee as per Keith Wilson, June 11, 2008) Changed Object name from "Weapon: knife" to "Ceremonial object"; changed Title from "Ceremonial blade of the type hu 笏" to "Harvesting knife (hu 笏)." Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.
 
5. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 16, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.
 
6. (Stephen Allee, March 23, 2009) Added designation "nephrite" to Medium as per Janet Douglas using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (January 8, 2009).
 
7. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 10, 2010) Changed Period from "Possibly Western Zhou 周 dynasty" to "Late Neolithic period"; date from "ca. 1050--771 BCE or earlier" to "ca. 2000--1700 BCE."

8. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 15, 2017) Title changed from "Harvesting knife (hu)" to "Harvesting knife (hu 笏), fragment"; date changed from "ca. 2000-1700 BCE" to "ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE"; dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 22.3 x 6.9 x 0.5 cm (8 3/4 x 2 11/16 x 3/16 in)" to "H x W x D: 6.9 × 22.3 × 0.5 cm (2 11/16 × 8 3/4 × 3/16 in)".

9. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, November 27, 2018) Description changed from "Ceremonial blade of the type <u>hu<e>. Irregular trapezoidal shape. The lower edge is ground to a blunt cutting edge. Along the upper edge, one and a fractional conical perforation, drilled from opposite sides. Closer to the narrower edge, two perforations, drilled from opposite sides. Opaque green-gray jade with lighter streaks and patches." to "Ceremonial blade of the type hu. Irregular trapezoidal shape. The lower edge is ground to a blunt cutting edge. Along the upper edge, one and a fractional conical perforation, drilled from opposite sides. Closer to the narrower edge, two perforations, drilled from opposite sides. Opaque green gray jade with lighter streaks and spots." Also removed Artist Constituent "Longshan culture, ca. 3000 - ca. 1700 BCE".