Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked

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 from the von der Heydt collection in February 1973; transferred from the Study Collection (FSC-S-8), August 1978. (Museum of Natural History No. 448078.)
 
2. (Julia K. Murray, A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970--1980 [Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art, 1979], no. 4) Unlike some ko [ge] 戈 that have completely smooth contours, this example shows two pairs of projections from the side of the blade, between which are evenly spaced serrations. [1] In addition to the customary hole in the center of the blade, at the point where the tang begins, there are also smaller perforations on the rear pair of projections, possibly for affixing the blade to the shaft. About two thirds of the surface of the piece is incised with a pattern formed from fine parallel lines. [2] A reddish substance in the incised pattern causes it to stand out more clearly against the mottled, buff colored surface of the jade.
 
[1] Comparable serrated edges appear on a large ko [ge] 戈 excavated at Anyang 安陽, reproduced in Umehara Sueji 梅原末治, Inkyo 殷墟 (Tokyo: Asahi shimbunsha, 1965), pl. 34: 3.
 
[2] The large jade knife found at the Early Shang 商 capital of Erh li-t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭 shows a similar incised parallel line pattern with some cross hatching; reproduced in Yen-shih hsien wen-hua-kuan [Yanshi xian wenhuaguan] 偃師縣文化館, "Erh-li-t'ou i-chih ch'u-t'u ti t'ung-ch'i ho yu-ch'i [Erlitou yizhi chutu de tongqi he yuqi] 二里頭遺址出土的銅器和玉器," K'ao ku [Kaogu] 考古 1978.4, pl. 12: 3.
 
 3. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) For a general discussion of jade ko [ge] 戈, see Folder Sheet F1917.396.
 
 A few peculiarities may be observed on this ko [ge] 戈: It is absolutely flat, lacking any suggestion of the customary median ridge; the tang is disproportionately large for the blade; one of the short sides adjacent to the pointed tip is not beveled but cut straight; the sides are not beveled to a sharp intersection but meet in a flat strip; the brown color on the surface of much of the blade seems superficial, like an induced stain; and the incised linear pattern on one side is much more complex and tightly rendered than that on the other side. These features suggest at least some reworking if not outright archaistic creation.
 
4. (Jenny F. So, September 11, 1995) Re: Remark 3, above. Peculiarities of this blade as noted indicate that it has been much reworked. The blade should be much longer; the serrations on both edges are recut; the tang is also recut. The overall proportions and silhouette of this blade have been so severely modified that it is now difficult to imagine what the original blade may have looked like, except that it must have been quite large. The surface designs seem, however, to have been the least changed.
 
Subject changed from "Ceremonial blade (ko [ge] 戈)" to "Ceremonial blade (ge) 戈."
 
5. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 16, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

6. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 17, 2017) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge)" to "Dagger axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked"; period one changed from "Late Zhou dynasty" to "Erlitou culture or early Shang dynasty"; date changed from "475-221 BCE" to "ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province"; medium changed from "Jade (nephrite?) with traces of vermilion" to "Jade (nephrite)"; and dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 27.8 x 11 x 0.5 cm (10 15/16 x 4 3/8 x 3/16 in)" to "H x W x D: 11 x 27.8 x 0.5 cm (4 3/8 x 10 15/16 x 3/16 in)".

7. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 4, 2019) Added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang.

Removed the following from the description field, "Trimmed and re-cut from a large Shang dynasty knife (?). Opaque, buff-colored surface with white and dark brown mottling over a large portion of both sides. The blade is flat, with a conical perforation between the shoulders and on each of the two projections at the top of the blade. The edges of the two projections and the space between them are decorated with evenly placed serrations. The square-ended tang is narrower than the blade itself. Three edges of the blade are beveled. On the top half of the balde and on the tang, there is an incised pattern of parallel straight lines. In the narrow area between the two projections at the top of the blade, the incised lines cross each other. An accretion of reddish-colored substance on the surface of the blade is identified as vermilion."

Added the following to the description field, "Ceremonial weapon: blade. Opaque, buff colored surface with white and dark brown mottling over a large portion of both sides. The blade is flat, with a conical perforation between the shoulders and on each of the two projections at the top of the blade. The edges of the two projections and the space between them are decorated with evenly placed serrations. The square ended tang is narrower than the blade itself. Three edges of the blade are beveled. On the top half of the blade and on the tang, there is an incised pattern of parallel straight lines. In the narrow area between the two projections at the top of the blade, the incised lines cross each other. An accretion of reddish colored substance on the surface of the blade resembles cinnabar."

8. (Jeffrey Smith, April 6, 2020) "Warring States period" removed from Period two (not Zhou dynasty).