Object: Forked blade (zhang 璋) S1987.451

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Longshan culture 龍山 (ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE)

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 3000-1700 BCE

Object Date: ca. 3000-1700 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 37.3 x 6.6 x 0.7 cm (14 11/16 x 2 5/8 x 1/4 in)

Origin: China, probably Shaanxi province, Shenmu Shimao

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.451

: 璋
新石器時代晚期龍山文化（公元前3000--1700年）
中國西北
軟玉
高37.3、寬6.6、厚0.7釐米
亞瑟 M. 賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.451

Provenance: To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai, China, London, England, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]

From 1963 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from the Bahr Collection in 1963 [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

[2] See #11: "Green black. One tip of cutting edge broken off and old breaks at handle and on both projections," on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.

[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous owner(s): Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: Green black. Blade slightly narrows toward the center and widens at the two-pronged tip. Tip sharpened to a fine edge. One side of the blade is flat, the other almost imperceptibly concave. Surface slightly pitted, nicked in one place that appears to have been buffed down. One tip of cutting edge broken off and old breaks at handle and on both projections.

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (jades and bronzes of other types shown in same case)
Ceremonial Scepter
12th–11th centuries BCE
Shang 商 dynasty
Jade

Ceremonial jade scepters of this type were first crafted during the Late Neolithic (ca. 5000–ca. 1700 BCE) and early Shang 商 periods (ca. 1700–ca. 1050 BCE) and continued to be made for almost a thousand years.

2. The Arts of China, November 19, 1990–September 7, 2014; by Jenny F. So (shown with S1987.842, S1987.452, S1987.890)
Scepter
Zhang 璋
China
Neolithic period–early Shang 商 dynasty
Possibly Longshan 龍山 culture
3d–2d millennium BCE
Jade

The cultural context and date of undecorated jades like these, which come from Neolithic workshops in different parts of China, are often determined from their shapes, materials, and basic manufacturing techniques, such as cutting, drilling, and polishing. Large ceremonial axes, sliced precariously thin and polished to a high gloss, are typical products of the Longshan 龍山 culture of eastern China; the enigmatic, asymmetrical tube is characteristic of the finds from the Hongshan 紅山 culture in the north and northeast.

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Thomas Lawton, 1985) The slightly concave surfaces of the scepter widen toward the two-pronged concave upper edge, diminishing in thickness toward the sharpened edge. The base of the scepter projects from the short tang. Just below the projections on either side the tang is perforated by a circular hole.

Ceremonial jade scepters of this type were first made during the late Neolithic and early Shang 商　dynasty (see Chao Hsin-lai [Zhao Xinlai] 趙新來, "Cheng-chou Erh-li-kang fa-hsien ti Shang tai yu chang [Zhengzhou Erligang faxian de Shangdai yuzhang' 鄭州二里崗發現的商代玉璋," Wen wu [Wenwu] 文物 1966:1, p. 58; and Wang Hung-ming [Wang Hongming] 王洪明, "Shan-tung sheng Hai-yang hsien shih-ch'ien i-chih tiao-ch'a [Shandong sheng Haiyang xian shiqian yizhi diaocha] 山東省海陽縣史前遺址調查," K'ao ku [Kaogu] 考古 1985.12, p. 1062, fig. 6:3). A bronze weapon of this shape was also made in the early Shang 商　period. An example was unearthed at Erh li t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭, Honan [Henan] 河南 province (see 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, p. 260, fig. 3:2). While the bronze weapons apparently were in use for a brief time, ceremonial jade scepters continued to be made over a long period. Some examples have been found in the Eastern Zhou 周　burials at Houma　侯馬, Shansi 山西　province (see T'ao Cheng-kang [Tao Zhenggang] 陶正剛 and Wang K'e-lin [Wang Kelin] 王克林, "Hou-ma Tung-chou Meng-shi i-chih [Houma Dongzhou Mengshi yizhi] 侯馬東周盟誓遺址," Wen wu [Wenwu] 文物 1972.4, p. 34, fig. 6:19).

2. (Thomas Lawton, 1987) Exhibition In Praise of Ancestors label text; moved to label field.

3. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

4. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 20, 2010) Object name changed from "Weapon: zhang 璋" to "Ceremonial object"; title from "Scepter (Zhang 璋)" to "Forked chisel (zhang 璋)."

5. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, June 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.
6. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, April 2, 2020) "Shang dynasty" removed as historical period. Date changed from "ca. 2000-1700 BCE" to "ca. 5000-1700 BCE"
7. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, April 21, 2020) Removed "Shang dynasty" keyword.

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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Forked blade (zhang 璋)

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