Object: Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked S1987.699

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Erlitou culture 二里頭 (ca. 2000-1600 BCE)

Historical period(s): Erlitou culture or early Shang dynasty, ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE

Object Date: ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 7.7 x 30.9 x 0.8 cm (3 x 12 3/16 x 5/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.699

: 戈（殘損后另加工）
二里頭文化(公元前2000 1600年)或早商(公元前1600-1400年)
中國,疑似河南省
軟玉
高7.7、寬30.9、厚0.8釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號: S1987.699

Provenance: To 1959
Diedrich Abbes (1866-1959), Greenwich, CT [1]

1959 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from the estate of Diedrich Abbes on July 10, 1959 through Frank Caro, C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler in 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] See note on Arthur M. Sackler, M.D. letterhead acknowledging the "purchase and receipt of 17 pieces of stone carvings of the Shang, Yin-Chou and Chou periods from the Dietrich Abbes collection. The price in full, exclusive of commission, will be paid as indicated by this note in two installments," copy in object file.

[2] See note 1. For Frank Caro's involvement, see: letter to Frank Caro from Arnold J. Bai of the law firm Goldstein and Peck, Bridgeport Connecticut, September 28, 1960, copy in object file. The letter asks Frank Caro to have (presumably) his client, Arthur M. Sackler, to send the final payment for the Diedrich Abbes Collection of jades to the law firm. Goldstein and Peck mistakenly identify Mr. Caro's business as C. T. Loo Company, when it was called C. T. Loo Chinese Art.

[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): Diedrich Abbes (1866-1959)
C.T. Loo Chinese Art (1953-1961)
Frank Caro (1904-1980)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: This jade blade ge is beveled along the upper and lower edges; the bevels end in a delicately ground, outward curving edge. The tip of the blade is not beveled but has sloping faces. A prominent median crest runs from the tip of the blade to the large conical perforation, drilled from one side. The flattened tang is decorated with five pairs of serrations that project from the butt. (Mostly calcified; chips to powder on two notches; minor tiny nicks.)

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987--January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.702, S1987.648, S1987.700, S1987.717, S1987.706, S1987.646, and S1987.568)

Dagger-Axe (Ge)
13th--12th centuries BCE
Shang dynasty
China
Jade

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Jade ge 戈 of this general type were among the jades found in the Shang 商 dynasty Tomb 5 at Anyang 安陽, Honan [Henan] 河南 province. See Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo 中國社會科學院考古研究所, Yinxu Fu Hao mu 殷墟婦好墓 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), color pl. 17: 1--2, pls. 107--11.

2. (Stephen Allee, June 17, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Period one from "Shang 商dynasty" to "Late Shang 商 dynasty"; changed Date from "13th--12th centuries BCE" to "12th--11th century BCE." Changed Object Name from "Ritual weapon" to "Ceremonial object." Added Dimensions (H x W x D: 30.92 x 7.68 x 0.77) as per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

3. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 16, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

4. (Stephen Allee, March 25, 2009) Changed Medium "Jade" to "Jade (?)," as no scientific analysis is recorded. As per Keith Wilson, added "Anyang 安陽 period" to Period two.

5. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 16, 2017) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge)" to "Dagger axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked"; period one changed from "Late Shang dynasty" to "Erlitou culture or early Shang dynasty"; date changed from "ca. 12th-11th century BCE" to "ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province"; removed "Anyang period" as period two; medium changed from "Jade (?)" to "Jade (nephrite)"; dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 30.9 x 7.7 x 0.8 cm (12 3/16 x 3 x 5/16 in)" to "H x W x D: 7.7 x 30.9 x 0.8 cm (3 x 12 3/16 x 5/16 in)".

6. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 4, 2019) Added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; added the following to the description field, "This jade blade ge is beveled along the upper and lower edges; the bevels end in a delicately ground, outward curving edge. The tip of the blade is not beveled but has sloping faces. A prominent median crest runs from the tip of the blade to the large conical perforation, drilled from one side. The flattened tang is decorated with five pairs of serrations that project from the butt. (Mostly calcified; chips to powder on two notches; minor tiny nicks.)"; and added past label text by Thomas Lawton.

Published References

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

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Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked

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