Object: Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked S1987.702

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: 7.2 x 29.7 x 0.9 cm (2 13/16 x 11 11/16 x 3/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.702

: 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7.2、寬29.7、厚0.9釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號: S1987.702

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

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

Description: Blade, pointed and double-edged, slightly curved; slight ridges in center; pierced; notches in one side; semi-translucent marbled bluish/tan. (Some calcification; interior cracks–brown; pit in one side; minor nicks.)

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.699, S1987.648, S1987.700, S1987.717, S1987.706, S1987.646, and S1987.568)

Dagger-Axe (Ge)

13th–11th centuries BCE

Shang dynasty

China

Jade

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, 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--11th centuries BCE" to "12th--11th century BCE." Changed Object Name from "Weapon: dagger-axe (ge 戈) blade" to "Ceremonial object." Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

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

3. (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" to "ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province"; medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)"; dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 29.7 x 7.2 x 0.9 cm (11 11/16 x 2 13/16 x 3/8 in)" to "H x W x D: 7.2 x 29.7 x 0.9 cm (2 13/16 x 11 11/16 x 3/8 in)".

4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 4, 2019) Added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; added the following to the description field, "Blade, pointed and double-edged, slightly curved; slight ridges in center; pierced; notches in one side; semi-translucent marbled bluish/tan. (Some calcification; interior cracks–brown; pit in one side; minor nicks.)"; added past label text by Thomas Lawton from the exhibit, In Praise of Ancestors.

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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