Dagger-axe (ge 戈)

1. (Undated Folder Sheet note) This handsomely fashioned ceremonial dagger-axe, or ge 戈, has a jade blade and a heavily corroded bronze fitting. While the facets on the flat jade blade are indistinct, the clearly defined median crest runs from the point to the edge of the bronze socket. Vertical bars project above and below the socket. Stylized taotie masks decorate the rectangular portions of the bronze fitting immediately adjacent to the jade blade. Similar masks appear on the outer edges of the bronze tang. Those decorated portions of the bronze fitting were originally inlaid with a contrasting material, perhaps turquoise. A small, circular perforation on the plain segment of the tang would have permitted the dagger-axe to be mounted securely to a wooden haft.

The Sackler dagger-axe is said to have been found at Anyang 安陽 in Henan 河南 province, the site of a major metropolitan Shang 商 dynasty ritual and funerary complex. The shape and decoration of the piece are consistent with that attribution.

2. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 17, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Date from "ca. 1200 BCE" to "ca. 1600--1050 BCE." Changed Object Name from "Weapon: dagger-axe (ge 戈) blade with bronze tang" to "Ceremonial object." Added Dimensions (blade) per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.
 
3. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 16, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.
 
4. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, June 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.
 
5. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 22, 2017) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge)" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈)"; period one changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; period two added "Anyang period"; date changed from "ca. 1600-1050 BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; medium changed from "Bronze and jade (nephrite)" to "Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade"; dimensions changed from "H x W x D (overall): 21.8 x 7.4 x 1.3 cm (8 9/16 x 2 15/16 x 1/2 in)" to "H x W x D (overall): 7.4 × 21.8 × 1.3 cm (2 15/16 × 8 9/16 × 1/2 in)".

6. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 29, 2019) Added the following to the description field, "The cream-white jade blade has an indistinct crest and edges beveled continuously to the tip. The blade is sharpened toward the asymmetrically placed point. It is fitted into the rectangular socket or tang that has a perforation between the vertical bar and rectangular butt. The bronze haft was probably inlaid with turquoise. Now the lug and the haft (or the socket and the butt) show taotie mask decor executed in cloisonné, which give the impression of sunken relief. There also is evidence on the bronze haft of textile wrapping now carbonized. (Earthy deposits; heavy green patina and incrustations on the bronze haft; blade separated from haft; chips on haft.)" Added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; and added past label text Thomas Lawton.