1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, August 14, 2008) Weapon and Armament added as secondary classification.
2. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, January 13, 2020) Title changed from "Blade" to "Forked blade (zhang 璋)"; Period One changed from "Western Zhou dynasty" to "Late Neolithic period"; Date changed from "11th-10th century BCE" to "ca. 5000-ca. 1700 BCE"; added Chinese Caption by Jingmin Zhang; and added Unpublished Research by Max Loehr.
Draft catalogue entry (no. 293) for RLS1997.48.3447 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--90); by Max Loehr
Scepter
Western Zhou 周 dynasty, 11th--10th century BCE
Jade
Length 48.6 cm (19 1/8 in)
The slender zhang 璋, or scepter, widens toward the concave edge at the tip. The base is slightly splayed so that the straight flat tang appears to be recessed. It is perforated from one side at the juncture of the blade and tang. One side of the blade is flat, the other slightly hollow. Olive and dark green, clouded with light and dark brown, the piece has a polished surface.
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