Object: Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked S2012.9.260

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Early Shang dynasty, ca. 1600-ca. 1400 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1600-ca. 1400 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D (overall): 7 x 15.8 x 0.2 cm (2 3/4 x 6 1/4 x 1/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province

Credit Line: The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S2012.9.260

: 戈（殘損后另加工）
早商（公元前1600-1400年）
中國，疑似河南省
軟玉
高7、寬15.8、厚0.2釐米
史密森博物學院亞瑟·M·賽克勒美術館保羅·辛格中國藝術收藏品；亞瑟·M·賽克勒基金會，保羅·辛格，AMS基金會，及亞瑟·M·賽克勒子女聯合贈送
器物編號: S2012.9.260

Provenance: By 1935
Huang Jun (1888 –1944), Beijing, China [1]

As late as 1990 to 1997
Dr. Paul Singer, Summit, NJ [2]

From 1997 to 1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997 and loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997 [3]

From 1999
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler [4]

Notes:

[1] Object published in Zun gu zhai gu yu tu lu / / Huang Jun bian. 尊古齋古玉圖錄 / 黄濬編 (Shanghai: Shanghai gu ji chu ban she, 1990 ), page 66. This book presents a text originally published in 1935.

[2] Included in the draft for the catalogue of the Singer Collection, written between 1970 and 1990, see object file.

The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Paul Singer over time was purchased by him on behalf of Arthur M. Sacker, Jillian Sackler, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities and was later transferred to the children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler.

[3] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997 and a loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997.

[4] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement,” March 1999, Collections Management Office. The object was formally accessioned into the museum collection in 2012.

Previous owner(s): Huang Jun 黃濬 (1888-1944)
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

Curatorial Remarks

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

2. (Daisy Yiyou Wang 王依悠, June 9, 2012) This ge 戈 is relatively broad. There is no clear division of the blade and the tang by recessed upper and lower edges as usually seen in other jade ge 戈. An example of early bronze ge 戈 from the Erlitou 二里頭 period has four parallel separate sections edged by slight ridges at the end of the butt. The serrated edge at the end of the butt of the Singer jade ge 戈 perhaps referenced earlier prototypes. The impression of crossing ropes near the serrated edge suggests that the five indentations served as the anchorage for the fastening ropes. See Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing (London: British Museum Press, 1995), pp. 192--93.

3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 17, 2017) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge) with serrated tang, fragment" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈) with serrated tang, fragment reworked"; period one changed from "Late Shang dynasty" to "early Shang dynasty"; date changed from "ca. 1300-1050 BCE" to "ca. 1600-ca. 1400 BCE"; medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)"; and removed period two as "Anyang period".

4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 5, 2019) Title changed from "Dagger axe (ge 戈) with serrated tang, fragment reworked" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked"; added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; and added unpublished research by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 91) for S2012.9.260 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--90); by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber

Dagger-axe with Serrated Tang
Shang 商 dynasty, 14th--12th century BCE
Jade
Length 16 cm (63 in)

The short blade is evenly rounded along the edges, and the surfaces are smooth and without a median ridge. The tang, which is not recessed from the blade, is crenelated at the butt. Two conical perforations were drilled from the same side of the blade. The smaller hole closer to the tip is placed slightly above the center axis. The stone is bluish gray with tan and yellowish clouds; a discolored whitish patch across the tang shows a pattern of woven reeds, resulting from a chemical interaction with the material on which the blade rested during burial.

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Huang Jun. "尊古齋古玉圖錄." Zunguzhai gu yu tulu [Illustrated catalogue of ancient jades in the the Zunguzhai collection]. Shanghai. p. 66.

SI Usage Statement

Usage conditions apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..

Save this image | Request Permission | Terms of use

Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked

Related Objects

Web Resources