Object: Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked S2012.9.274

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 3 × 7.1 × 0.3 cm (1 3/16 × 2 13/16 × 1/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

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: S2012.9.274

: 戈（殘損后另加工）
晚商安陽時期（公元前1250-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高2.7、寬7、厚0.3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：S2012.9.274

Past label text: 1. (Keith Wilson, Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

Miniature dagger-axe
Anyang period,
ca. 1250–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
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 S2012.9.274

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 has a relatively broad blade. For a discussion of the textile impressions on Shang 商 jade ge 戈, see Zhao Feng, Treasures in Silk (Hong Kong: ISAT Costume Squad, 1999), p. 44, cat. no. 01: 01; and Chen Juanjuan 陳娟娟, "Liangjian you sizhipin huawen yinhen de Shangdai wenwu 兩件有絲織品花紋印痕的商代文物," Wenwu 文物 1979.12, pp. 70--71.

3. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 17, 2017) Title changed from "Pendant in the form of a dagger-axe (ge)" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked"; period changed from "early Anyang period" to "Anyang period"; date changed from "ca. 1300-1250 BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; changed object name from "pendant" to "axe"; and dimensions changed from "H x W x D (overall): 7 x 2.7 x 0.3 cm (2 3/4 x 1 1/16 x 1/8 in)" to "H x W x D (overall): 2.7 x 7 x 0.3 cm (1 1/16 x 2 3/4 x 1/8 in)".

4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 13, 2019) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked"; added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; and added unpublished research by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber.
5. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 13, 2023) Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to "ca. 1250-1050 BCE." Change date from "公元前1300-1050年" to "公元前1250-1050年" in the translation field. Change geography from "China, Henan province, probably Anyang" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang."

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 97) for S2012.9.274 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--90); by Louisa Fitzgerald Huber
Miniature Dagger-axe
Shang 商 dynasty, 13th--12th century BCE
Jade
Length 6.9 cm (2 3/4 in)

The surface of the originally gray green stone retains the clear imprint of a textile pattern in the whitened areas on both sides. The blade, which is sharpened to a point, is marked by two longitudinal grooves setting off the straight median ridge and beveled edges. At the center of the tang is a small, conical perforation.

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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