1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, August 14, 2008) Weapon and Armament added as secondary classification.
2. (Daisy Yiyou Wang 王依悠, June 9, 2012) This miniature dagger-axe (ge 戈) has the features of larger jade ge 戈 with its beveled edges, a raised central ridge, and an asymmetrical pointed tip. Its tang is relatively short with a perforation drilled from one side. Ge 戈 of similar shape although much bigger were found in Fu Hao's 婦好 tomb. See Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo 中國社會科學院考古研究所, Yinxu Fu Hao mu 殷墟婦好墓 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), p. 139; fig. 113: 1; cat. 486.
A comparable miniature ge 戈 shaped pendant (L: 3.7 cm) with surface completely altered is published in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing (London: British Museum Press, 1995), p. 195, cat. 10: 2. The British Museum ge 戈 pendant was given a Western Zhou 周, ca. 950 BCE date. Rawson states that these miniature blade shaped pendants were in use during the Shang 商 dynasty, and a number of them have come from tombs in the western sector at Anyang 安陽. They were used extensively in Western Zhou 周.
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 two changed from "early Anyang period" to "Anyang period"; date changed from "ca. 1300-1200 BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 4.9 x 1.7 x 0.1 cm (1 15/16 x 11/16 x 1/16 in)" to "H x W x D: 1.7 x 4.9 x 0.1 cm (11/16 x 1 15/16 x 1/16 in)"; and object name changed from "Pendant" to "Axe".
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"; and added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang.
Usage conditions apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.