1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪, of Shanghai 上海. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 230. $500.
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Hsia [Xia] 夏. See further, S.I. 1036, Appendix VIII.
3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.
4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.914.
5. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Exhibited: The Art Institute of Chicago, Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Paintings, Sculptures, and Jade Objects from the Collection Formed by Charles Lang Freer (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1917), no. 116.
6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Late Shang 商.
7. (Julia K. Murray, 1980) Attribution is changed from Late Shang 商 to Shang 商, 1523--1028 BCE.
8. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) The cutouts at one end of the blade are straighter walled and of a different character from other parts of the overall contour, supporting the possibility that these areas were refinished, perhaps to accommodate a change in the ceremonial use to which the blade was put.
The three holes are all drilled from both sides and are not conical (as stated in the general description).
For a further discussion see F1917.24.
9. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) Weapon and Armament added as secondary classification.
10. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 2, 2010) Object name changed from "Weapon: knife" to "Ceremonial object"; title changed from "Large cleaver shaped object of the type kuei [gui] 圭" to "Harvesting knife (hu 笏), fragment."
11. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, July 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.
12. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, April 21, 2016) Period changed from Shang dynasty with object date ca. 1600-1050 BCE to Late Neolithic period, with object date ca. 5000-ca.1700 BCE.