Object: Forked blade (zhang 璋) F1916.491

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Longshan culture 龍山 (ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE)

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 2000-1700 BCE

Object Date: ca. 2000-1700 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 43.7 x 8.8 x 0.7 cm (17 3/16 x 3 7/16 x 1/4 in)

Origin: China, probably Shaanxi province, Shenmu Shimao

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1916.491

: 璋
新石器時代晚期龍山文化（公元前3000--1700年）
中國西北
軟玉
高43.7、寬8.8、厚0.7釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1916.491

Provenance: To 1916
You Xiaoxi, Shanghai, to 1916 [1]

From 1916 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York in 1916 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1037, pg. 230, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous owner(s): You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Description: Ceremonial implement of nephrite; slightly concave on both sides; lateral edges flare to form a sharp concave edge at the end, with a prominent lateral projection on each side above a perforated tang; longitudinal saw marks and roughly chipped end on handle; greenish black faintly mottled with lighter tone. (Slightly chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

(Jenny F. So, from Jade Project Database) Dark grayish olive "puddingstone." Thick, with slightly concave surfaces on both faces. Asymmetrical curved top, beveled like "W" on one ("front") face. Conical hole, drilled from face without beveled top. Slice mark runs lengthwise on front face, ending at base of tang. Blunt single notches on each side of base of blade.

Past label text: 1. Ancient Chinese Art, May 9, 1993–May 18, 1998; by Jenny F. So (shown with F1916.165, F1916.495)
Ritual blade, Zhang 璋
China, possibly Shaanxi 陝西 province
Neolithic period or Shang 商 dynasty, ca. 2000–1500 BCE
Jade (nephrite)

The sleek curves accented by prominent notches on each side of the lower end of the blade are classic features of the ritual blade (zhang 璋).

2. Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1916.162, F1916.494, F1916.165)
Forked blade
China, Longshan 龍山 culture, ca. 2000–1700 BCE
Jade (nephrite)

Functional tools and weapons, such as axes (fu 斧), forked blades (zhang 璋), and halberds (ge 戈), inspired ceremonial forms that probably served as symbols of power. Typically made too thin for actual farming, hunting, or warfare, these luxury objects were also made too large for practical use but are quite suitable for display. Bored holes indicate where the blades may have been attached to perpendicular shafts as handles. More complex than simple axes, thin, forked blades are not found in Liangzhu 良渚 burials but instead represent a stylistic development associated with later cultures located to the north, west, and southwest.

3. (Keith Wilson, "Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades," Gallery 19, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 14, 2017 to Apr 15, 2018)

Forked blades
Longshan culture, ca. 2000–1700 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1916.491

From Weapons to Emblems
These tools and weapons look like real axes (fu), halberds (ge), and other practical items, but in fact they are purely symbols of power. Made of brittle jade with a remarkably thin edge, the items were intended only for display.

The custom of making ceremonial jades that look like familiar objects continued well after the Neolithic period. The thin, forked blades at the top and the halberds below them are not found in Liangzhu burials. They instead represent innovations associated with later cultures to the north, west, and southwest.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪 of Shanghai 上海. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 230. $150.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1037, Appendix VIII.

3. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1940) Early Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty (?).

4. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Shang 商 dynasty.

5. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) This implement seems to reflect some earlier specialized agricultural tool form. It was probably laterally hafted (see folder F1916.492), and bound to the haft on both sides of the blade, and over the chock like lateral projections. The jade form is of course ceremonial, and may be a badge of office, or a ritualistic implement used in some ceremony reflecting an agricultural rite or practice.

6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from Shang 商 to "Late Shang 商--Early Western Chou [Zhou] 周."

7. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) (Added chang [zhang] 璋 above ceremonial implement.) Chang [Zhang] 璋 F1916.491 is essentially a larger version of F1916.492; for a general discussion of jade chang [zhang] 璋, see the Folder Sheet for F1916.492. The perforation was bored from one side of the slab.

8. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, March 31, 2008) On this date entered: Period One (Late Neolithic period), Date (ca. 2500--2000 BCE), Artist (Qijia 齊家 culture), Title, Object name, Geographical region (Northwest China); plus Description per Jenny F. So and Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

9. (Stephen Allee, June 11, 2008) Added designation "nephrite" to Medium as per Wen Guang 聞廣 in June 1997, as determined by infrared spectroscopy.

10. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

11. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 10, 2010) Changed "Qija 齊家 culture" to "Longshan 龍山 culture"; "Northwest China" to "China"; date from "ca. 2500--2000 BCE" to "ca. 2000--1700 BCE."

Published References

You Xiaoxi, Hsiao-chi Yu in, Chi-Tseng Chang. "游筱溪." Masterpieces of Chinese National Art: The Collection of Mr. Seaouke'e Yue. Shanghai, 1916. no. 13.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Grace Dunham Guest, Archibald Gibson Wenley. Annotated Outlines of the History of Chinese Arts. Washington, 1949. p. 6.
Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kodai no ishibōchōkei gyokki to kotsusenkei gyokki [Two Types of Prehistorical Chinese Ceremonial Jade Objects: Stone Harvesting Knives and Bone Spades]. no. 54, 1982. p. 54, fig. 59.
Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kogyoku no kenkyū. Tokyo, 1991. p. 483, fig. 6: 88.

CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0): This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

Save this image | Terms of use

Forked blade (zhang 璋)

Related Objects

Related Media

Web Resources