Object: Forked blade (zhang 璋) F1916.494

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: 29 x 5.4 x 0.3 cm (11 7/16 x 2 1/8 x 1/8 in)

Origin: China, probably Shaanxi province, Shenmu Shimao

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1916.494

: 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29、寬5.4、厚0.3釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1916.494

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. 1040, pg. 231, 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; blade with two slightly flaring sides, one obliquely beveled to a sharp cutting edge; upper end sharp and slightly concave; prominent lateral projection on each side above perforated tang; dull blackish brown and greens, translucent in thin areas; granular patches with earth incrustation on reverse of tang.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Past label text: 1. Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1916.162, F1916.491, F1916.165)
Forked blade
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.

2. (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 F1916.494

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, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 231. $75.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1040, Appendix VIII.

3. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1929) Han 漢.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 3.075. Nephrite.

5. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1946) Shang 商 dynasty.

6. (Undated Folder Sheet note) See Folder Sheet F1916.491, Archibald Gibson Wenley, note 5. For fuller discussion see Folder Sheet F1916.492, Archibald Gibson Wenley, note 5.

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Late Shang 商 Early Western Chou [Zhou] 周.

8. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) (Added chang [zhang] 璋 above ceremonial implement.) Chang [Zhang] 璋 F1916.494 is a thin version of the typical chang [zhang] 璋 (see Folder Sheet F1916.492 for discussion). The oblique beveling mentioned in the general description is more an off center ridge and seems not intended to produce a "sharp cutting edge." Since the thickness of the jade on either side of this ridge is different, the ridge suggests an attempt to slice the jade thinner. Both of the crescentic points at the sharpened top of the chang [zhang] 璋 have broken off.

9. (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.

10. (Stephen Allee, June 11, 2008) Added designation "nephrite" to Medium as per Elizabeth West Fitzhugh, April 1956, as determined by x ray diffraction.

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

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

13, (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, March 21, 2016) Unattributed curatorial remark: (Jenny F. So, from Jade Project Database) Gray olive "puddingstone." Single blunt notch on either side just above perforated tang. Concave surface? Slice mark? Concave top clearly damaged at one tip; other may also have been broken and ground smooth.

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. 16a.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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Forked blade (zhang 璋)

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