Object: Straight chisel (gui 圭) F1917.34

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 5000-ca.1700 BCE

Object Date: ca. 5000-ca.1700 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 16.5 x 4 x 1.1 cm (6 1/2 x 1 9/16 x 7/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1917.34

: 圭
新石器時代晚期（公元前5000–1700年）
中國
軟玉
高16.5、寬4、厚1.1釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1917.34

Provenance: To 1917
Li Wenqing (late 19th–early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]

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

Notes:
[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1123, p. 251, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also Voucher no. 12, January 1917.

[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): Li Wenqing 李文卿 (C.L. Freer source) (ca. 1869-1931)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Description: Ceremonial implement; chisel shaped object of the type kuei [gui 圭]; long slender form with perforation in the squared handle; edges rounded; broadly beveled at one end; closely mottled cream and light tan; decoration: a band of channeled and incised lines; smooth surface.

Acquired with an inscribed box.

Past label text: 1. (Ancient Chinese Jade, September 4, 1980–March 6, 1981; by Julia K. Murray) (shown with F1935.7, F1917.31, F1917.57, F1915.69; additional jades organized by types shown in same case)

Based on a Neolithic stone tool whose blade is sharpened at the top, early jade chisels were ceremonial rather than utilitarian. The shape was retained in the jade repertoire in the Shang 商 and Chou [Zhou] 周 periods. The simple, elegant shape of a chisel is subtly embellished by smoothly ground edges, which are shown to advantage by the lustrous polish of the entire surface.

A few, as in this case, display relief and incised lines near the hole, a decorative scheme also found on a chisel excavated from the early Shang 商 site at Erh li t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭, Honan [Henan] 河南 province.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Lee Van Ching [Li Wanqing] 李文卿 of Shanghai 上海. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 251. $75.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Han 漢. See further, S.I. 1123, Appendix VIII (see Paragraph 6).

3. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.885. Soft material.

4. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Ch'ing [Qing] 清 dynasty.

5. (Elisabeth West Fitzhugh, 1956) X ray diffraction analysis. Nephrite. Film F134. February 28, 1956.

6. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1973) The following information was carved on the box in which this object arrived: "Han pai yu p'ei" [Han baiyu pei] 漢白玉佩 or “Han 漢 dynasty white jade ornament.”

8. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from "Ch'ing [Qing] 清" to "Late Shang 商."

9. (Julia K. Murray, 1980) Attribution is changed from Late Shang 商 to Early Shang 商, ca. 15th century BCE.

10. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) For a general discussion of chisel shaped jades, see Folder Sheet F1917.31.

Chisel F1917.34 shows some features not present on others in the Freer collection. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of a ko [ge] 戈 blade, it has a slightly recessed tang, which provides a distinct handle for the piece. Also, the treatment of a linear design near the hole suggests a metallic inspiration. Nonetheless, the blade is slightly biconvex and the end beveled like a chisel, so it seems appropriate to group F1917.34 with the chisels. (The Erh li t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭 chisel mentioned in the 1980 label is reproduced in Chung-kuo k’e-hsueh-yuan k’ao-ku yen-chiu-suo Erh-li-t’ou kung-tso-tui [Zhongguo kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo Erlitou gongzuodui] 中國科學院考古研究所二里頭工作隊, “Ho-nan Yen-shih i-chih 3, 8 ch’u fa-chueh chien-pao [Henan Yanshi Erlitou yizhi 3, 8 qu fajue jianbao] 河南偃師二里頭遺址三、八區發掘簡報,” K'ao ku [Kaogu] 考古 1975.5, pl. 9:1.)

Changed from Early Shang 商 to Shang 商, ca. 1523–1028 BCE.

11. (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 Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

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

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

14. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, March 2, 2016) Qija culture removed as Maker; object date changed from ca. 2500-2000 BCE to dates of the Late Neolithic period, ca. 5000-ca. 1700 BCE.

Published References

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

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Straight chisel (gui 圭)

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