Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment

1. Bought from Lee Van Ching [Li Wenqing] 李文卿, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 252.
 
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Han 漢. See further, S.I. 1126, Appendix VIII.

3. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1928) Chou [Zhou] 周.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.866.

5. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 or earlier. A fragment, ground down to rounded top, upper groups of lines are later than those on the sides.

6. (Thomas Lawton, 1973) The following information was carved on the box in which this object arrived: "Chou huang  wang kuei [Zhou huang wanggui ] 周黃王圭." 

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Late Shang 商.

8. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) For a general discussion of jade ko [ge] 戈, see Folder Sheet F1917.396.

This fragment is the tang of a ko [ge] 戈 blade, and like many Shang 商 ko [ge] 戈 its median ridge extends all the way to the butt. The "irregularly rounded top" mentioned in the general description is a reworking of the broken edge.

9. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 17, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Period one from "Shang 商 dynasty" to "Late Shang 商 to early Western Zhou 周 dynasty"; changed Date from "1600--1050 BCE" to "12th--10th century BCE." Changed Object Name from "Weapon: halberd [ge] 戈" to "Ceremonial object"; changed Title from "Ceremonial implement" to "Fragment of dagger-axe [ge] 戈." Added designation "nephrite" to Medium as per Elizabeth West Fitzhugh, as determined by x-ray diffraction in February 1956. Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

10. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 16, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

11. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 2, 2010) Title changed from "Fragment of dagger-axe [ge] 戈 to "Dagger-axe [ge] 戈, fragment."

12. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 21, 2017) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment" to "Dagger axe (ge 戈), fragment"; Period One changed from "Late Shang to early Western Zhou dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; Period Two added "Anyang period"; Geography changed from "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; Date changed from "12th-10th century BCE" to "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE"; dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 11.1 x 7.5 x 0.7 cm (4 3/8 x 2 15/16 x 5/16 in)" to "H x W x D: 7.5 × 11.1 × 0.7 cm (2 15/16 × 4 3/8 × 5/16 in)".

13. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 14, 2019) Added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang; changed Title from "Dagger axe (ge 戈), fragment" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment"; the following was removed from the Description field, "Chinese. Late Shang. Ceremonial implement: fragment of a "ko" blade. Roughly chisel-shaped object with irregularly rounded top; conical perforation bored from both sides; opaque, light tan on one surface; rich cream color on opposite surface; decoration: incised, both sides alike. Groups of short lines along the top; surface unusually smooth and unctuous. Chipped. Box."

Added the following to the Description field, "Ceremonial implement: Fragment of a ko [ge] 戈 blade. Roughly chisel shaped object with irregularly rounded top; conical perforation bored from both sides; opaque, light tan on one surface; rich cream color on opposite surface; decoration: incised, both sides alike. Groups of short lines along the top; surface unusually smooth and unctuous. Chipped. Acquired with a box, now lost."

14. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 13, 2023) Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to "ca. 1250-1050 BCE." Change date from "公元前1300-1050年" to "公元前1250-1050年" in the translation field.