Axe (fu 斧)

1. Bought from K. T. Wong [Wang Jiantang] 王鑑堂, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 316.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Hsia [Xia] 夏. See further, S.I. 1363, Appendix IX.

3. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1929) Late Chou [Zhou] 周.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.927.

5. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.

6. (Elisabeth West Fitzhugh, 1956) X ray diffraction analysis. Nephrite. Film F 131. February 21, 1956.

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

8. (Julia K. Murray, 1980) Attribution is changed from Late Shang 商--Early Western Chou [Zhou] 周 to Shang 商, ca. 1523--1028 BCE.

9. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) Axe shaped implements (fu 斧 or yueh [yue] 鉞) appear relatively early in the jade  inventory, at least by the 3rd millennium BCE. Axes made as tools and possibly weapons from other kinds of stone  (see F1919.39) are found among Neolithic remains as early as the 5th millennium BCE, especially in eastern China.  Stone axes were also included among grave offerings in the Neolithic era, often being laid directly on top of the  body of the deceased. Axes made of jade were also used in this manner as funerary offerings, but they probably  had other ceremonial applications that became increasingly important. Eventually, the original concept of the jade  axe as a replica of the utilitarian stone axe was forgotten and it came to be part of a large category of ceremonial  tablets collectively called kuei [gui] 圭. Such symbolic tablets were associated with court officialdom and Taoist  divinities. The basic axe shape persisted with modifications through the Ch'ing [Qing] 清 dynasty; the later examples often bear elaborate decor derived from motifs belonging to the ornamental repertoire of ancient bronze vessels (F1914.44, F1916.370, F1916.623, F1917.27, F1919.40, and F1919.43).

The axe F1918.35 closely resembles an Early Shang 商 jade axe excavated at Erh li t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭, Yen shih 偃師 [Yanshi], Honan [Henan] 河南  (reproduced in Zhongguo kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo Erlitou gongzuodui 中國科學院考古研究所二里頭工作隊, "Yanshi Erlitou yizhi xin faxian de tongqi he yuqi 偃師二里頭遺址新發現的銅器和玉器," Kaogu 考古 1976.4: pl. 6:2, lower left).

10. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) Tool and Equipment added as secondary classification.

11. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 20, 2010) Object Name changed from "Axe (fu 斧)" to "Ceremonial object."

12. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 27, 2024) Added the Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang; Removed the following from the Description field: "Chinese
Shang, ca. 1523-1028 B.C.

Slender, rectangular axe ("fu" [Chn]) slightly wider at blade; beveled blade and conical perforation; slate blue and silvery gray with earth colored incrustations and black streaks; smooth surface with areas of granular pittings. Chipped. Box." Added the following the Description field:  Slender, rectangular axe (fu 斧) slightly wider at blade; beveled blade and conical perforation; slate blue and silvery gray with earth colored incrustations and black streaks; smooth surface with areas of granular pittings. (Chipped.)
 
Acquired with a box, now lost."