Object: Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked F1919.61

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Erlitou culture 二里頭 (ca. 2000-1600 BCE)

Historical period(s): Erlitou culture or early Shang dynasty, ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE

Object Date: ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 6.2 x 31.1 x 0.8 cm (2 7/16 x 12 1/4 x 5/16 in)

Origin: China, probably Shaanxi province

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1919.61

: 戈（殘損后另加工）
二里頭文化(公元前2000 1600年)或早商(公元前1600-1400年)
中國,疑似陝西省
軟玉
高6.2、寬31.1、厚0.8厘米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號:F1919.61

Provenance: Reportedly excavated at Hsi-an, Shensi [1]

To 1919
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1919 [2]

1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, in 1919 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record states: "Said to have been excavated at Hsi-an, Shensi." Curatorial Remark 6, H.E. Buckman, 1964, in the object record states: "The Envelope file which has now been destroyed, contained only the additional information: 'Excavated at Sianfu, in Shansi.'"

[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1441, pg. 347, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[3] See note 2.

[4] 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 weapon of the type ko [ge] 戈; pointed end, beveled sides, and two cutting edges; long, slightly indicated handle indented at end and perforated; black and dark olive green; decoration: in relief and incised, both sides alike, short lateral ridges above handle, three groups of triple lines at perforation. (Slightly chipped; one granular defect.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Past label text: 1. Liangzhu and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1917.396 and F1915.108; other jade forked blades and axes shown in same case)

Halberds
Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period, ca. 1300–1050 BCE
China
Jade (nephrite)

Functional tools and weapons, such as axes (fu), forked blades (zhang), and halberds (ge), 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. Latest of all, the jade halberds resemble bronze weapons and show the custom of making ceremonial jades based upon functional objects continued after the Neolithic period.

2. Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades, October 14, 2017–April 15, 2018; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1919.13, F1919.17, F1917.396, and F1915.108; other jade forked blades and axes shown in the same case)

Halberds
Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period, ca. 1300–1050 BCE
China
Jade (nephrite)

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 游筱溪, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. Said to have been excavated at Hsi-an [Xi'an] 西安, Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 347.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1441, Appendix IX.

3. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1940) 12th--11th centuries BCE. Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty or earlier.

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

5. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 3.025. Nephrite.

6. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File, which has now been destroyed, contained the following: "Excavated at Sianfu [Xi'anfu] 西安府, in Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西."

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1974) Among the most carefully finished jade implements dating from the Shang 商 dynasty are the ko [ge] 戈, or dagger axe blades, whose forms clearly indicate that they were based on metal prototypes. (For an example excavated from Cheng chou [Zhengzhou] 鄭州 and dated earlier in the Shang 商 dynasty, see The Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People's Republic of China [Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1974], no. 64). Unlike the bronze ko [ge] 戈, which actually were used as combat weapons, the jade counterparts were ceremonial and served as symbols of status.

This blade of black and dark olive green nephrite represents a relatively early form of the ko [ge] 戈. Only a slight inward curve on either side of the ko [ge] 戈 suggests a transition from blade to tang. Three groups of tripled lines intersect the conical perforation at the end of the tang, while small notches accent the butt end. The faceted edges extend along the length of the blade, ending where slight projections mark the point at which the blade tapers to the tip. Two finely worked, raised horizontal ribs interrupt the faceted edges at slightly diagonal positions on either side of the blade. The median crest runs from the tang to the tip of the blade. The nephrite ko [ge] 戈 is said to have been unearthed at Sian [Xi'an] 西安, Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西 province.

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

A smaller ko [ge] 戈 blade also having a very short tang relative to the rest of the blade was found among early Shang 商 remains at Erh-li-t'ou [Erlitou] 二里頭, Honan [Henan] 河南 (Zhongguo kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo Erlitou gongzuodui 中國科學院考古研究所二里頭工作隊, "Henan Yanshi Erlitou yizhi san, ba qu fajue jianbao 河南偃師二里頭遺址三、八區發掘簡報," Kaogu 考古 1975.5, pl. 8: 1).

9. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 12, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Object Name from "Weapon: halberd (ge 戈)" to "Ceremonial object"; changed Title from "Ceremonial weapon of the type ko [ge] 戈" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈)." Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database. 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 16, 2008) Ceremonial object added as secondary classification.

11. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 10, 2010) Changed "Shang 商 dynasty" to "Late Shang 商 dynasty"; added "Anyang 安陽 period" to Period two field.

12. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 17, 2017) Title changed from "Dagger-axe (ge)" to "Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked"; period one changed from "Late Shang dynasty" to "Erlitou culture or early Shang dynasty"; date changed from "ca. 12th century BCE" to "ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Shaanxi province"; removed period two as "Anyang period"; and dimensions changed from "H x W x D: 31.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 cm (12 1/4 x 2 7/16 x 5/16 in)" to "H x W x D: 6.2 x 31.1 x 0.8 cm (2 7/16 x 12 1/4 x 5/16 in)"

13. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, February 5, 2019) Added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; added past label text by Keith Wilson from the exhibition, Liangzhu and its Legacy.

Removed the following from the description field, "Chinese, 12th century B.C. Shang dynasty, late, 12th--11th century B.C. Hsi-an, Shensi (?) Ceremonial weapon of the type "ko;" pointed end, bevelled sides and two cutting edges; long, slightly indicated handle indented at end and perforated; black and dark olive-green; decoration: in relief and incised, both sides alike, short lateral ridges above handle, three groups of triple lines at perforation. Slightly chipped, one granular defect. Box."

Added the following to the description field, "Ceremonial weapon of the type ko [ge] 戈; pointed end, beveled sides, and two cutting edges; long, slightly indicated handle indented at end and perforated; black and dark olive green; decoration: in relief and incised, both sides alike, short lateral ridges above handle, three groups of triple lines at perforation. (Slightly chipped; one granular defect.) Acquired with a box, now lost."

Published References

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

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Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked

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