H x W x D: 49.2 x 8.4 x 0.5 cm (19 3/8 x 3 5/16 x 3/16 in)
Culture:
Longshan culture, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE Search this
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
China
Date:
ca. 2000-1700 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
Ceremonial implement; long, very thin blade form with sharp, beveled cutting edge; niched handle with perforation drilled from one side and cap shaped end; four circular perforations near upper edge drilled from another side; irregular cutting on one surface; translucent, light green with cloudy tan strata and scattered silvery incrustations and markings; high luster. (Break on upper edge, rough granular chips, blade edge minutely chipped.)
Acquired with a box, now lost.
Provenance:
To 1916
Lai-Yuan and Company, New York, to 1916 [1]
From 1916 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Lai-Yuan and Company in 1916 [2]
From 1920
The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 873, pg. 188, 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.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Previous custodian or owner:
Lai-Yuan & Company (ca. 1915-April 1921) (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Topic:
Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE) Search this
