H x W x D: 17.8 × 5.9 × 0.4 cm (7 × 2 5/16 × 3/16 in)
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
China
Date:
ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
Portion of a chang; long thin chisel shaped object of the type kuei; diagonal sharp blade, and slightly flaring corners at opposite end; circular perforation; brownish black with shadows under surface spots and streaks on each surface; satin smooth.
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. 881, pg. 192, 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
