H x W x D: 29 x 5.4 x 0.3 cm (11 7/16 x 2 1/8 x 1/8 in)
Culture:
Longshan culture, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE Search this
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
Shenmu Shimao, probably Shaanxi province, China
Date:
ca. 2000-1700 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
Ceremonial implement; blade with two slightly flaring sides, one obliquely beveled to a sharp cutting edge; upper end sharp and slightly concave; prominent lateral projection on each side above perforated tang; dull blackish brown and greens, translucent in thin areas; granular patches with earth incrustation on reverse of tang.
Acquired with a box, now lost.
Provenance:
To 1916
You Xiaoxi, Shanghai, to 1916 [1]
From 1916 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York in 1916 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1040, pg. 231, 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
Exhibition History:
Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
Previous custodian or owner:
You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)