H x W x D: 7.7 × 11.2 × 0.7 cm (3 1/16 × 4 7/16 × 5/16 in)
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
Anyang, probably Henan province, China
Date:
ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
Period:
Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period
Description:
Ceremonial implement: Fragment of a ko [ge] 戈 blade. Roughly chisel shaped object with irregularly rounded top; conical perforation bored from both sides; opaque, light tan on one surface; rich cream color on opposite surface; decoration: incised, both sides alike. Groups of short lines along the top; surface unusually smooth and unctuous. Chipped.
Acquired with a box, now lost.
Provenance:
To 1917
Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]
From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1126, pg. 252, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.
[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:
Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)
Previous custodian or owner:
Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)
