H x W x D: 39.1 x 7.1 x 0.6 cm (15 3/8 x 2 13/16 x 1/4 in)
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
China
Date:
ca. 2000-1700 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
Ceremonial implement; blade form with one long and one short, beveled cutting edge; three conical perforations near upper edge, one near notched handle, also a small circular depression, the outline of a fifth perforation; longitudinal shallow groove down one surface; black with olive-green markings and silver specks; tool marks; lustrous surface. (Edge broken at handle.)
Acquired with a box, now lost.
Provenance:
Reportedly excavated in Shensi province [1]
To 1917
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [2]
From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi in 1917 [3]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
Notes:
[1] According to Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.
[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1332, pg. 306, 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.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Previous custodian or owner:
You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)
