Harvesting knife (hu 笏)

Object Details

• Description

  Ceremonial implement; quadrilateral, thin blade form; slightly curving, very sharp, beveled cutting edge; four conical perforations and a circular depression, the beginning of a fifth perforation; semi–translucent, slate gray with grayish white and tan mottlings and spots; granular pitted area on upper edge. (Blade edge slightly 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. 876, pg. 190, 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

  Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Lai-Yuan & Company (ca. 1915-April 1921) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Culture

  Longshan culture, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Ceremonial Object

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 2000s, BCE 1000s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Lai-Yuan & Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), Chinese Art, Nephrite, Jade

• Culture

  Longshan culture, Chinese

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects