Harvesting knife (hu 笏), fragment

Object Details

• Description

  Long, slender chisel shaped object of the type kuei [gui] 圭; one short and one long edge beveled; one large and one small conical perforation near each end; dull olive gray with light and dark undersurface specks; one short edge rough and unfinished. (Slightly 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. 1119, pg. 249, 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

  Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)

  Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)

  Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (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, Li, Wenqing

• 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