Round axe, made from a collared disk

Object Details

• Description

  Flanged pierced pi [bi] 璧 disk with lateral serrations arranged on either side of the central orifice. Buff colored with some darker mottling. The lower edge is ground to a blunt cutting edge.

• Provenance

  Duanfang (1861-1911) [1]

  From at least 1969 to 1970

  Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), Washington, DC, and Mt. Kisco, NY [2]

  From 1970

  Freer Gallery of Art, bequeathed by Agnes E. Meyer, 1970 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] The jade is included in Duanfang’s catalogue of his jade collection, published posthumously in 1936 with a preface by Wang Dalong, see Duanfang, Taozhai gu yu tu, vol. 1 (Shanghai, 1936), p. 1:3a.

  Duanfang was a late Qing government official and a well known collector of Chinese art. See also Thomas Lawton, A Time of Transition: Two Collectors of Chinese Art (Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1991), pp. 37-39, fig. 37.

  An inscription on the box with which the jade was acquired reads: “Zhou, gu bi, Tao zhai zhen cang"; a reference to the Taozhai, Duanfang’s studio provides another indication that the jade was in Duanfang’s collection.

  [2] The object is included in Agnes E. Meyer’s will and testament dated December 23, 1969, copy in object file.

  [3] See Agnes E. Meyer’s will and testament cited in note 2.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

  Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  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)

  A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)

  Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Memorial Exhibition (September 25, 1971 to October 2, 1972)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Duanfang 端方 (1861-1911)

  Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer ((1875-1959) and (1887-1970))

• Origin

  Anyang, probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer

• Type

  Ceremonial Object

• On View

  Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Meyer, Eugene and Agnes E., Duanfang

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE), Nephrite, Jade

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects

• On View

  Yes