Sword

Object Details

• Provenance

  Probably unearthed near the site of the ancient city of Shouchun (in the modern province of Anhui). [1]

  To 1924

  Orvar Karlbeck. [2]

  From 1924

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased by Carl Whiting Bishop from Orvar Karlbeck. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] According to Bishop’s unpublished report, Archaeological Research in China, 1924-34, Mr. Karlbeck had acquired nearly all the objects near the site of the ancient city of Shouchun (in the modern province of Anhui). See Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] Curatorial Remark 2 and 4 in the object record.

  The object was transferred from the Freer Study Collection (Bishop Collection) to the permanent collection in August 8, 1974. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

  For further information also refer to “Part IV, List 2: A Complete List of Objects in the Bishop Collection” from Sarah L. Newmeyer’s Interim Report (1976), copy in the Carl Whiting Bishop Collection file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Community, 480-222 B.C. (September 30, 1982 to February 17, 1983)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Orvar Karlbeck (1879-1967)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Weapon and Armament

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Karlbeck, Orvar

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bronze, Art, Sculpture, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE), Chinese Art, Carl Whiting Bishop collection, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Weapons, Armor (protective wear)