Harvesting knife (hu 笏) with geometric decoration, fragment

Object Details

• Description

  Gray green with beige clouds. Irregular rectangle, one end and part of cutting edge broken off. Two holes pierced near back edge and one at mid end. Beautifully notched teeth at the opposite edge with weak engraved lines forming a design on either side. Traces of depressions in center, also outlined by weakly engraved lines.

• Provenance

  To 1959

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai, China, London, England, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut

  [1]

  From 1963 to 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from the Bahr Collection in 1963 [2]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

  [2] See #6:

  "Grey-green with beige clouds. Irregular rectangle, one end and part of cutting edge broken off. Two holes pierced near back edge and one at mid end. Beautifully notched teeth at the opposite edge with weak engraved lines forming a design on eitehr side. Traces of depressions in centre, also outlined by weakly engraved lines," on list of objects provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.

  [3] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

  In Praise of Ancestors: Ritual Objects from China (September 28, 1987 to January 1, 1989)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  China

• Culture

  Longshan culture, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Ceremonial Object

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. 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 2000s, BCE 1000s

• Name

  Sackler, Arthur M., Bahr, Abel William

• Place

  China

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Longshan culture, Chinese

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects