Forked blade (zhang 璋)

Ceremonial implement; blade slightly concave on both sides; lateral edges flare to form a concave end with chamfered corners; longitudinal median ridge on one surface; lateral projections on each side above a perforated tang; smoky black with yellowish green translucence in thinnest areas; unctuous surface. (One projection broken; chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Maker(s)
Artist: Longshan culture 龍山 (ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE)
Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 2000-1700 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 38.7 x 8.1 x 0.4 cm (15 1/4 x 3 3/16 x 3/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Shaanxi province, Shenmu Shimao
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1916.166
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: forked blade (zhang)

Keywords
China, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
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. 879, pg. 191, 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Lai-Yuan & Company (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1915-April 1921

Description

Ceremonial implement; blade slightly concave on both sides; lateral edges flare to form a concave end with chamfered corners; longitudinal median ridge on one surface; lateral projections on each side above a perforated tang; smoky black with yellowish green translucence in thinnest areas; unctuous surface. (One projection broken; chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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