Harvesting knife (hu 笏)

Thin knife blade with one cutting edge of the type hu 笏; blade beveled and sharpened; three oblong, longitudinal perforations near upper edge; reverse cut in two planes; semi-translucent, mottled yellowish gray with dark gray areas and black spots; satin smooth surface, some granular pitted areas. (Edge slightly 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: 29.6 x 7.5 x 0.3 cm (11 5/8 x 2 15/16 x 1/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1916.167
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: harvesting knife (hu)

Keywords
China, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), nephrite
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Thin knife blade with one cutting edge of the type hu 笏; blade beveled and sharpened; three oblong, longitudinal perforations near upper edge; reverse cut in two planes; semi-translucent, mottled yellowish gray with dark gray areas and black spots; satin smooth surface, some granular pitted areas. (Edge slightly chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kodai no ishibōchōkei gyokki to kotsusenkei gyokki [Two Types of Prehistorical Chinese Ceremonial Jade Objects: Stone Harvesting Knives and Bone Spades]. No. 54, 1982. pl. 3.
  • Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kogyoku no kenkyū. Tokyo, 1991. pl. 3.
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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