Knife (dao)

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  [1] According to Bishop’s unpublished report, Archaeological Research in China, 1924-34, Mr.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 3 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

• 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)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Karlbeck, Orvar

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bronze, Art, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE), Carl Whiting Bishop collection, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Weapons, Armor (protective wear)