string(21) "edanmdm:fsg_S1987.451" Forked blade (zhang 璋) - National Museum of Asian Art

Forked blade (zhang 璋)

Detail of a pattern
Image 1 of 2
IIIF

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At A Glance

  • Period

    ca. 3000-1700 BCE
  • Geography

    Shenmu Shimao, probably Shaanxi province, China
  • Material

    Jade (nephrite)
  • Dimension

    H x W x D: 37.3 x 6.6 x 0.7 cm (14 11/16 x 2 5/8 x 1/4 in)
  • Accession Number

    S1987.451
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S1987.451

Object Details

  • Description

    Green black. Blade slightly narrows toward the center and widens at the two-pronged tip. Tip sharpened to a fine edge. One side of the blade is flat, the other almost imperceptibly concave. Surface slightly pitted, nicked in one place that appears to have been buffed down. One tip of cutting edge broken off and old breaks at handle and on both projections.
  • 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 #11:
    "Green black. One tip of cutting edge broken off and old breaks at handle and on both projections," on list 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)
    Studies in connoisseurship: Chinese paintings from the Arthur M. Sackler collection in New York and Princeton (December 8, 1973 to 1975)
    Untitled Exhibition, Princeton, 1969 (1969)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)
    Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)
  • Origin

    Shenmu Shimao, probably Shaanxi province, 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.

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