Dagger-axe (ge 戈), fragment reworked
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
ca. 2000-ca. 1400 BCE -
Geography
probably Henan province, China -
Material
Jade (nephrite) -
Dimension
H x W x D: 7.6 x 23.8 x 0.5 cm (3 x 9 3/8 x 3/16 in) -
Accession Number
S1987.701 -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_S1987.701
Object Details
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Description
Blade, pointed, slightly curved with a low ridge in the center; band of incised lozenges around the center; pierced twice; translucent greenish tan. (Mostly calcified; brown surface deposit.) -
Provenance
C. T. Loo & Company, Paris, France and New York, NY [1]As early as 1939 to 1959Diedrich Abbes Collection, Greenwich, CT [2]1959 to 1987Arthur M. Sackler, New York, NY purchased from the estate of Diedrich Abbes on July 10, 1959 through Frank Caro, C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York [3]From 1987Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [4]Notes:[1] C. T. Loo & Company stock number 81301, according to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.[2] Object published in “3000 Years of Chinese Jade,” Arden Gallery, New York (10 January to 11 February 1939), cat. 10 (illustrated); listed as owned by Diedrich Abbes Collection. The sale of this object in 1959 is documented in information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 9 October 2009, see note 3.[3] See letter written on Arthur M. Sackler, M.D. letterhead acknowledging the "purchase and receipt of 17 pieces of stone carvings of the Shang, Yin-Chou and Chou periods from the Dietrich-Abbes collection. The price in full, exclusive of commission, will be paid as indicated by this note in two installments," copy provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation on July 9, 2009 in object file. For Frank Caro’s involvement, see: letter to Frank Caro from Arnold J. Bai of the law firm Goldstein and Peck, Bridgeport Connecticut, September 28, 1960, copy in object file. The letter asks Frank Caro to have (presumably) his client, Arthur M. Sackler, to send the final payment for the Diedrich Abbes Collection of jades to the law firm. Goldstein and Peck mistakenly identify Mr. Caro’s business as C. T. Loo Company, when it was called C. T. Loo Chinese Art.[4] 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
C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)Diedrich Abbes (1866-1959)Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987) -
Origin
probably Henan province, China -
Culture
Erlitou culture, ca. 2000-1600 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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