Round axe, made from a collared disk
Object Details
- Description
- Flanged pierced pi [bi] 璧 disk with lateral serrations arranged on either side of the central orifice. Buff colored with some darker mottling. The lower edge is ground to a blunt cutting edge.
- Provenance
- Duanfang (1861-1911) [1]
- From at least 1969 to 1970
- Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), Washington, DC, and Mt. Kisco, NY [2]
- From 1970
- Freer Gallery of Art, bequeathed by Agnes E. Meyer, 1970 [3]
- Notes:
- [1] The jade is included in Duanfang’s catalogue of his jade collection, published posthumously in 1936 with a preface by Wang Dalong, see Duanfang, Taozhai gu yu tu, vol. 1 (Shanghai, 1936), p. 1:3a.
- Duanfang was a late Qing government official and a well known collector of Chinese art. See also Thomas Lawton, A Time of Transition: Two Collectors of Chinese Art (Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1991), pp. 37-39, fig. 37.
- An inscription on the box with which the jade was acquired reads: “Zhou, gu bi, Tao zhai zhen cang"; a reference to the Taozhai, Duanfang’s studio provides another indication that the jade was in Duanfang’s collection.
- [2] The object is included in Agnes E. Meyer’s will and testament dated December 23, 1969, copy in object file.
- [3] See Agnes E. Meyer’s will and testament cited in note 2.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)
- Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
- Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)
- Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)
- Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)
- A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)
- Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Memorial Exhibition (September 25, 1971 to October 2, 1972)
- Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Duanfang 端方 (1861-1911)
- Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer ((1875-1959) and (1887-1970))
- Credit Line
- Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
- Period
- Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period
- Accession Number
- F1970.39
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Ceremonial Object
- Medium
- Jade (nephrite)
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 19.8 x 20 x 0.8 cm (7 13/16 x 7 7/8 x 5/16 in)
- Diam (opening): 6.2 cm (2 7/16 in)
- Origin
- Anyang, probably Henan province, China
- On View
- Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- Jades for Life and Death
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Topic
- jade
- nephrite
- Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE)
- China
- Chinese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1970.39
