The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Ceremonial Dagger-Axe with Animal Masks (Ge)

Ceremonial Dagger-Axe with Animal Masks (Ge)

c. 1600–1050 BCE
(c. 1600–c. 1046 BCE)
jade (nephrite)
Overall: 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1983.2
Location: 241A Arts of Ancient China

Did You Know?

Traces of vermilion or cinnabar remain on the taotie mask design.

Description

Jade is an extremely hard material. In ancient China, it was carved or ground with fine abrasives, such as quartz sand, affixed to cutting or drilling tools. The form of this jade (ge, ceremonial dagger axe), was likely derived from similarly shaped bronze weapons. The pointed and slightly curved blade was symmetrically carved. It seems to emerge from the mouth of the taotie, the animal mask. The taotie’s curved horns were carved in relief bands; its eyes, snout, and upper jaw are delineated in threadlike relief. Similar taotie designs are also seen on bronze vessels of the same period. The hole in the tang indicates where the blade was originally attached to a wooden shaft.
  • by 1972–1982
    Captain S. N. Ferris Luboshez, U.S.N. [1896–1984], consigned to sale at Sotheby's, New York
    November 18, 1982
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, NY, November 18, 1982, lot no. 3)
    1982–1983
    (J. E. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1983–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • McNamee, Harriet. Chinese Art from the Ferris Luboshez Collection. [Exhibition Held at] University of Maryland Art Gallery, March 23 - April 30, 1972. College Park: University of Maryland Dept. of Art, 1972. Mentioned: cat. 17, pp. 12, 42; Reproduced: fig. 19, p. 41
    Sotheby's, New York. Important Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Works of Art: the Collection of Captain S.N. Ferris Luboshez, USN (Ret'd). 18 November 1982. Lot 23. Mentioned and Reproduced: Lot 3
    Turner, Evan H. “Year in Review for 1983.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (February 1984): 38–79. Reproduced: no. 241, p. 66; Mentioned: no. 241, pp. 62, 77 www.jstor.org
    Wilson, J. Keith. "Lithic Art in the Bronze Age: A Jade Dagger-Axe." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 1 (1990): 2-35. Reproduced: cover www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 5 archive.org
  • The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).
    Chinese Art from the Ferris Luboshez Collection. University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, MD (March 23-April 30, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Ceremonial Dagger-Axe with Animal Masks (Ge)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1600–1050 BCE|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.2