Axe (<em>fu</em> 斧)
date: label: Date
content: ca. 3300-2250 BCE
label: Period
content: Late Neolithic period
notes: label: Description
content: Object of thin, rectangular axe head shape, of the type fu 斧 or yueh [yue] 鉞; large circular perforation bored from both sides leaving sharp median ridge; one surface mottled yellow, orange, and reddish to dark browns with traces of silvery film; opposite surface is mottled olive greens, gray, cream, and black. (Corner and blade chipped.)
label: Description
content: Acquired with a box, now lost.
label: Provenance
content: Reportedly excavated at Hsi-an, Shensi [1]
label: Provenance
content: To 1917
label: Provenance
content: You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1917 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi in 1917 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1319, pg. 301, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See note 2.
label: Provenance
content: [4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Lake Tai region, China
topic: label: Topic
content: jade
label: Topic
content: nephrite
label: Topic
content: Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE)
label: Topic
content: Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
culture: label: Culture
content: Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: Related Online Resources
content: Jades for Life and Death
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1917.379
objectType: label: Type
content: Ceremonial Object
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Jade (nephrite)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 10.7 × 8.9 × 0.7 cm (4 3/16 × 3 1/2 × 1/4 in)
label: Dimensions
content: Diam (hole): 2.7 cm (1 1/16 in)