Axe (<em>fu</em> 斧)
date: label: Date
content: ca. 2000-1700 BCE
label: Period
content: Late Neolithic period
notes: label: Description
content: Ceremonial object of axe head shape, of the type fu 斧 or yueh [yue] 鉞; broad and flat with rounded blade edge, sides tapering to a square end with curved boring on edge and a conical perforation directly under it; semitranslucent, richly mottled dark greens with iridescent patches and scattered areas of dull red; wide shallow groove on one surface; upper edge rough; mirror like surface.
label: Provenance
content: To 1917
label: Provenance
content: Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1917 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1165, pg. 267, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] 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: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Jades (May 9, 1993 to May 18, 1998)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Paintings, Sculptures, and Jade Objects from the Collection formed by Charles Lang Freer (November 15 to December 08, 1917)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: iridescence
label: Topic
content: jade
label: Topic
content: nephrite
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
setName: label: On View
content: West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
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: F1917.78
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: 15.8 x 22.6 x 0.6 cm (6 3/16 x 8 7/8 x 1/4 in)
label: Dimensions
content: Diam (hole): 1.4 cm (9/16 in)