Dagger-Axe (ge)

Arts of Asia

Shang dynasty (1600 – 1046 B.C.)

China

The power of the Shang kings depended on their control of bronze production for warfare. The dagger-axe, hafted onto a wood shaft, was the premier weapon of combat. Finely cast examples excavated from tombs suggest that such objects also had strong ritual significance. The rounded butt of this specimen contains a bird in raised lines, which may originally have been inlaid with turquoise.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Dagger-Axe (ge)
Place: China (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1600 BCE–1046 BCE
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 26.4 × 7.4 × 0.8 cm (10 3/8 × 2 15/16 × 11 in.)
Credit Line: Samuel M. Nickerson Endowment
Reference Number: 1949.41
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/64435/manifest.json

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Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.