Rare Antique Chinese Carved Archaic - Neolithic Jade Ax Blade. Bell Shape With A Hole Through The Center. Gray And Brown Colors. Finely Carved With Sharp Detail And A Soft Polish And Patina. Approximately 4 7/8" Long x 4 1/5" Wide. Probably Late Neolithic Period - Liangzhu Culture - ca. 3300-2250 BCE).
For A Similar Example:
Smithsonian Institute: Freer/Sackler Collection: Item #F1916.498 - Axe of the type fu 斧; rounded blade edge and gently curved sides; perforation bored from both sides leaving median ridge; one surface is mottled yellow and orange with areas and veins of incipient disintegration; opposite surface is pale olive tan with profuse white decomposition. Dated As Late Neolithic Period - Liangzhu Culture ca. 3300-2250 BCE. View Last Images Herein.
For Another Example:
British Museum (1937,0416.16, reproduced in Jessica Rawson and John Ayers, Chinese Jade throughout the Ages: An Exhibition organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Oriental Ceramic Society [London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 1975], cat. 2).
For A Similar Example: Christie's New York - The Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part III - Chinese Works Of Art: Qing Ceramics, Glass And Jade Carvings - March 19, 2015 - Sale #11420, Lot #488 Which Realized $35,000USD.
Lot Description
AN OPAQUE IVORY-COLORED JADE AXE
CHINA, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, LIANGZHU CULTURE, 3RD MILLENNIUM BC
Price realised USD 35,000
Estimate
USD 8,000 - USD 12,000
This lot is offered without a reserve
AN OPAQUE IVORY-COLORED JADE AXE
CHINA, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, LIANGZHU CULTURE, 3RD MILLENNIUM BC
The axe flaring slightly towards the softly beveled, rounded cutting edge, the hafting hole drilled from both sides, the now opaque stone with satiny polish
4 7/8 in. (12.3 cm.) long
Provenance
The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, before 2000.
For A Similar Example:
The Harvard Art Museum:
Object Number 1943.50.1;
Title
Flat Jade Axe with Rounded Edge
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
axe
Date
c. 3300 - c. 2000 BCE
Period
Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, c. 3300-2200 BCE
Medium
Creamy white nephrite with dark green markings, polished to a brilliant gloss
Dimensions
H. 18.5 x W. 11.5 x Thickness 0.6 cm (7 5/16 x 4 1/2 x 1/4 in.)
13 Flat Axe with Rounded Edge
Creamy white stone with dark green markings, polished to a brilliant gloss. The blade is slightly splayed, forming sharp points at either end of the curved cutting edge. The cutting edge is flawlessly designed and perfectly preserved. Slanting bore-hole, drilled from both sides. On both faces, at the level of the hole, run deep scars made by a swing saw when the slab was cut. The butt, again, shows a rough finish. Shang(?).
