Ge (dagger-axe)
Medium:Cast bronze
Geography: Reportedly from Dasikongcun, Anyang, Henan province, China
Date: 13th-1st half of 11th century BC
Period: Shang Dynasty
Object number: 934.17.43
Credit Line: Bishop William C. White Collection
Gallery Location:Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Gallery of China
DescriptionThis type of weapon is called ge and was used in one form or another throughout the Bronze Age. In the later part of the Shang dynasty (1300 - 1046 BC), there seems to have been a distinction between combat and ceremonial weapons. This one falls into the latter category, it is larger than the average ge and special attention has been paid to its decoration. The design on the tang is inlaid with turquoise, which was probably considered a rare and precious material at the time. Utilitarian Shang period ge were generally smaller with little or no decoration.
