Lot Essay
Acquired in December 1993.
Compare the example with a gilt-bronze bird finial illustrated by Gisèle Croës, exhibition Catalogue, 1994, p. 30. For a collection of very similar earlier prototypes, compare The
Exhibition of the Bronze Weaponry in the C.H. Wang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, August 8 - June 8, 1995, pl. 5 ff.; for a similar
example from the Spring and Autumn period, but without the socket,
compare C.H. Wang, Shang and Zhou Chinese Weaponry: C.H. Wang
Collection, Taipei, 1993. pl.13.
C.H. Wang, op. cit., p.84, notes that the dagger-axe was a major
weapon used by the armies during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Another name for it was "hook", since it could be used to snare enemies as well as to stab them. The development of the dagger-axe's form is rather
complex : Shang dagger-axes are wide, either with a straight or curved tang, sometimes a socket tang, whereas late Shang dagger-axes
have an additional hu. During the Western Zhou, a longer ge was developed. In the Eastern Zhou, the dagger-axe usually had three to
four apertures to tie it to the shaft, while the blade is longer, narrower, and angled upward.
Like the battle-axe, sword, and arrowhead, it was an infliction weapon and was used mainly by the infantry. One possible use may have been to hook riders down from their horses.
Compare the example with a gilt-bronze bird finial illustrated by Gisèle Croës, exhibition Catalogue, 1994, p. 30. For a collection of very similar earlier prototypes, compare The
Exhibition of the Bronze Weaponry in the C.H. Wang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, August 8 - June 8, 1995, pl. 5 ff.; for a similar
example from the Spring and Autumn period, but without the socket,
compare C.H. Wang, Shang and Zhou Chinese Weaponry: C.H. Wang
Collection, Taipei, 1993. pl.13.
C.H. Wang, op. cit., p.84, notes that the dagger-axe was a major
weapon used by the armies during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Another name for it was "hook", since it could be used to snare enemies as well as to stab them. The development of the dagger-axe's form is rather
complex : Shang dagger-axes are wide, either with a straight or curved tang, sometimes a socket tang, whereas late Shang dagger-axes
have an additional hu. During the Western Zhou, a longer ge was developed. In the Eastern Zhou, the dagger-axe usually had three to
four apertures to tie it to the shaft, while the blade is longer, narrower, and angled upward.
Like the battle-axe, sword, and arrowhead, it was an infliction weapon and was used mainly by the infantry. One possible use may have been to hook riders down from their horses.