SHANG DYNASTY, 13TH-12TH CENTURY BC

Jade knives of this distinctive shape from the Shang period are extremely rare, and the current example is further distinguished by its meticulous finish and excellent condition. Compare three jade knives of similar shape, but lacking the notches along the spine, and a fourth example of different shape but with notches, excavated at Anyang in 1976 from the tomb of Lady Fu Hao (d. c. 1200 BC), illustrated in Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang, Beijing, 1980, pl. 119, figs. 1-3. Also illustrated, pl. 65, figs. 1-3, are five bronze knives of this shape with notches along the spine.

A principal wife of Shang-dynasty King Wu Ding (r. c. 1250–c. 1192 BC), Lady Fu Hao was a powerful figure who gave birth to a royal prince and served as a military leader, apparently leading troops into battle. That jade objects of this type were buried in her tomb—along with some 2,000 other luxury items—attests to the importance of such pieces as well as to their elite associations.