LATE SPRING AND AUTUM PERIOD-EARLY WARRING STATES PERIOD, circa 570-400 BC

The jade yuan only inserted less than 0.5 cm. into the bronze nei, together with the delicacy of the craftsmanship indicates this current piece is for ceremonial use.

Jade inset bronze ge-halberd blades were popular during the Shang Dynasty but rarely seen during the Spring and Autumn period. The decorative motifs, such as the hui dragons and the phoenix used on the bronze haft is similar to the bronze moulds excavated from the Eastern Zhou Jin Kingdom site, Niu Village, Xintian County, Houma City, Shanxi Province, illustrated in Houma zhutong yizhi, 1993, Beijing, p. 245, pl.2 and p. 248, pl. 1 (fig. 1).