LATE SHANG DYNASTY, ANYANG PHASE, CIRCA 1300-1100 BC

This rare ge-halberd blade is particularly richly decorated with turquoise inlay. The shape of the bird's-head hilt is similar to that seen on other turquoise-inlaid examples, such as that on the ge excavated from the tomb of the Shang queen, Fu Hao, consort of king Wu Ding, at Anyang, Henan province, illustrated in Yinxu Yuqi (The Jades from Yinxu), Beijing, 1982, pl. 17. Both the Fu Hao and the Sackler ge have a bronze socket inlaid with turquoise into which the blade is inserted. The socket of the Sackler ge is particularly deep allowing for a rich pattern of taotie masks.