A BRONZE CEREMONIAL AXE, YUE

EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, LATE 11TH-10TH CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE CEREMONIAL AXE, YUE
EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, LATE 11TH-10TH CENTURY BC
The blade with thickened, curved cutting edge and with a large collared central hole, with two dragons with backward-turned heads projecting from the edges below the guard, with a small hole in the plain tang, with grey and milky-grey patina
6 in. (15.2 cm.) long, box

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong, 1994.

Exhibited

The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, Singapore, 2000, no. 29.
Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2002-2006.

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Lot Essay

A similar bronze axe, with even larger hole in the blade, from Henan Luoyang, dated early Western Zhou, is illustrated by J. So, "To Restore or Not: A Case Study", Oriental Art, Spring, 1996, pp. 24-9, fig. 11. Another, of similar type, is illustrated by B. Karlgren, "Bronzes in the Hellström Collection", BMFEA 20, 1948, pl. 19 (1).

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