LATE SHANG-EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 12TH-10TH CENTURY BC

The blade is cast down the median ridge of each side with a pair of cicadas, diminishing in size. At the end of the pierced tang, one side is cast with a dragon (long), and the other is cast with a blade-shaped graph, likely a clan sign. While the sign cannot be identified, it appears to be related to the character xi 析, as suggested by Zhou Fagao in Jinwen Gulin (An Etymological Dictionary of Ancient Chinese Bronze Inscriptions), Hong Kong, vol. 7, no. 1049.