Neolithic Period, Liangzhu Culture (ca. 3400 – 2200 BCE)
Length: 21.9 cm
Provenance:
A Distinguished Chinese Collector Important North American Collector
Exhibited & Published:
Weisbrod 30 Years, An Anniversary Exhibition, Spring 2002, Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd., New York, no. 1F
The long tool, rectangular in cross-section, has a squared-off butt and tapers very gently to the tip of the blade. The blade is carved so that the top edge tilts downward at an oblique angle, while the bottom edge curves upward at a more dramatic angle. Each of the four sides are carefully worked flat and polished to a lustrous sheen. The four edges are rounded off slightly along the body of the tool, but along the blade the edges are squared off sharply. The adze is carved from a mottled white jade with areas of light grey and brown.
Similar in form as the stepped axe above (cat. no. 1E), most likely tools such as these were not used in everyday activities but were included in the tomb as ritual tools for the afterlife or as symbols of power and prestige.
Reportedly discovered in Zhejiang Province.