Ceremonial ax. Ritual device. Shang dynasty, Anyang period, 12th-11th Century BC. Xincun, Junxian, Henan province. Bronze, green patina; 30.4 x 35 x 3.5 cm. Weight: 4.8 kg. Ident.Nr. 1962-4. Collection: Museum of Asian Art. Photo: Petra Stüning © Photo: Museum of Asian Art, the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage.

The broadax with a slightly curved blade shows both sides of a plastic mask by educated people with large staring eyes and open, "smiling" mouth. Teeth and ears are open work.The end seaming tape stylized hair strands. On the cheek areas of the mask close the right and left different decorative boxes in fine raised lineament, which can be iconography derived from body elements Shang-temporal demonic beings like the taotie or dragons, which are among the dominant motifs of early Chinese bronze art. At the shoulder is where a rectangular tang, who served together with the two lateral, horizontal slots for mounting the shaft. The peculiarity of the Berlin ax is their masterly shaped, expressive human mask. Only shortly after the mid-1960s were unearthed during the excavation of a Shang tomb near the village Sufutun, district Yidu, Shandong Province formally similar pieces. The two Breitäxte found there with mask decor were probably after completion of the funeral ritual - in which, left in the grave 48 people and six dogs were executed - as the numerous skeletal remains testify. The counting of the masterpieces of early Chinese bronze art ceremonial ax was purchased in 1962 for the Berlin collection.