Dagger-axe (ge 戈) with masks (taotie) and dragons, early Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1200 BCE. Bronze with turquoise inlay and jade (nephrite) blade. H x W x D (overall): 34.5 x 17.5 x 5.4 cm. China, probably Henan province, Anyang. Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment. Freer Gallery of Art Collection, F1940.10a-e © 2026 Smithsonian Institution

Ceremonial sickle in four parts: three of bronze inlaid with turquoise, one (the blade) of jade decorated in linear relief with notched back and ground edge.

Provenance : From 1939 to 1940, C. T. Loo & Company, New York from September 26, 1939

From 1940, Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on May 3, 1940

Note : No objects of this type have yet been scientifically excavated in China, so it is difficult to know the purpose of this extremely rare axe. It consists of four separate pieces: a tubular bronze handle, two caps with dragon motifs, and an unusual serrated jade blade that might not be original. Traces of wood inside the handle suggest it was lengthened with additional elements that are now missing.