Bronze shaft-hole (yue) axe with deity and tiger head designs, Early Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 1046. Length 21.3cm Width 16.5cm Thickness 0.5cm Hole diameter 4.1cm © National Palace Museum, Taïwan 

Semi-circular axes emerged in the Western Zhou dynasty. They inherited the traditions of perforated axes in the Neolithic period as well as those of shaft-hole axes from the steppe . Concerning this particular artifact, the shaft-hole is decorated with deity and tiger head designs. The bronze axe is thick and well-made, but its blade is blunt and cannot be used in actual combats which, coupled with their religious implications, suggest that it may have been utilized as ceremonial weaponry.