Collection record · Objects & craft
Ceremonial Blade with Three Perforations (Dao)
The collection record classifies this work as jade. It is dated 2000–1700 BCE. Recorded culture or place: Northwest China, Neolithic period to Bronze Age, Qijia culture (2000–1700 BCE).
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Ceremonial Blade with Three Perforations (Dao)
- Date
- 2000–1700 BCE
- Culture / origin
- Northwest China, Neolithic period to Bronze Age, Qijia culture (2000–1700 BCE)
- Materials and technique
- jade (nephrite)
- Dimensions
- Overall: 35.2 cm (13 7/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 2009.83
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
This impressive blade combines the beauty of material, precision of geometry, and mastery of technique. The fine polish, silken sheen, and extreme thinness (only 2 mm thick) make it an outstanding example of meticulous workmanship in ancient jade craft. Recent recoveries of similar blades from a pit of a Qijia cultural site located in northwest China reveal that they were originally standing on their edges and were arranged in parallel formations at the ritual ground.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Severance and Greta Millikin Collection · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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