Images

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Additional Views

Jun 5, 2018

Jun 1, 2022

Jun 5, 2018

Jun 1, 2022

Axe

1766–1045 BC

China, Shang dynasty

(c.1600-c.1046 BC)

Bronze

Overall: 23.8 cm (9 3/8 in.)

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1941.549

Location

not on view

Did you know?

A staff or pike would have attached to the blade via the socket below the owl's head.

Description

The head of an owl with large eyes and ears, sitting above the blade of a halberd-axe, may have deterred evil and harm from its carrier. Whether such an axe was used in ritual or warfare is not clear.

Provenance

?–1941

(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1941–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Ackerman, Phyllis. Ritual Bronzes of Ancient China. New York: The Dryden Press, 1945. Reproduced: pl. 62

Prodan, Mario. Chinese Art: An Introduction. London: Hutchinson, 1958. Reproduced: pl. 6

Von Spee, Clarissa. “China through the Magnifying Glass: Miniature and small objects in detail.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 4 (December 2022): 14-16. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 14.

Exhibition history

China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Axe|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1941.549|year=1766–1045 BC|access-date=22 March 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

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