11th Sep, 2025 11:00
The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers Part 1
188
AN ARCHAIC BRONZE DAGGER AXE, GE, SHANG DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
Sold for €2,340
including Buyer's Premium
China, 1600-1046 BC. The tapered pointed blade is cast below two projecting tabs with a median ridge and with a hafting hole, finely cast in thread relief on each sides of the pierced nei with a bird shown in profile.
Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, casting irregularities, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, and corrosion. The butt end cracked and secured with pins which are slightly loose. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with areas of malachite encrustations.
Weight: 340.7 g
Dimensions: Length 23 cm
The power of the Shang kings depended on their control of bronze production for warfare. The dagger-axe, hafted onto a wood shaft, was the premier weapon of combat. Finely cast examples excavated from tombs suggest that such objects also had strong ritual significance. The rounded butt of this specimen contains a bird in raised lines, which was probably originally inlaid with turquoise, glass, jade, or other type of precious stone, see for example a malachite-inlaid blade dated to the Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2017, lot 902.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bronze ge, dagger axe, Shang dynasty, 24.1 cm long, in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, object number 88.002.175. Compare a closely related bronze dagger axe, late Shang dynasty, 21.3 cm long, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number AC1998.251.11.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Near identical
Auction: Bonhams Sydney, 7 December 2022, lot 112
Price: AUD 3,936 or approx. EUR 2,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze dagger axe, Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the form, thread relief, and bird motif. Note the identical size (23 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2011, lot 54
Price: USD 3,500 or approx. EUR 4,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic bronze dagger axe, ge, Shang dynasty, 12th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of casting, decoration, and size (24.1 cm).
China, 1600-1046 BC. The tapered pointed blade is cast below two projecting tabs with a median ridge and with a hafting hole, finely cast in thread relief on each sides of the pierced nei with a bird shown in profile.
Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, casting irregularities, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, and corrosion. The butt end cracked and secured with pins which are slightly loose. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with areas of malachite encrustations.
Weight: 340.7 g
Dimensions: Length 23 cm
The power of the Shang kings depended on their control of bronze production for warfare. The dagger-axe, hafted onto a wood shaft, was the premier weapon of combat. Finely cast examples excavated from tombs suggest that such objects also had strong ritual significance. The rounded butt of this specimen contains a bird in raised lines, which was probably originally inlaid with turquoise, glass, jade, or other type of precious stone, see for example a malachite-inlaid blade dated to the Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2017, lot 902.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bronze ge, dagger axe, Shang dynasty, 24.1 cm long, in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, object number 88.002.175. Compare a closely related bronze dagger axe, late Shang dynasty, 21.3 cm long, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number AC1998.251.11.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Near identical
Auction: Bonhams Sydney, 7 December 2022, lot 112
Price: AUD 3,936 or approx. EUR 2,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze dagger axe, Shang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the form, thread relief, and bird motif. Note the identical size (23 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2011, lot 54
Price: USD 3,500 or approx. EUR 4,300 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic bronze dagger axe, ge, Shang dynasty, 12th century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of casting, decoration, and size (24.1 cm).
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