A JADE NOTCHED AXE, QIJIA CULTURE

A JADE NOTCHED AXE, QIJIA CULTURE
China, Qijia culture, c. 2200-1600 BC. Of tapering form with a long, straight cutting edge, well-carved from a beautiful, translucent celadon stone with delicate, brownish, grayish, and milky white inclusions, as well as russet spots and veins. Three circular hafting holes drilled from one side. The shorter sides flanked by notched grooves.
Condition:
Very good condition with wear and expected minor signs of weathering as well as nibbles to edges and a small chip to one notch.
Provenance:
The collection of The Zelnik Istvan Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. Istvan Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Weight: 552.3 g
Dimensions: Length 37 cm, Width 11.2 cm
Knife- and axe-shaped blades
made from stone were probably working tools in Neolithic societies. Jade is hard but brittle, so the blades made from this beautiful material are unlikely to have been put to practical use. Instead, they would have been held by chieftains as symbols of authority. Large quantities of jade blades have been excavated in different regions in China, indicating their widespread use over a span of more than 3,000 years.