
Collection Online as of February 3, 2023
Jade (nephrite)
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 2009.83
241A Arts of Ancient China
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.