A BRONZE RITUAL HALBERG BLADE 'GE'

Description:

China, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 481-256 B.C.
L. 26,7 cm
Cast bronze and gilt, with light green patina and incrustations, curved narrow blade, rhombus-shaped in cross-section, on the hilt three vertical and one oval slit.
From the Zeileis collection, assembled in the 1980s and 90s
Cf. an almost identical piece from the British Museum collection, published in Watson: Ancient Chinese Bronzes, London, 1962/77, no. 83/b; also an example identical in function but somewhat different in shape from the Junkunc collection, sold by Sotheby's New York, 19 March 2019, lot 111.
Published in: Friedrich Georg Zeileis, 'Von Shang bis Qing, Dreieinhalb Jahrtausende Chinesische Bronze', Gallspach, 1999, no. 121, p. 322 - Some corrosion