A RARE ARCHAIC BRONZE CEREMONIAL HALBERD BLADE (GE) EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD |

the gently curved yuan crisply cast with a recessed reserve enclosing two abstract motifs on either side, extending to the nei rendered in the form of a ferocious feline with mouth agape revealing sharp fangs, its sinuous scaly body terminating in muscular limbs and sharp claws, above a mythical bird facing downward and grasping a serpent with its beak and claw, set against the qiong decorated with bands of fine scrolls separated by ribbed borders, with two small circular chuan pierced near the bottom on each side, the surface with occasional areas of malachite encrustation

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

There are some losses to the rim of the qiong with associated cracks, and some minute losses along the edges of the blade. Occasional traces of old residue can be observed, mostly to the inside of the pierced design. Overall with some expected wear and minor casting flaws.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The present bronze halberd blade was likely from the Wu state during the Spring and Autumn period. This attribution is supported by a similar bronze ge of this type, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, that has an eight-character inscription cast along the center of the yuan on both sides, reading Hanwang Shi Ye zuowei yuanyong (for the use of the King of Han, Shi Ye), published in the Palace Museum, ed., Bronzes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1999, pl. 263. According to the Eastern Han dynasty text Shuowen jiezi (Explaining literature and analyzing characters) compiled by the famous scholar Xu Shen (c. 30-124), Han was a location inside the state of Wu. For a detailed discussion on the Palace Museum ge and its inscription, see Max Loehr, Chinese Bronze Age Weapons. The Werner Jannings Collection in the Chinese National Palace Museum, Peking, London, 1956, no. 82, pp 169-174.

A closely related bronze halberd blade of the same form, cast with the same design, is known in the collection of Museo Nazionale D'Arte Orientale in Rome, Italy. Other related bronze ge include one from the David David-Weill Collection, modeled with the feline beast and the bird arranged horizontally instead of perpendicularly as the present lot, published in Umehara Sueji, Shina-Kodo Seikwa / Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America, Part III: Miscellaneous Objects, Vol. II, Osaka, 1933, pl. 100b; another cast with an inscription, exhibited in Chinese Archaic Jades and Bronzes from the Estate of Professor Max Loehr and others, J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 1993, cat. no. 114.