East Asia, China, Warring States Period, 476 to 221 BCE. A silvered-bronze ge weapon with a dagger-shaped blade and rectangular butt end. This is an incredibly beautiful and rare ge head, this example was clearly a functional prestige weapon of an ancient aristocrat warrior - ancient bronze weapons that are silvered or gilded are exclusively of prestige origin. Because of their exorbitant cost, such weapons were beyond the means of the average warrior. Not only does this specimen show incredible and intact silvering over the bronze, but the encrustations naturally took on a tiger-stripe pattern over the entire weapon. While coincidental, this bizarre effect adds a deep mystique to this piece - the ferocity of the tiger's spirit in combat! The patina is truly breath-taking and even the light cleaning on the tip exposes the underlying ancient bronze with deep cuprite inclusions and deposits, true signs of age and authenticity. Size: 7.1" L x 4.25" W (18 cm x 10.8 cm)

Provenance: ex-private E.F. Simpson collection, California, USA from the 1970s

#172848

Intact with no repair or restoration. Heavy mineral deposits. Light cleaning by the original collector on tip.