‘GE’ AXE-DAGGER BLADE WITH A ‘TAOTIE’ MASK

Description The green patina that uniformly covers this axe-dagger (ge), identical on both faces, is soapy to the touch. The narrow triangular blade is not perfectly symmetrical with respect to its longitudinal axis. A thin raised line at the bottom of the blade separate it from the rectangular tang with a circular hole in the center. The decoration occupies the part of the blade closer to the heel, representing an engraved mask, evocative of the Shang taotie mask with raised eyes. The eyes have a square shape, with the pupils sunken. This characteristic is also known from vases from the Anyang phase. Two small rectangular holes, position at the corners of the decorative mask, complete the system of openings that allowed the weapong to be secured.