A VERY RARE GOLD-INLAID ARCHAIC BRONZE DAGGER-AXE, JI EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, CIRCA 5TH CENTURY BC

A VERY RARE GOLD-INLAID ARCHAIC BRONZE DAGGER-AXE, JI
EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, CIRCA 5TH CENTURY BC
The slender blade is pierced with four rectangular apertures and is finely inlaid in gold in bird script on one side with three characters running horizontally along the upper edge of the blade and three further characters running vertically along the hu. The nei is cast on both sides with twin hooked scroll motifs within double line borders.
10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm.) long, metal stand, Japanese double wood box

Provenance
Private collection, Japan.
Kochukyo, Tokyo, by 1995.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4081.