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Halberd Standard
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This finial, being pear-shaped in section, is known to have been the handle of a halberd. Its ornament consists of broad bands intersecting to make angles, and of delicate lines ending in whorls. The asymmetrical part through the middle is derived from a bird, its head being at the upper right, its tail at the lower left. The whole object is coated with a green and blue patina of rare beauty.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineHalberd Standard, c. 600–221 BCE. China, Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BCE). Bronze inlaid with silver; overall: 10 cm (3 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1942.1085
