Hache cérémonielle en Jade Calcifié Dynastie Shang, ca. 2000-1200 avant J.-C.

la pierre plate et lisse sculptée comme un disque, le bord supérieur en arc de cercle,  les côtés droits légèrement incurvés et ornés de chaque côté de deux dents à trois pointes, la partie inférieure formée de quatre segments droits aux bords biseautés, la pierre d'une couleur blanchâtre incrustée de matière ferrugineuse ; restaurations, D.W 34/43

Discovered in Henan province (according to David-Weill's notes).

Arts de La Chine Ancienne, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, 1937, no. 75.

Georges Salles, Arts de La Chine Ancienne, Paris, 1937, cat. no. 75 (not illustrated). 
Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade Through the Wei Dynasty, New York, 1963, pl. V.2.

A ca. 10x3cm wide trapezoidal piece is broken out of the upper part of the disc-axe and was reattached in the past. A ca. 4x0,5cm crescent-shaped part of the rim broken in two parts and reattached to the upper part of the rim (both visible in the catalogue illustration). The disc-axe is covered with reddish substance on both sides and some light encrustation. The stone a warm buff colour with greenish speckles. The central aperture drilled from two sides. The inventory number inscribed in black on the inside rim of the central aperture.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present disc-axe represents a variation of the flanged jade axe. Its distinctive shape is based on a disc with a central aperture and a rounded cutting edge as illustrated by a number of examples in collections similarly formed in the 1930s, see, for instance, a disc-axe from the Sonnenschein Collection, published in Alfred Salmony, Archaic Chinese Jades from the Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein Collection, Chicago, 1952, pl. XIV.1; and two further examples from the Winthrop Collection, in Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1975, cat. nos. 22 and 23. Another example from the David-Weill Collection, is illustrated in Osvald Siren, Histoire des Arts Anciens de la Chine, Vol. I: La Periode Prehistorique. L'Epoque Tcheou, L'Epoque Tch'ou et Ts'in, Paris and Brussels, 1929, pl. 73.

On the present axe, the rounded cutting edge has been replaced with four flat sections. Two almost identically shaped flanged disc-axe have been recovered from tombs (M11 and M5) of the Erlitou period, ca. 2000-1500 BC, at Yanshi, Henan, published in Kaogu, 1986.4, pl. 7.3, and in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. I, Shijiazhuang, 2005, p. 130, fig. 11.