Bronze ge (dagger-axe) with inscription 'chu gong jia'

Ge, a kind of weapon which appeared in the Shang Dynasty, is an important weapon type in Shang and Zhou period. The blade of this Ge is triangular shaped with a round hole in the center of it, and there are 16 black oval spots on each side of its surface. Frequently seen in the area of Wu and later in Chu research revealed that the black oval spots were made from different metals. One inner has an inscription of five seal characters “楚公秉戈”. There was an arguement of whether or not these characters were originally inscribed. After more and more materials were found found the consensus was that the inscribed characters are authentic.. This Ge is the earliest bronze Ge with an inscription in the Chu State.