Skip to main content
  1. Art
  2. The Collection

Adze

Chinese

Artwork Details

Adze
1027 BCE - 771 BCE
Chinese
blue-gray nephrite
3 9/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/16 in. (9.2 x 3.6 x 0.2 cm);5 ½ in. (14.0 cm);3 ½ in. (9.0 cm);1 ¼ in. (3.2 cm)
Museum purchase from the collection of Max Loehr
1960/2.103

Tags

Description

Subject Matter:

Adz, also spelled adze, hand tool for shaping wood. One of the earliest tools, it was widely distributed in Stone Age cultures in the form of a handheld stone chipped to form a blade. By Egyptian times it had acquired a wooden haft, or handle, with a copper or bronze blade set flat at the top of the haft to form a T. In this form the adz continued to be the prime hand tool for shaping and trimming wood. A log or other piece of timber was laid on the ground or floor, and the carpenter stood astride or on it, swinging the adz in a picklike action down and toward himself.

https://www.britannica.com/technology/adz

Usage Rights:

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.