Measurements：Length 17.4 cm, Thickness 0.5 cm, Length 7.5 cm
Period: Late Western Zhou (877- 771 BCE)
Provenance: Unearthed from the M2001 of the Guo State cemetery at Shangcunling, Sanmenxia, 1990.

Cast with the iron Yuan (the cutting part) and the well-preserved bronze Na (the haft), the dagger axe has parts of the front point and the cutting edge missing. Both sides of the bronze haft have been inlaid with turquoises that form the pattern of a dragon head with a long snout circling inlaid turquoise clouds.

This object was uncovered from the mausoleum M2001 in the Guo state cemetery, which dates back to the late Western Zhou dynasty. The tomb occupant was identified to be Guo Ji, the king of the Guo state. Being a high-grade tomb, it yielded abundant burial goods which included a great number of ritual and musical bronzes, weapons, chariots, and jade objects. An iron sword with a jade hilt was discovered along with a dagger axe.

The discovery of the aforementioned two artifacts date back to the iron smelting industry one century earlier than the believed time, which serves as new evidence for us to trace the origin of iron smelting in China. Additionally, the discovery of a great number of weapons from the tomb indicate martial fashion to be in trend at the time, embodying the lofty status and supreme power of the tomb occupant.