Ornament (shi 飾) with mask and headdress

A semi-human face with a long neck; pronounced round nose; almond-shaped eyes; elaborate headdress with fine details; biconically perforated earrings flank the face; mouth revealing tusks pointing both up and down and two rows of teeth; semi-translucent, light green jade with white flecking; subtle relief effects; single conical bore top to bottom in base.

Maker(s)
Artist: Shijiahe culture 石家河 (ca. 2500-ca. 2000 BCE)
Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 2500-2000 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.7 x 3.3 x 1.4 cm (3 1/16 x 1 5/16 x 9/16 in)
Geography
China, Middle Yangzi valley, Hubei province
Credit Line
Long-term loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of John Gellatly, 1929.8.276.1
Collection
Long-term loan
Accession Number
LTS1985.1.276.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Jade, Jewelry and Ornament
Type

Ornament

Keywords
China, Gellatly collection, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), mask
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

A semi-human face with a long neck; pronounced round nose; almond-shaped eyes; elaborate headdress with fine details; biconically perforated earrings flank the face; mouth revealing tusks pointing both up and down and two rows of teeth; semi-translucent, light green jade with white flecking; subtle relief effects; single conical bore top to bottom in base.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Alfred Salmony. Carved Jade of Ancient China. Berkeley, 1938. cat. 2-3, pl. 31.
  • Elizabeth Childs-Johnson. Ritual and Power: Jades of Ancient China. Exh. cat. New York, April 22, 1988 - June 18, 1988. cat. 87, p. 23.
  • Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kodai no ishibōchōkei gyokki to kotsusenkei gyokki [Two Types of Prehistorical Chinese Ceremonial Jade Objects: Stone Harvesting Knives and Bone Spades]. no. 54, 1982. p. 46, fig. 49.
  • Meili Yang. Suhe qiangui, fangchuan jingzuo: Xinshiqi shidai beifang xi huanxing yuqi xilie zhi si: Yuanjiao fangbi yu mati tongxingqi. no. 129 Taipei, 1993. p. 48, fig. 7.
  • Wu Hung. Yizu zaoqi de yushi diaoke [A Group of Early Jade and Stone Carvings]., 1979. p. 69, fig. 14.
  • Doris J. Dohrenwend. Jade Demonic Images from Early China. vol. 10 Washington and Ann Arbor, 1975. p. 70, fig. 36.
  • Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Fang Gu. Yuqi shidai: Meiguo bowuguan cang Zhongguo zaoqi yuqi [The Jade Age: Early Chinese Jades in American Museums]. Beijing, 2009. p. 149.
  • New Frontiers in Global Archaeology: Defining China's Ancient Traditions [Quan qiu hua bei jing xia kao gu xue xin qian yan: jie du Zhongguo gu dai chuan tong]. New York, 2008. p. 306.
  • Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kogyoku no kenkyū. Tokyo, 1991. p. 319, fig. 4: 93.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
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