Ornament (shi 飾) with mask

Bar-shaped ornament with two-sided mask above and animal mask below; face with fangs pointing both up and down and two rows of teeth; round-eyed mask with one row of teeth; biconically perforated round ear holes flank the face; light green jade with white and gold clouding; traces of calcification on top.

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: 7.9 x 4.5 x 0.7 cm (3 1/8 x 1 3/4 x 1/4 in)
Geography
China, Middle Yangzi valley, Hubei province
Credit Line
Long-term loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of John Gellatly, 1929.8.276.2
Collection
Long-term loan
Accession Number
LTS1985.1.276.2
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

Bar-shaped ornament with two-sided mask above and animal mask below; face with fangs pointing both up and down and two rows of teeth; round-eyed mask with one row of teeth; biconically perforated round ear holes flank the face; light green jade with white and gold clouding; traces of calcification on top.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Alfred Salmony. Carved Jade of Ancient China. Berkeley, 1938. cat. 4-5, pl. 31.
  • Doris J. Dohrenwend. Jade Demonic Images from Early China. vol. 10 Washington and Ann Arbor, 1975. fig. 14.
  • Elizabeth Childs-Johnson. Ritual and Power: Jades of Ancient China. Exh. cat. New York, April 22, 1988 - June 18, 1988. cat. 87, p. 23.
  • John Johnston, Chan Lai Pik. 5000 Years of Chinese Jade. Exh. cat. San Antonio, Texas, 2011. cat. 7, p. 42.
  • Wu Hung. Yizu zaoqi de yushi diaoke [A Group of Early Jade and Stone Carvings]., 1979. p. 69, fig. 9.
  • 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. 148.
  • Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kogyokuki sōsetsu. Tokyo, 1999. p. 150, fig. 5: 118.
  • 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. 301.
  • Minao Hayashi. Chūgoku kogyoku no kenkyū. Tokyo, 1991. p. 319, fig. 4: 92.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
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