H x W x D: 6.8 x 3.8 x 1.3 cm (2 11/16 x 1 1/2 x 1/2 in)
Culture:
Shijiahe culture, ca. 2500-ca. 2000 BCE Search this
Type:
Jewelry and Ornament
Origin:
Hubei province, Middle Yangzi valley, China
Date:
ca. 2500 - 2000 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
The semi-human face has a pronounced bulbous nose in relief; almond-shaped eyes with incised outlines; fangs pointing both up and down; mouth revealing two rows of teeth; tall ornamented headdress; mottled green jade with white marbling; multiple holes at the bottom of the face. (Condition: Roughly carved around back of suspension holes and on left side of mask; slight nicks in edges; traces of calcification.)
Provenance:
To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877–1959), Shanghai, China; London, England; Montreal, Canada; New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]
From 1963 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from the Bahr Collection in 1963 [2]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]
Notes:
[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.
[2] See no. 548: "Human face with projections above," on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.
[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
In Praise of Ancestors: Ritual Objects from China (September 28, 1987 to January 1, 1989)
