A PALE CELADON JADE ‘TAOTIE’ ORNAMENT

LATE SHANG DYNASTY, C. 1300-1100 BC

Details

A PALE CELADON JADE ‘TAOTIE’ ORNAMENT
LATE SHANG DYNASTY, C. 1300-1100 BC
The ornament has a slender tapering form with a rectangular cross-section, carved in relief on both sides with a stylised taotie mask with curled horns below the waisted shaft. The stone has a pale sage green colour with russet inclusions of varying tones.
7 1/8 in. (18.2 cm.) long, box

Provenance

Acquired in Macau in 1988

Lot Essay

A jade ornament (14.8 cm. long) of nearly identical shape and carved with a leiwen motif below the shaft was excavated at Yinxu in Anyang, Henan province, now in the Institute of History and Philology, Taipei, see Gems of Yinxu: Catalogue of Selected Artifacts from Anyang in the Institute of History and Philology, Taipei, 2009, p. 221, no. 210.

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