CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

A pair of clawed feet, also represented by winding
ribbons, extends from beneath the jaws. Two human
faces, rendered in profile and wearing feather headdresses,
flank the central image, while ribbons and
spirals interweave to create an intricate network
that links the monster and human faces. Fluent engraved
lines lend a tactile quality to the lustrous
surface.
Among numerous jade plaques excavated over
the past twenty years, those from Fanshan and Yaoshan
in northern Zhejiang province are the most
ornate. 2 No two examples bear identical designs,
and it may be that their distinctiveness served to
define the individuality of their owner. The context
and function of these plaques are still unknown.
The plaques are characteristically worked down to
a stepped edge at the bottom and pierced with a
row of small holes, perhaps to attach the plaque to
a piece of garment or an object made of perishable
material. They may also have been components of
a larger assemblage such as headgear, an interpretation
suggested by the discovery of plaques among
beads and pendants in the Fanshan and Yaoshan
tombs. 3 Given the diverse shapes of Liangzhu jades,
a large variety of combinations can be made by
arranging the trapezoidal plaques with various
beads, pendants, and fittings.
The second plaque (b) 4 is precisely symmetrical
and consistent in thickness. Exact lines and
sharp edges delineate its contour, testimony to the
craftsman's skillful and assured hands. Amid interlaced
ribbons and spirals, a monster face emerges
— with large circular eyes, a broad nose, and a
wide-open mouth with protruding tusks, all executed
in fine engraved lines. As in earlier examples,
the lines are formed of repeated short cuts, but
here more finely and fluently executed. Above the
monster face, an oval opening has been cut with
great precision; four small holes are drilled at regular
intervals along the stepped lower edge. The
surface of the plaque is finished to a soft gloss.
This plaque is an excellent example of Middle
Liangzhu jades, which are characterized by their
exact and fluent lines, precise cuts, smoothly polished
surfaces, and, above all, intricate surface
decoration. Several theories have been proposed to
explain the remarkable advances in carving technology
that these middle-period plaques display. A
plausible hypothesis suggests that Liangzhu craftsmen
developed a heating process to soften the
surface of jade, and that the creamy white color of
Middle Liangzhu jades is not the result of burial but
rather of heating the stone to more than 900 degrees
Celcius (a temperature achievable in pottery
kilns of the period). 5 A simulation test found that
while the composition and structure of the jade
remains constant after heating, its specific gravity
and hardness are reduced — the latter by three to
four degrees on the Mohs scale. This significant
reduction in the stone's hardness would have facilitated
carving to a great extent, improving the shaping
process as well as permitting the extensive use
of incised scrollwork, zs
1 Excavated in 1986 (M 16:4). No complete reports have yet
been published on these excavations; only two brief
reports (on major tombs and significant objects) have so
far appeared. See Zheijiang 19883,1-31. This jade is not
included in the report.
2 Zhejiang 19883,19 -21, figs. 31, 35, 36, 39 - 44; Zhejiang
I988b, 40 - 43, figs. 20, 24. for more detailed photographic
reproductions, see Zhejiang 1989, pis. 112,115,120,121,122.
3 Zhejiang 19883,19 - 21,fig.4; Zhejisng i988b, 40 -43,
figs. 2, 25.
4 Excavated in 1987 (M 11:86); reported: Zheijiang 19883,
20-21.
5 Wen 3nd Jing 1992, 266.
127 I LIANCZHU CULTURE