CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

42
Painted pottery lei jar
Height 30 (n 5 A)
Early Bronze Age, Lower Xiajiadian Culture
(c. 2000-1500 BCE)
From Dadianzi, Aohanqi, Inner Mongolia
The Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Beijing
Lacking the spirited flamboyance of the designs
seen on some Dadianzi vessels and the disciplined
control of others, the painted decoration on this
vessel 1 has a wild and unruly aspect, and an importance
all its own. It is on this vessel that we encounter
one of the earliest known occurrences of
the taotie face which was to become the preeminent
image on bronze vessels during the Shang period
and into the early years of the Zhou. 2
Centered on the shoulder of the vessel above
the level of the ear-shaped lugs, the taotie is readily
identified by its two oval eyes, surmounted by curving
eyebrows. Beneath the nostrils, the double
lines of its bar-shaped mouth end at both sides in
C-shaped curls. Evenly spaced pairs of short vertical
lines indicate the teeth. The lower jaw, running
parallel to the mouth, is drawn up at the side into
reversing curls, which in turn touch the lines reach-
155 | TOMBS OF THE LOWER XIAJIADIAN CULTURE