CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

only surface detail — a decoration of intaglio curls.
An open tube at the top of the head may have
served as a socket, but its diameter is far larger
than would be required to hold a plume or similar
ornament.
Several writers have pointed to a find of
nearly two dozen small bronze masks in southern
Shaanxi province (the northern periphery of the
Upper Yangzi macroregion) as the closest parallel
to the Dayangzhou example. 3 These masks are much
smaller, however — about 15-20 centimeters in
length — and were most likely affixed to a surface,
such as a shield. The differences notwithstanding,
their design is similar: round eyes that bulge from
round sockets, large noses with open nostrils,
squared teeth in open mouths, and flat, squared
ears. Although related images are known, most
human faces in the Shang period feature eyes set
into sockets with pointed canthi. Full lips are more
common than teeth. Another relevant comparison
is the splayed figure on the sides of a bronze drum
said to come from the south and now in the Sumitomo
Collection, Kyoto. 4 The shape of the head,
most of its features, and especially the horns are
similar to the Dayangzhou mask. Had the mask
been mounted on a torso, the assemblage may have
resembled the figure depicted on the drum. RT
examples of anthropomorphic images — in bronze
and jade; bodies, heads, and faces; large freestanding
works as well as miniatures. 1 The many masks
and heads from the Sanxingdui pits (cats. 65-75),
moreover, have significantly increased the total
number of examples, and the importance of human
imagery can no longer be downplayed.
This double mask 2 evidently was fitted into a
stand (or perhaps a torso) at its square stem. The
head itself was cast in two parts: the top half from
the ears upward was joined to the lower portion to
create an enclosed form with perforations at eyes
and mouth. Flat ears extend from each side of the
face, as do large right-angled horns bearing the
1 Xu 19963,334-352.
2 Excavated in 1989 (XDM: 67); reported: Jiangxi 1997,131.
3 The find was at Chenggu, Shaanxi province; see Tang
1980 and Li 1998!}. The small masks are illustrated in
Shaanxi 1979C, no. 116.
4 Li Xueqin 1985, no. 129.
190 BRONZE ACE CHINA