Object: Ornament in the form of a mask (taotie) S1987.888

Classification: Jewelry and Ornament

Historical period(s): Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 11.3 × 7.6 × 0.6 cm (4 7/16 × 3 × 1/4 in)

Origin: China, probably Henan province, Anyang

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.888

: 獸面形飾
晚商安陽時期（公元前1250-1050年）
中國，疑似河南安陽市
軟玉
高11.3、寬7.6、厚0.6釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號: S1987.888

Provenance: To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai, China, London, England, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]

From 1959 to 1963
Edna H. Bahr (d. 1978), by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr

From 1963 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Edna H. Bahr 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 #546: "Triangular mask with cicada below green," 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.

Previous owner(s): Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)
Edna H. Bahr (1907-1986)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: Triangular mask with cicada below; green. (Mostly calcified; nicks in edges and nicks and pits on back; old paper labels adhering to back.)

The large, oval-shaped face is presented frontally, surmounted by a central symmetrical projection flanked by curving horns. A triangular pendant beneath the face is perforated, slightly off center. Pairs of incised lines define the facial features and the ornaments on the horns and triangular pendant.

Past label text: 1. In Praise of Ancestors, September 28, 1987–January 5, 1989; by Thomas Lawton (shown with S1987.837, S1987.513, S1987.865, S1987.622, S1987.874, S1987.880, and S1987.550; additional pendants shown in same case)

The double lines that define all of the decorative elements are characteristic of Shang 商 jades.

2. (Keith Wilson, Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

Ornament in the
form of a mask
(taotie)
Anyang period,
ca. 1250–1050 BCE

Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
S1987.888

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Jade pieces of this general type were found in Tomb 5 at Anyang 安陽, Henan 河南 province. See Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo 中國社會科學院考古研究所, Yinxu Fu Hao mu 殷墟婦好墓 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), pl. 225:3.

2. (Thomas Lawton, 1987) In Praise of Ancestors exhibition label text; moved to label field.

3. (Kelly Welch, September 21, 1993) Title/Subject changed from "Pendant (pei 佩)" to "Mask plaque." Format changed from "Pendant" to "Plaque."

4. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, August 22, 2008) Jewelry and Ornament added as secondary classification.

5. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, August 2, 2017) Tilte changed from "Mask plaque" to "Fitting in the form of a mask"; period one changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Shang dynasty"; period two added "Anyang period"; geography changed from "China" to "China, probably Henan province, Anyang"; date changed from "ca. 12th-11th century BCE" to "ca. 1300-1050 BCE"; medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)".

6. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, July 25, 2018) Title changed from "Fitting in the form of a mask" to "Ornament in the form of a mask"; added Chinese translation by Jingmin Zhang; added the following description, "Triangular mask with cicada below; green. (Mostly calcified; nicks in edges and nicks and pits on back; old paper labels adhering to back.) The large, oval-shaped face is presented frontally, surmounted by a central symmetrical projection flanked by curving horns. A triangular pendant beneath the face is perforated, slightly off center. Pairs of incised lines define the facial features and the ornaments on the horns and triangular pendant."
7. (YinYing Chen per Keith Wilson, February 13, 2023)
Change title from "Ornament in the form of a mask" to "Ornament in the form of a mask (taotie)."
Change date from "ca. 1300-ca. 1050 BCE" to "ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE."
Change date from "公元前1300-1050年" to "公元前1250-1050年" in the translation field.

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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Ornament in the form of a mask (taotie)

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