Page 190 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China
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Bronze two-sided mask The ever-increasing number of archaeologically
recovered objects is steadily eroding many of the
7
Height 53 (2O /s), width 38.5 (15 Vs), weight 4.1 (9) simple facts that once constituted our understand-
Late Shang Period (c. 1200-1050 BCE) ing of the Chinese Bronze Age. It has been a com-
From Dayangzhou, Xin'gan, Jiangxi Province
monplace, for example, that human imagery played
Jiangxi Provincial Museum, Nanchang only a minor role in the period, with no significant
tradition of portraiture or other human sculpture.
A recent survey of artifacts from the Shang and
Western Zhou periods, however, compiled dozens of
189 | TOM B AT D A Y A N C Z H O U , X I N ' G A N
