Page 211 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

held up to the level of the nose, the left at chest openings that might have held an ornament, per-
level. Each sleeved arm ends in an oversize hand haps resembling those of the two individual heads
with a circular grip, suitable perhaps for grasping (cats. 66, 67).
a cylindrical and curved object (perhaps an ivory The surface of the body seems to represent a
3
tusk). three- or four-piece garment. A long skirt hangs
The thick neck supports a small head, the below the knees, a separate rear panel ends in tails.
features of which may be intended to represent a An upper garment covers the body from the waist
mask and a large headdress. The figure's facial fea- up but seems to have only a single (right) sleeve;
tures are of a piece with most of the individual this garment has a flap at the figure's right with its
bronze heads from the site: wide slanted brows, own patterning. Beneath this outer garment is an
almond-shaped eyes with a median ridge, a pro- inner jacket with long sleeves (and perhaps a mid-
nounced nose with cheek ridges extending from dle jacket with medium-length sleeves). A band
the nostrils, a straight, tightly closed mouth, and affixed behind the right armpit wraps over the
a square jaw. The large ears are squared and have shoulder, crosses the chest, and is affixed again just
holes (possibly for earrings) in the lobes. The band behind the left armpit. RT
that encircles the head resembles that found on
another bronze head, which also features paired 1 Excavated in 1986; reported: Sichuan 1989, 3-6.
2
loop motifs. Above the band are petal forms, but 2 3 1(2/2:90; see Sichuan 1989, 7.
Wang and
Wang 1993.
the center portion suggests an eyed mask or horns
to some observers. At the back of the head are two

21O B R O N Z E ACE CHIN A