Asian Works of Art

Carved in beige to brown tones, adorned with two low-relief masks, featuring a round-eyed human figure positioned above an oval-eyed mythical beast, delicate incised lines circle the top of the pendant, in its fitted box; the jade jue of milky white tone with black and russet spots, with soft polish.
Note:
The Liangzhu jade “beast and sage mask” motif is one of the most iconic and enigmatic symbols of the Liangzhu culture (c. 3300–2300 BCE). Meticulously carved with astonishing precision, it typically depicts a stylized human face surmounted by a larger, mythical beast featuring prominent, round eyes. This complex iconography—variously interpreted by scholars as a deity, a mythological ancestor, or a shamanic mediator—lay at the heart of the culture’s ritual and spiritual life. As a hallmark of elite power and spiritual authority, the motif appears most prominently on cong (ritual jade tubes) and other ceremonial jades, embodying the sophisticated artistry and profound belief system of China’s earliest advanced jade-working civilization.
For comparison, see a renowned large Cong with similar finely carved motifs excavated in 1986 from Tomb M12 at Fanshan, Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province, in the collection of Liangzhu Museum. (M12:7)
良渚文化玉器上的「神人獸面紋」是最具代表性且充滿神秘色彩的標誌之一（約公元前3300–2300年）。它以驚人的精度細密雕琢，通常呈現為一抽象化的人面紋，上方覆以造型誇張、雙眼圓睜的神獸。這組複雜的圖像，學界或解讀為神祇、神話祖先，或視為巫覡溝通天人的媒介，是良渚文化儀式與精神生活的核心。作為權力與神性權威的標誌，此紋飾最常見於琮（玉質禮器管）及其他儀禮用玉之上，體現了中國最早高度發達的玉器文明所蘊含的精湛工藝與深厚信仰體系。
可資比較之例，一件帶有更精細雕刻紋飾、聞名遐邇的大玉琮(M12:7)，於1986年在浙江省餘杭縣反山M12號墓出土，現藏於良渚博物院。