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SHANG DYNASTY (CIRCA 1600-1100 BC)
Details
TWO RARE EARLY MAMMOTH TUSK AND BONE CARVINGS
SHANG DYNASTY (CIRCA 1600-1100 BC)
One is a fitting carved from a woolly mammoth tusk in the shape of a dragon shown in profile. The body is deeply carved on both sides with shield-shaped scales and the neck arches over so that the head faces downwards above a rectangular cavity carved into the front edge below the head. The other is a long spatula-like bone implement deeply carved on the convex side with four registers of demi-taotie masks above a cicada blade band. The same decoration is lightly carved on the reverse. There are traces of cinnabar or red pigment.
5 1/8 and approx. 11¾ in. (13 and 19.8 cm.) long (2)
SHANG DYNASTY (CIRCA 1600-1100 BC)
One is a fitting carved from a woolly mammoth tusk in the shape of a dragon shown in profile. The body is deeply carved on both sides with shield-shaped scales and the neck arches over so that the head faces downwards above a rectangular cavity carved into the front edge below the head. The other is a long spatula-like bone implement deeply carved on the convex side with four registers of demi-taotie masks above a cicada blade band. The same decoration is lightly carved on the reverse. There are traces of cinnabar or red pigment.
5 1/8 and approx. 11¾ in. (13 and 19.8 cm.) long (2)
Provenance
Raymond A. Bidwell (1876-1954) Collection.
The Springfield Museums, Springfield, Massachusetts, accessioned in 1962.
The Springfield Museums, Springfield, Massachusetts, accessioned in 1962.
Literature
Both: The Raymond A. Bidwell Collection of Chinese Bronzes and Ceramics, Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1965, pp. 30-31.
Bone implement: R. Spelman, The Arts of China, C.W. Post Center, Greenvale, New York, 1977, p. 22, no. 10.
Bone implement: R. Spelman, The Arts of China, C.W. Post Center, Greenvale, New York, 1977, p. 22, no. 10.
Exhibited
Bone implement: C.W. Post Center, Long Island University, Greenvale, New York, The Arts of China, 4 February - 27 March 1977, p. 22, no. 10.
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