the elongated shaft with a waisted outline accentuated with flaring upper and lower edges, the convex side divided into four registers enclosing taotie masks above a pendent cicada blade border, the carved design extending onto the gently concave reverse, traces of red pigment.

Exhibited: The Arts of China: A Retrospective, C.W. Post Center, Long Island University, Greenvale, New York,  1977, p. 22, no. 10.

Note: For other examples of rare Shang bone carvings with similar taotie decoration, see two fragments from the collection of Edward T. Chow, sold in these rooms, 24th November 2014, lot 1234, and included in the exhibition Early Chinese art from private collections, Eskenazi Ltd., London, 2016, cat. no. 2.

Sotheby's. Curiosity IV. Hong Kong, 02 Apr 2018, 10:30 AM