| early chinese |
 Bi with Animal mask border (photo by Telyfoto Inc.) This large jade bi is carved with incised lines forming a hexagonal pattern, bordered with a band of entwined abstracted animal masks. Incised on the hexagonal platforms formed by the grooved lines is a spiral thought to represent sprouting millet, or a cloud motif. The overall flat surfaces are highly polished reflecting the light, while the dragon border is carved in soft slightly rounded relief, outlined by sharp incised lines. The abstracted bovine animal heads are seen frontally, forming toa-tei masks, flanked by snake volutes entwined, four such masks, one for each direction. Such Bi are found in the tombs of kings, arrayed on the body in a protective pattern. Such carved ones are rare, many examples of the plain simple ones have been found. The jade here has altered, creating a mottled uneven color, with some slight stains of earth burial, with some areas of unchanged green jade color remaining.
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