Head Fragment
Unknown Artist
c. 900–300 BCE
Medium
jadeite
Dimensions
7.4 × 6.2 × 5 cm
Classification
Jade
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1961.31
About this artwork
This sensual head fragment may come from a seated or standing figure like those shown nearby, though much larger. The carving is exceptionally fine, from the slight under-eye puffiness to the delineation of the fleshy lips and the teeth. The profile face of supernatural being is incised just in front of each ear, perhaps indicating that the subject had special power.