An unusual agate 'taotie' carving


The banded agate with natural 'eyes' and 'nose' forming an archaistic taotie mask on each side, box. 5.2cm (2in) long (2).
|瑪瑙隨形天然饕餮紋飾件Provenance:Durwin Tang Collection來源：鄧德雍收藏The use of banded agate was particularly popular during the Warring States period to Han dynasty, with resurgence during the Tang, Song dynasty and the Yongzheng reign and onwards during the Qing dynasty; see for example an agate earring pendant, Eastern Han dynasty, excavated from a tomb at Tushan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China: Jiangsu, Shanghai, Beijing, 2005, p.150.戰國至漢代，隨身攜帶之瑪瑙飾品十分流行，至唐宋又興此習，而雍正一朝則更將瑪瑙往「往秀氣裡收拾」、「往薄裡磨做」。江蘇徐州塗山出土一件東漢天然瑪瑙耳飾可作參考，現藏南京博物館，見《中国出土玉器全集》，江蘇、上海卷，北京，2005年，頁150。