Bronze Face Masks

Sanxingdui Museum

These face masks, when wrapped around a post, would look much the same as the full heads seen previously. (They are called "masks" only because of their shape; they were not worn by people.) The mask on the left is displayed so that its inside is visible. Twenty masks like these were found at the site; they are life-size or larger. One exceptionally large mask was 40cm (15in, two times normal size) high, and another one would have been a colossal 80cm high but was too fragmentary to be reconstructed.

It is not known why some bronzes were cast as face masks only, and others as full heads; the same kind of face appears on both. The masks would have been easier to cast, so practical considerations may be part of the reason.