Bronze Human Head, List#10

Narrator

The twisted headpiece on this bronze makes it unlike any other artifact from the pits. In other Chinese cultures, hats have often distinguished an official's rank, but we don't know if this decoration serves the same function. And yet, the headdress seems important, even if its meaning is unknown.

Many of the heads found at Sanxingdui have ears like this figure's, with perforations that suggest they may have once held some kind of earrings or other ornamentation.

One certainty is that these pieces were originally painted. Traces of lacquer reveal that the eyes were colored black and the lips red. This provides a rare connection to the rest of China. The people of the Central Plain also painted their bronze pieces.

The eyes on all the heads, and especially this one, are piercing. It's impossible not to be at least a little intimidated ... Were they meant to strike fear into the viewer?

Suzanne Cahill

We don't know what they looked like when they were originally installed. And one of the guesses is that they were installed so that the viewer would be looking up at them, and they would be looking down at the viewer. They certainly look like they have a downward gaze. And that would have been very imposing, and would have impressed and perhaps even frightened the viewer who was looking at them.