Large Chinese jade (nephrite) ceremonial piece, in the style of the Liangzhu period (3400-2250 BC), with carvings of faces. This nephrite piece is solid and has a pointed tip, and dpierced hole through its very top. The carvings around its edges look like eyes and may be related to the taotie (roughly "gluttonous ogre mask") motif, which were essentially symmetrical zoomorphic faces with no lower jaw, thought by scholars to be linked to religious ceremony and the afterlife. The nephrite has a beautiful brown-green color throughout with deeper green flecking. 20th century Size: 16.5" height, 1.5" width