Cultural Relic: Jade Male-female Figurine

Copyright: A Journey into China’s Antiquity– Chinese History in Cultural Relics, Blossom Press

A light-gray standing sculpture, this jade figurine shows a male nude on one side and a female one on the other.

They are about 12.5 cm tall, 4.4 cm wide and 1 cm thick. According to records, they were probably made between the 14th century BC to the 11th century BC.

Carved in relief, it probably represents a deity. As a rule in Shang jade carving, the craftsman first cut rough, extremely shallow lines in intaglio, which were then worked on over and over again until they became smooth and graceful.

Carving lines in relief, especially low relief, in jade is much more difficult. The figurine in the picture exhibits late Shang craftsmen’s remarkable technical skill in jade carving.