Door knocker mask

This hollow zoomorphic mask, which was used as a door knocker, presumably in a funerary context, forms a pair with another mask. They both have large openings at the corners of the mouth, where a ring-shaped knocker was hung, and four small holes arranged in a cross on the profile, which were used to attach the object to its support. The differences between the two pieces consist essentially in the inclination of the horns and the number of points in the “beard”: the example shown here has flatter horns and seven points. The facial features of the mask are formed in relief, with applied elements, such as the large pronged horns branching out to either side from the forehead. These are very sinuous and sharp, and have short upper offshoots. The monster has large bulging eyes, thick eyebrows slanting downwards, pig ears, a wide, flat nose and a huge open mouth displaying square teeth. The round face is embellished by a pointed at the top of the head, perhaps a third horn, and seven similar tips arranged along the jaw. The horn and the tip under the chin, which are symmetrical, are both painted black. The eyebrows, eyes, lips and teeth are also highlighted in black. These central facial features stand out on a greyish background, partly due to the deterioration of the pigment in the centre of the mask. A shade of orange is predominant on the long horns and the six lateral points of the “beard”, as well as on the ears and around the entire edge of the object. The ears are outlined in traces of red. The mask’s apotropaic function is mediated by the sad, yet benevolent expression of the depicted creature.
A mask very similar to this one has only been seen in a sales catalogue (Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 05/14/1997, no. 462), and it has not yet been possible to establish the precise archaeological context of these pieces. Monsters with forked horns are found on metal door knockers, such as the pair from the Daming Palace in Xi’an and a piece found in a 10th-century tomb in Sichuan. Older metal masks suggest a link between the Tang pieces and Pushou artefacts from previous centuries. A glazed ceramic door knocker is preserved in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It was produced in Henan or Shaanxi during the first half of the 8th century and seems to be more evolved than the piece in question. A mask with horns but made differently has been reported in a tomb in Anyang from the Sui era.