Bronze pole top decoration from 12th to 11th century BC
This bronze ware is an ancient Chinese pole top decoration, featuring a combination of four masks on its pointed tip. It was originally decorated at the end of a pole. A powerful taotie (composite animal) mask appears on one side of the top, with a downward facing C-shaped angle. The monster's face formed a mask on the human head; It has a wide nose typical of early masks. On the other side, a ram's head, with its horns pointing downwards, was biting a head resembling a taupe. This artifact can be traced back to the 12th to 11th centuries BC and is now housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States.