Dear all,
This is not quite ethnographic arms but I thought it was just so amazing that it's worth a look. The San Xing Dui (三星堆, "Three Star Mound") exhibition From Sichuan, China, is here in Singapore, at the Asian Civilisations Museum.
Exhibits contain a number of bronze masks, animal sculptures, jade daggers and axes (which I realized I didn't take photos of. Duh!) from the Shu (蜀) people, dating back 3200 years. The Shu people had no written records of their own, and historians had to scour neighbouring civilisations for records/description of them, so much is steeped in mystery.
Some masks are life-sized while others are gigantic; the last mask measures 1.32m across. The unusual definition of the eyes, cheeks and mouth are really unique and beautiful. The strangest masks are those with protuding eyes and jumbo ears. It's speculated that the masks represent one of the Shu kings or his descendants, who are said to have very acute eye-sight (having 'perpendicular eyes', whatever that meant!?) and hearing.
The technology and artistry put into the construction of the masks must count amongst the most amazing of the ancient world.
http://www.acm.org.sg/pressroom/rele...ssReleaseID=11