taotie

plural taoties · alternative tao-tieh

1. A motif depicting a gluttonous ogre, commonly found on Chinese ritual bronze vessels from the Shang and Zhou Dynasty.

   The pot in figure 49 is very high-fired stoneware with a gray body burnt brown on the exterior where exposed to the flame. It has large t’ao t’ieh masks on the handles and a shape which resembles that of the bronze hsien.

   [1964, Sherman E. Lee, “Chinese Art of the Shang and Chou Dynasties”, in A History of Far Eastern Art, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 49, column 1