Page 394 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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earlier face coverings. Liu Sheng was also supplied Gilt bronze headrest inlaid with jade
with an exceptionally attractive headrest (cat. 130).
7
Height 17.6 (6 /s), width 44.1 (i/Ys), depth 8.1 (3'A)
Jade shrouds were apparently made almost
Western Han Dynasty, second century BCE (c. 113)
exclusively for members of the Liu family, the family
From the tomb of Liu Sheng at Lingshan,
that supplied the rulers of the Han empire. Mem-
Mancheng, Hebei Province
bers of the Liu family were installed as kings in
small states, primarily on the eastern side of pre- Hebei Provincial Museum, Shijiazhuang
sent-day China. Their large rock-cut tombs, tun-
neled far into the sides of small hills, were an Gilt bronze headrests inlaid with jade appear to
extraordinary innovation. Generally, they consisted have been standard items in tombs prepared for
of a long access passage, branching into small and members of the Liu family and their close relatives
large chambers, and terminating in the main burial or associates. Three examples have been well pub-
1
room. Liu Sheng's had two major chambers: the lished: the one exhibited here, a comparable piece
front chamber, equipped with tents or canopies and from the tomb of Liu Shengs consort, Dou Wan,
vessels, may have been intended for feasting and and one from a tomb at Houloushan in Xuzhou.
ceremonial observances. The rear chamber was All three consist of a rectangular framework
lined with stone slabs. At right stood the coffin; in with three-dimensional animal heads at the two
the center, fine tables and utensils for eating and ends. The beasts flanking Liu Sheng's headrest have
drinking; and at left, a preparation area in which a piglike yet somewhat reptilian appearance; each
stood stone figures of attendants. Thus, the tomb head points sharply upward, with a curling snout,
held all the necessities for daily and ceremonial life. two bulging eyes, two small ears, and the traces of
While the artifacts suggest an afterlife of feasting some sort of horn or crest scrolling behind the ears.
and enjoyment, the jade shroud and the protective Small spirals inlaid with jade fragments lie behind
apparatus point to the anticipation of danger as the nostrils and between the lower part of the two
well. JR eyes. Eight jade plaques decorate the two long sides
of the headrest, two small plaques make up the two
1 Excavated in 1968 (M 1:5188); reported: Zhongguo 1980!}, short sides, and a large and highly complex carved
:
i 346-349-
2 Thorp i99ib, 26 - 39. jade fills the upper surface.
3 Wei 1935-1936, 7. Their diverse style suggests that some of the
4 Wu Hung 199/b, 147 -169.
5 See a Chu kingdom tomb at Shizishan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu jades were made for other purposes and reused to
province, reported and illustrated in Shizishan 1998, compose this headrest. The beautifully carved jade
4-33, color pi. i.
on the upper surface has the appearance of an
Eastern Zhou carving, although it likely dates from
the Han period. Two S-shaped dragons, embellished
with small incised scrolls, confront each other
around a central point and are paired with dragons
facing outward at the two ends; their long, curling
snouts echo those of the beasts that form the ends
of the headrest. The angular form of the dragons
is reminiscent of renderings in bronze, and the
small scrolls and hooks along their bodies suggest
the cloud patterns that developed out of such
2
motifs. The undulating surface and varied textures
of this jade section complement the fine scrolling
relief of the two upper gilt bronze edges.

393 | ROYAL TOMB S AT LINCSHA N