Page 424 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Jade pei pectoral
3
Length approximately 45 (17 A)
Western Han Dynasty, second century BCE
From the tomb of the King of Nanyue at Xianggang,
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
The Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the
Nanyue King, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

1
This pectoral is one of twelve such sets from the
tomb of the King of Nanyue; found near the coffin
of "the Lady of the Right," it presumably belonged
to her or to another of the king's concubines. The
elite of the Late Western Zhou period used strings
of beads and jades as ornaments, suspended from
the neck as pectorals or hung from the waist as
pendants (although evidence of their continuous
use from the eighth century to the third century
BCE is lacking). A pendant consisting of a ring and
an arc-shaped pendant (huang) strung on a tasseled
cord hangs from the waist of the small jade figure
of a dancer that forms part of this pectoral, and
similar pendants appear on other dancing figures.
Various forms of jade ornament were current, but
each area seems to have employed its own variety.
The ornaments from the King of Nanuye's tomb,
however, are complex and individualized assem-
blages; it is uncertain whether ornaments such
as these would have been used in life.
The pectoral consists of two carved openwork
rings, the figure of a dancer, two huang, and two
tube-shaped beads. The elements would have been
strung together, probably with silken cord.
The uppermost ring is composed of three
dragonlike creatures, with bodies suggestive of
cloud shapes weaving through a ropelike strand
that recalls the tail of the dragon in cat. 141.
Their eyes are outlined with fine ridges; one of
the creatures displays his fangs in an open jaw,
while the two others clamp their jaws on part of
the jade design. The composition of the ring is
highly unusual — perhaps experimentally incorpo-
rating design elements originally developed for
other purposes. Few such pieces survive.

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