Page 427 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Jade dancing figure Her hair coiled in a side bun, the dancer holds
one arm behind her tilted head; the long, hanging
3
Height 3.5 (i / 8), width 3.5 (lYs), depth i.o (Ys)
sleeve of her robe falls behind her back. The other
Western Han Dynasty, second century BCE
arm hangs downward, and the sleeve sweeps out
From the tomb of the King of Nanyue at Xianggang,
in a generous hooked curve. The woman's body is
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
slightly twisted and sharply bent: she appears to
The Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the be rising from a kneeling position, her feet covered
Nanyue King, Guangzhou, Guandong Province by her robe. Vigorous grooving delineates the twist-
ing flow of her long sleeves, and the woman's belt,
1
This tiny carved figure, was found in the western her crossed bodice, and her features — eyes, nose,
chamber of the tomb, together with small gaming and mouth — are indicated by incised lines.
pieces, glass beads, and the remains of a lacquer Jade figures of dancing women with long sleeves
box. While the piercing suggests that the figure was seem to have been a speciality of the Western Han
used as a bead pendant assemblage, it was not period. The best known examples are a pair of
located near pieces that would have composed a dancers and two single figures in the Freer Gallery
pendant set and seems to have been kept inside a of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington. The
box with the other trinkets. Several other dancing paired figures have been reconstructed as compo-
figures were found in other chambers of the tomb. nents of a pendant set that includes two dragon

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