Page 435 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Three gilt bronze fittings for a screen

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a. Animal mask: height 55.5 (21 A)
b. Pan-long: height 33.5 (13 Vs), width 27.8 (io7 8)
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c. Crouching figure: height 31.5 (i2 / 8), width 15.8 (6'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

The remains of a lacquer screen were found against
the eastern wall of the tomb's main chamber. Com-
posed of four panels and a double-door (fig. i), the
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screen was ornamented with bronze fittings, three
of which are exhibited here. Three pairs of fittings
supported the bottom: coiled horned beasts (pan-
long) at the edges of the outer screens, small Atlas-
like crouching figures devouring snakes at the
screen joints, and, on either side of the door, ab-
stract serpentlike bronzes.
The top of the assemblage was mounted with
three animal heads with scroll-like bodies, two on
the outer screens and one at the center. Beneath
a straight nose, gaping jaws display teeth and large
fangs, and eyes bulge from a rounded face. Hornlike

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