T-shaped silk painting
Time: Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD)
Specification: 205 centimeters in length; 92 centimeters in width at the top
Excavation: No. 1 Tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan Province, in 1972
Collection place: Hunan Provincial Museum
It's a funeral flag or banner, which was considered capable of leading the dead to the Heaven. With fine patterns, fluid lines, and bright colors, this silk painting mirrors the painting style and artistic achievements of the early Western Han Dynasty.
On this silk banner is painting with three sections representing the Heaven, the Earth, and the Subterranean. Those who lived up in the Heaven are painted in the “Heaven” section, such as dragon with human head and snake body, Chang’e, the fairy who lived on the moon, and her pet Jade Rabbit. On the “Earth” section, the lady Xinzhui, the owner of the tomb, is flying up to the Heaven with her three maids, and her family members are holding a ritual to pray for a happy afterlife for Xinzhui. On the “Subterranean” section is painted with the legendary monsters living underground to safeguard the soul of the dead.
Bronze cash tree
Time: the Eastern Han Dynasty (25－220 AD)
Specification: 198 centimeters in height
Excavation: Mianyang, Sichuan Province, in 1990
Collection place: Mianyang Museum in Sichuan Province
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