Han Dynasty Imperial Tomb Jades

Michigan Oriental Art Society

Sunday, April 12, 2015

St John Hospital-Oakland Education Center, 27351 Dequindre Rd, Madison Heights (between 11 Mile and 12 Mile Rds)

Social Time at 1:30 pm, Meeting at 2:00 pm.

HAN DYNASTY IMPERIAL TOMB JADES 
Susan N. Erickson, Professor of Art History, 
University of Michigan Dearborn 

Excavations of ancient Chinese tombs dating as early as the Neolithic period provide ample evidence of the importance of surrounding the dead with objects made of jade created solely for placement in the grave.  The sense of there being a standard set of objects for those of highest status emerges in the Han dynasty as archaeologists have unearthed more and more examples.  The picture is complicated by the fact that no tombs of emperors have been excavated, but auxiliary graves and pits near imperial mausoleums and also tombs of kings of the Liu family in other areas of the empire have yielded compelling evidence. This presentation explores the types of jade, like pendant sets and “heart” shaped ornaments, often found with the well-known suits of jade, coverings made of tiny plaques linked together with gold or silver wire.   A joint burial of members of the Dou clan entombed during the reign of Wendi (Liu Heng, r. 180-157) in the eastern suburbs of Xi’an, reveals an early preference. During the early Han, the Dou clan is significant since Wendi’s most important consort was Dou Yifang who became the Empress Dou, mother of the future emperor Jingdi.  The rock-cut tombs of Liu kings in the Han homeland near Xuzhou provide examples of slightly later developments and also of the high-level of carving suggesting production in an imperial workshop.  Finally a well-preserved tomb in Guangzhou of a ruler of the Nan Yue kingdom is considered since it includes all of the types of jade noted above in quantities unknown at other sites.

Susan Erickson has taught Art History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn since 1991.  She teaches an introduction to Asian art and upper-division courses about Chinese and Japanese art.  Her publications have focused on tombs and objects recovered from burials from the Han dynasty (221 BCE-220 CE).  She was a contributor to China’s Early Empires: A Re-appraisal, edited by Michael Nylan and Michael Loewe, Cambridge University Press, 2010.  Her most recent essay, “Suspended Jade: Jade Pendant Sets from Western Han Tombs,” was published in Life and Afterlife in Han China, edited by James C.S. Lin, The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, 2014.