Jade Ornaments On A Lacquerware Zun Unearthed From Liu He’s Tomb

There are 10 jade ornaments and one round lacquerware in the Tomb of the Haiwuhou Liuhe.They are accessories or inlays of the lacquerware.This article refers to similar artifacts unearthed from other sites and restores this lacquer to a lacquer Zun inlaid with jade.Jade ornaments have different inlay methods due to their different functions.Among them,accessories such as the phoenix-shaped stone cover button on the top and the chi-shaped stone button seat of the copper ring button adopt a mortise and tenon structure,and the animal-shaped stone inlay on the surface of the body,The double wolf hunting pig stone inlays and the animal face jade pieces that form the door handle adopt bonding techniques.The development of jade accessories coincides with the development of utensils shapes.The phoenix-shaped cover button is culturally derived from the original bird totem worship,and its shape originated in Shang Dynasty and formed in the Spring and Autumn Period.The first animal face can be traced back to the face of gods,humans and beasts in the late Neolithic period.After the development of the Xia and Shang dynasties,the Western Zhou Dynasty finally took shape.The door handle made of jade only appears in the tombs of the Western Han Dynasty emperors,kings,and princes,indicating significance.The jade ornaments have similar cultural connotations and different cultural sources.The image of the beast-shaped stone inlay is Fangxiangshi,which can be traced back to the witchcraft tradition of Chu,used to expel epidemics and ghosts.The double-wolf pig-hunting stone inlay is made locally,and the ornamentation draws on the animal fighting pattern in the northern grasslands to pray for wellbeing.This has something to do with the prevailing social atmosphere of Chenwei culture at that time and Liu He’s unique life experience.It also reflects the frequent cultural exchanges between the Central Plains,grasslands and Dian cultures at that time.