Western Han dynasty/White jade
White jade pendant with a chi-tiger motif
A Western Han white jade pendant with an openwork chi tiger inside a circular frame, surmounted by scrolls and a leaf-shaped suspension opening. Excavated from Tomb 2 at Dabaotai, Beijing.
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
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- Name
- White jade pendant with a chi-tiger motif
- Period
- Western Han dynasty
- Material
- White jade
- Dimensions
- Length approx. 8.9 cm; thickness 0.5 cm
- Collection
- Beijing Archaeological Site Museum (Dabaotai Site Museum)
- Findspot
- Tomb 2, Western Han tombs of the Guangyang royal family at Dabaotai, Beijing
- Text by
- 黄松涛（松松發文物君） / Huang Songtao
- Photography
- 黄松涛（松松發文物君） / Huang Songtao
- Photography equipment
- Hasselblad X2D 100C · XCD 4/45P
Description
This Western Han pendant is carved from white jade as a thin, broadly circular plaque. An openwork chi tiger fills the circular frame, its face turned towards the viewer, its body curved, its limbs flexed and extended, and its tail ending in a curl. Incised lines define the contours and details of the body. Two concentric incised lines run around the frame, with paired curved motifs between them. Symmetrical cloud-like scrolls rise above the frame, beneath a leaf-shaped suspension opening.
The pendant measures approximately 8.9 cm in length and 0.5 cm in thickness and has been reassembled from fragments. It was excavated from Tomb 2 of the Western Han tombs of the Guangyang royal family at Dabaotai, Beijing. The tomb occupant’s skeletal remains were identified as those of a woman aged approximately twenty to thirty. The pendant is held by the Beijing Archaeological Site Museum (Dabaotai Site Museum).
References
- Beijing Dabaotai Western Han Tomb Museum (北京市大葆台西汉墓博物馆), ed. Cultural Relics from the Dabaotai Western Han Mausoleum (大葆台汉墓文物). Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe (文物出版社), June 2015.
Published