Western Han dynasty/Agate (chalcedony)
Orange-yellow agate ornament with grape-like patterns
A Western Han agate inlay for lacquerware, shaped as an irregular triangular plate with grape-like patterns. Excavated from Tomb 1 at Dabaotai, Beijing; now in Beijing Archaeological Site Museum.
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
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- Name
- Orange-yellow agate ornament with grape-like patterns
- Period
- Western Han dynasty
- Material
- Agate (chalcedony)
- Collection
- Beijing Archaeological Site Museum (Beijing Dabaotai Site Museum)
- Findspot
- Tomb 1, 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
A Western Han agate ornament of chalcedony, used as an inlay for lacquerware. It is an irregular triangular plate with trimmed edges and a polished surface. Translucent overall, it is predominantly orange-yellow and honey-yellow, with greyish-white and milky-white areas around the edges and patches of reddish brown. The colours vary in intensity. The polished surface shows interconnected circular spots, clusters and halo-like patterns of different sizes. Some spots have greyish-brown centres surrounded by milky-white bands; irregular bands and fine boundaries are also visible in places. The grape-like and globular structure probably formed naturally through successive deposition of chalcedonic silica, rather than as an artificial decorative pattern.
Excavated from Tomb 1 of the Western Han tombs of the Guangyang royal family at Dabaotai, Beijing. It is now held by Beijing Archaeological Site Museum (Beijing Dabaotai Site Museum).
References
- Dabaotai Han Tombs Excavation Team. 《北京大葆台汉墓》 (The Han Tombs at Dabaotai, Beijing). Wenwu Press, December 1989.
Published