Category
Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue
- Jointly published by:
• The Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou
• The Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art
• The Woods Publishing Company - Edited by Peter Y. K. Lam
- 22.2 x 29.2cm
- Language: Chinese and English
- 1991, 304pp, 240 color plates and 248 b/w illustrations
- ISBN 962-321-023-X
- HK$1,500.00
In the development of jade carving in China, Han jades occupy an important position after the Neolithic and Shang/Zhou periods. The Western Han tomb of the King of Nanyue was discovered in Xianggang, Guangzhou in 1983. A total of more than two hundred pieces of jade have been unearthed. The jades include a great number of sword fittings, eleven pectorals, several jade utensils and a unique shroud with silk thread; the first set to have been found so far. The archaeological stratigraphy and inter-relationship of these groups of jades are well defined, and thus, they constitute the most coherent group of Han jades of immense academic and aesthetic importance.
All the jade items found from the tomb are illustrated in this catalogue, which also contains two introductory essays and a geological analysis report. The colour plates are accompanied by detailed descriptive entries and a useful concordance index.