CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

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Jade pendant in the shape of a
sheathed dagger
Length 33.6 (13%), width 5.1 (2)
Warring States Period (c. 433 BCE)
From Leigudun, Suixian, Hubei Province
Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan
This unique belt pendant 1 was found in the inner
coffin of the marquis, placed next to his waist;
it may have originally been attached to a belt of
organic material, now decomposed. The object is
composed of five thin jade slices approximately
0.5 centimeter thick, joined by metal clips to form
a gently curved profile. Unlike some composite
jades formed of movable parts joined by links, the
clips that join these pieces do not allow the parts
to swivel. The impression of silk weave visible on
the clips indicates that the piece was originally
in contact with silk. 2
The most elaborate part of the object is the
pommel, composed of two addorsed downwardfacing
dragons, whose foreheads and necks form
the outer profiles of the piece. Their bodies join
at the center in a broad U, and their claws form
the top of the pommel. Three perforations give
the impression of two eyes and a mouth joined to
a nose; fine incising and striations decorate the
object's surface.
The hilt is formed by a plain narrow section,
which widens to indicate the top of the scabbard.
The middle element of the assemblage, slightly
convex in cross section, has an integrally carved
hook on the back, possibly to attach the object to
a belt; the tongue projecting to the right may have
been intended to represent a sword-guard. 3 The
assemblage terminates in a flaring section that
anticipates jade scabbard chapes from the latter
part of the Warring States period. 4
This object raises intriguing (but as yet unanswerable)
questions about the symbolic role
of swords and daggers during the Eastern Zhou
period. Short swords had been introduced from
northwest regions during the Middle Western Zhou
period; by the Early Eastern Zhou period, they were
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