CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

FIG. i. Detail of a painted
coffin from Tomb i at
Mawangdui, Changsha,
Hunan province; excavated
in 1972; Western Han
dynasty. After Hunan 1973,
i: fig. 22.
familiar in the art of the steppe area and are prevalent
in the felt designs and carved woodwork of
the frozen tombs at Pazyryk in southern Siberia. 6
The motif is also found on many items from the
Ordos and northwestern borders of the present-day
central Chinese heartland. Jenny So and Du Chengsheng
have noted the ways in which this subject
was introduced and assimilated in the traditional
crafts of the Yellow River, as well as areas farther
south. 7 Dragons attacked by tigers appear on the
upper surface of the interior coffin of the Marquis
of Dai's wife (fig. i); a horselike figure appears on
the coffin's side panel in a twisted pose known both
from Mongolia and southern Siberia.
In this jade ornament, the subject of animals in
combat has received an entirely Chinese treatment.
It is contained within the hi disk formula, typical of
the ancient jadecarving tradition, while the swirling
lines in which the creatures are rendered have more
in common with the lacquer painted designs of the
south than with the woodcarving and goldwork of
the north. Such designs were prevalent not only in
the tomb of the King of Nanyue but also in the fittings
found in the tombs built for the Liu kings of
eastern China, many of which contain gold plaques
embellished with motifs of animals in combat. 8 JR
1 Excavated in 1983 (D62); reported: Guangzhou 1991,1:190
-192, fig. 124.
2 See the archaeological report, Hubei 1989, 2: pi. 152:6.
3 Discussed and illustrated in Pruch 1998, 258.
4 Anhui 1982^ 47-60.
5 See Xinjiang 1981,18-22, pi. 5:3.
6 Compare Rudenko 1970.
7 So 1980; Du 1993.
8 Rawson 19983, 80 - 94, especially 88.
419 | TOMB OF THE KING OF NANYUE