CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

The second ring is also an unusual type, composed
of an openwork design of four creatures,
two of which are conventional dragons with long,
pointed jaws and wings (or winglike plumes) that
emerge from behind their ears. The heads of the
two other (apparently winged) creatures resemble
those of feline dragons, but the composition of
their bodies overrides any suggestion of anatomical
accuracy. It is likely that both these rings were
carved in the Chu kingdom or copied from pieces
from that area. A similar ring was found in Xuzhou,
the capital of the Chu kingdom during the Han
period. 2
The form of the dancing figure (represented
three-dimensionally in another such figure from
the tomb [cat. 146]) is suggested by slight rounding
of an otherwise flat surface. She has round eyes and
a small nose in relief; the mouth is indicated by a
slit. She holds her right arm above her head, behind
which the sleeve curls upward. Her left arm is drawn
across her body, which bends to the right, and
the long sleeve appears to cross over an elaborate
bodice to her skirt. The small scroll above her head
appears to be some sort of ornament. In contrast
with the rings and the dancer, the remaining elements
of the pectoral are conventional carvings.
Arc-shaped pendants are familiar from many tombs
of the Warring States period, and beads were commonly
used as ornaments during earlier periods. JR
1 Excavated in 1983; reported: Guangzhou 1991,1:242-245,
fig. 164.
2 See Xuzhou 1984, fig. 47:2.
424 | EARLY IMPERIAL CHINA