CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

!57
Jade belt inlaid with gold, pearls, and
precious stones
Length approximately 150 (59)
Tang Dynasty, early seventh century CE
From the tomb of Dou Jiao, Nanliwang,
Xianyang, Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi Archaeological Institute, Xi'an
Houston and San Francisco only
This extraordinary set of belt ornaments was discovered
in a tomb on the site of the new international
airport at Xianyang, near Xi'an, in 1992. 1
The tomb was that of a cavalry general named Dou
Jiao, an elder brother of the Tang empress Taimu.
Though his name is not mentioned in Tang historical
records, the epitaph tablet found in Dou Jiao's
tomb identifies him as a relative by marriage of the
imperial family and records that in 618 — the year
in which the Tang dynasty was founded — he and
his father Dou Kang attacked and defeated Xue Ju
and his son Xue Ren'gao, who had established a
hegemony in the western part of the present-day
province of Shaanxi. Dou Jiao was active in further
campaigns in 620 and 621, and he died in 646. His
tomb also yielded an iron sword 84 centimeters
long, with a leather scabbard and a crystal fastening
carved in the shape of a little pig; and an unusually
large bronze mirror, 29 centimeters in
diameter. 2
Dou Jiao's imperial connections are a sufficient
explanation of the sumptuous appearance and
sophisticated workmanship of this belt. A magnificent
hinged and floriated pair of jade plaques
formed one end of the belt, and a jade buckle and
456 | EARLY IMPERIAL CHINA