Ancient Jewellery Belonging To King Mo

Ancient Jewellery From The Tomb Of King Mo

I recently had a stop over for a few days in Guangzhou, in China. While I was there I made the time to visit the tomb of King Mo at the Museum of the Nanyue King of the western Han Dynasty to see some ancient jewellery. And the effort to get there was so worth it. The  tomb was only  discovered in 1983 so it had fortunately remained intact and untouched for over 2000 years. The tomb was the burial site of the second Nanyue King, Zhoa Mo who was entombed with 15 human sacrifices along side him. These human sacrifices included four of his four concubines, a musician, a chariot driver and nine of his personal servants. 

 The tomb itself was built into a hill and comprised of several rooms as well as the burial chamber. The Nanyue King Museum is located on the site of the original tomb on the Xiang Gang Hill.  On display at the museum was the impressive array of ancient jewellery and statues found in the tomb as well as all the other artefacts found buried with the king.   

The exhibits discovered in the tomb are well preserved and show how people lived all that time ago. There is a incredible collection of objects, or the remains of them, which were used in the everyday life of this early civilization. The exhibits include ancient jewellery, belt hooks, seals, domestic utensils, drinking vessels, ladles, weights, measuring devices bronze mirrors, ceremonial regalia, horticulture equipment, fish hooks, a chariot, weapons and hunting equipment, food and grains, medicines, animals, fish, birds  and the  funereal.  

 

It was awesome for me to see both the tomb and the exhibits and have the chance to see first hand how these people lived over 2000 years ago. The information is presented in both Chinese and English so it is easy to comprehend the significance of each item on display.

 

The discovery of this tomb gave archaeologists a precise snapshot of this civilisation, providing a real life view of the past. The contents echo life in the Western Han Dynasty as it related to politics, economy, and culture. It also provides an insight into how people lived and the type of tools, weapons, and other implements which were used by these people who inhabited China so many thousand of years ago. 

I have a intense interest in ancient jewellery, so I was particularly attracted to the displays of the ancient jewellery and belt hooks worn by the king, his concubines and his servants. The design of the ancient jewellery looked heavy and I expect would have been quite uncomfortable to wear. It was made out of jade, gold, bronze, pearls, and glass beads. The jade tended to be ornately carved discs which depicted the different animals, dragons and gods of the time. The four animals which featured regularly in the carvings were the dragon, the lion, turtle and a rooster intertwined with snakes.  It is likely that these symbolizes good luck and protection in the after life.

 The ancient jewellery buried with the king represented his status and rank and many elaborate pieces were found on or around his burial suit. Many pieces were also found on his senior concubine but not the other three concubines. The musician also wore a piece of the ancient jewellery but it was not as detailed as the kings. 

The belt hooks found in the tomb were possibly the forerunner of the belt buckle. They were also made of elaborately carved jade or bronze. Like the ancient jewellery they were also used as a status symbol with the king’s belt hooks being far more decorated than those of his servants.

Jade was the most important gemstone used in Han Dynasty. The corpse of the king found in the burial chamber was dressed in an elaborate burial suit made from small pieces of jade sewn together with red silk. The face was adorned with a jade face mask and jade discs of various sizes which had been elaborately carved were also found under the suit. 

The head lay on a ceramic pillow filled with pearls which were considered to be for good luck. Glass beads and mirrors discovered in the tomb are thought to be one of the first examples of glass having being produced in China from local materials. Five different colored good luck stones were also found in the tomb along with all the other objects.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Nanyue King Museum and fully recommend it if you ever get to Guangzhou. I learnt so much. But I am grateful that my necklaces I love to wear are not as cumbersome as those worn 2000 ears ago. It is interesting to see that belief in the good luck stones and amulets were as common 20000 years ago as they are today.