. . . also known as the Nam Viet kingdom, from which modern-day Viet Nam gets its name. The gold in this post comes from the tomb of the second Nanyue king, an at is about 2000 years old--much older than the one shown here. It was discovered during a construction project a little over 20 years ago, and, luckily, avoided being bulldozed.
Seals of the crown prince (above) and the right concubine are also gold. They were also interested in turtles.
Traditional imperial seals of the time were made of jade--that the king's was gold, and larger than usual, demonstrates that the local administrator overstepped his boundaries and declared himself king of a new kingom.
A big part of the proof of the autonomy of the place is the number of seals buried along with the king: seals of the king, the crown prince, and assorted other people. Their importance can be assessed from the material of the seal. That of the king, the seal he used as the crown prince, and that of the right concubine are solid gold. The others are gilded bronze.
Enlarged model of the king's seal.
The king's seal. Crappy angle because there are multiple planes of
glass with different orientations protecting the thing.
Seals of the crown prince (above) and the right concubine are also gold. They were also interested in turtles.
Traditional imperial seals of the time were made of jade--that the king's was gold, and larger than usual, demonstrates that the local administrator overstepped his boundaries and declared himself king of a new kingom.
Gilded seals of lesser concubines.
They say when a king dies, he has a lot of company. Fifteen sacrificial victims were found in this tomb, including concubines, cooks, guards, and at least one musician. Retirement planning was simpler in the old days.
The king was dressed in a suit of jade plates, sewn together by silk thread, and bore jewellery.
The jewellery is mostly jade, but had a few gold beads.
At this time, and throughout much of China's history, it was jade that was truly the kingly material. Consequently, there are many significant jade pieces in this (and other) tomb(s). But jade isn't really on our menu at the World Complex, so . . .
Jade dragon with a gold hook.
Jade phoenix plaque with gold fittings. The gold replaces the original (broken) links.
Gold foils were stitched to the silk cloth over the king's face.
Gold and silver garment hooks.
Gold ornaments on chessboard
Silver wash basin
Silver box
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