The Han Empire and the Hellenistic World: Prestige Gold and the Exotic Horse
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry Vol. 20, No 3, (2020), pp. 175-198 Open Access. Online & Print. www.maajournal.com DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4016080 THE HAN EMPIRE AND THE HELLENISTIC WORLD: PRESTIGE GOLD AND THE EXOTIC HORSE Yan Liu Northwestern Polytechnical University, Youyi West Road no.127, Xi’an, Shaanxi ([email protected]) Received: 08/08/2020 Accepted: 01/09/2020 ABSTRACT With an increasing demand for luxury gold during the Han period (206 BCE-220 CE), exotic techniques and materials were used to create elite objects fashioned in styles that reflected contact with foreign lands. Here a group of gold artefacts recently excavated from the royal Western Han tombs in central China, is discussed, with a focus on the decorative techniques of hoof-shaped gold and other artefacts. In previous studies these objects were considered to be either emblems of immortality in Chinese tradition or clan symbols of the Xiongnu people. Drawing from archaeological record and epigraphic evidence, it is argued that the filigree work from the royal Western Han tombs can be attributed to the influence of Hellenistic art. The portable XRF analysis shows that the Han period filigree works were made of refined gold, while microscopic (optical and scanning electron microscopy) examination indicates that the twisted wire of the Dalian dragon buckle was produced with strip-twisting technique that was very common in the Hellenistic jewellery. The interdiscipli- nary study of prestige gold provided a new interpretive framework for understanding trans-cultural contact between Han China and the Hellenistic world. The contextual analysis of the gold artefacts with foreign fea- tures presented in the current paper shows that the quest for exotica along with the desire for “heavenly horses” among the ruling elites acted as the driving force that led to an unprecedented extent of imperial expansion of the Han court in Central Asia, as well as the establishment of a vast trading network during the first century BCE. KEYWORDS: Classical Age, Han China, Hellenistic, Prestige Gold, Filigree, Heavenly Horse, Exotic, Central Asia Copyright: © 2020. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 176 Y. LIU 1. INTRODUCTION corn and a “heavenly” horse. Centuries later, it tran- spired that the story about the hoof-shaped gold and “The heavenly horses have arrived from the heavenly horses was not merely legend. During 2011 Western frontier, and 2020, a royal Western Han tomb in Nanchang, Having travelled 10,000 li, they arrive with Jiangxi province was excavated, and seventy-three great virtue, hoof-shaped gold ingots decorated with delicate fili- With loyal spirit, they defeat foreign nations, grees (Fig.1a) were found to be buried with the Mar- And crossing the floating sand dunes, all bar- quis of Haihun (92-59 BCE), who was the grandson of barians succumb in their wake”. Emperor Wu (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences -- “The Treatise on Music” (Shiji 24, 1178) 2020:4-16). These gold ingots were considered to be Wu Di, a charismatic and daring emperor of Han either emblems of immortality in the Chinese tradi- China (r. 157-87 BCE) who sent envoys westward to tion (Wei 2017:105-112) or clan symbols of the Ferghana, the steppe region of north central Eurasia Xiongnu people (Liu 2017:112-125). An elemental in 103 BCE, composed this poem with great joy upon analysis recently undertaken by Jiangxi Provincial In- obtaining horses of a notably superior breed from re- stitute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Peking gions in the far west. The “heavenly horses” from the University provides useful information about metal Ferghana Valley in Central Asia described in Sima composition. The portable XRF analysis shows that Qian’s Shiji, were well-known for their hardiness and the hoof-shaped gold artefacts were made of refined larger size. In the late second century BCE, the Han gold composed of a very high percentage of gold court sent two armies over 10,000 km and to fight a (Jiangxi 2020:41-62). Regrettably, however, a detailed war with the rulers of Ferghana and Bactria, in at- study of the manufacturing techniques applied is tempts to obtain them. In the end the Han’s army ob- lacking. This current research thus arose in response tained several thousand horses. In the late first cen- to the need to understand production techniques of tury BCE, as the Hanshu describes, Emperor Wu or- Han period gold work with unknown origins. Spe- dered that the name of gold coinage be changed to lin- cially, this paper discusses the interplay between peo- zhi (qilin-hoof) and mati (horse-hoof), to match auspi- ple and material objects in the production and con- cious omens he had seen in a vision: a white qilin uni- sumption of luxury gold during the imperial expan- sion of the Han court in Eurasia. Figure 1a. Hoof-shaped gold ingots and discs found in the outer chamber of the tomb of Marquis Haihun. After Chi- nese Academy of Social Sciences 2020: 6. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 20, No 3, (2020), pp. 175-198 THE HAN EMPIRE AND THE HELLENISTIC WORLD: PRESTIGE GOLD AND THE EXOTIC HORSE 177 Figure 1b. Gold belt buckle from Yanqi, Xinjiang. After National Museum of China 2002: 260. Filigree is a delicate decorative technique that in- work found in the tomb of Marquis Haihun in Nan- volves applying plain or decorative wires to a flat or chang and other elite tombs throughout the Han Em- rounded surface. The wire can be arranged in a pire. It first examines the technical and ornamental straight line, in twists, or in plaits. Such a technique details of filigree work in the Han period, and argues had a long tradition in Mesopotamia, Syria and Asia that the peculiar design of decorative wires may be Minor (Ogden 1982), with elaborate decorative wires attributed to the influence of Hellenistic art. Then, it having been found in Greek, Scythian and Etruscan discusses how foreign objects and technologies from gold jewellery, but rarely seen in central China before the far west were acquired and transformed into pres- the second century BCE. One of the subtlest uses of tige gold production, and incorporated into local be- decorative techniques in Han period gold work can liefs and ideas. In the last section, this study considers be seen on the famous gold belt buckle (Fig. 1b) from the roles of foreign envoys and exotic horses as im- Yanqi (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) (Han portant carriers of new ideas and technologies, in 1982). Here, the one large and seven small dragons light of archaeologically recovered texts. In particular, are composed of various large grains joined by wire the bamboo manuscripts discovered at a post house and set with turquoise, the remaining area being filled at Xuanquan in Gansu Province elucidate upon Han with tiny granules. Similar work in the joint use of fil- Chinese interaction with the Hellenized cities and igree and granulation technologies was also seen in states in Central Asia. the decorations of the gold polyhedral beads discov- 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE AND ered in the wealthy burials in Hunan, and in the coastal sites in Guangxi and Guangzhou dated to a ANALYSIS period spanning from the first century BCE to the fifth The necropolis of Marquis Haihun was uncovered century, connecting the exotic gold to maritime trade on Guodun Hill in Datangping Township, Nanchang with countries in South and West Asia (Sun 1999:69- City of Jiangxi province (Map 1). The cemetery of 80; Qi 2009:111-132). 40,000 square meters was excavated between 2011 Rather than seeing these objects as direct imports, and 2016 and found to comprise two main tombs, this paper aims to draw attention to the transfer of seven dependent burials, and one horse and chariot technology and ideas, especially that concerning lux- sacrificial pit. Tomb 1 belonged to Liu He (92-59 BCE), ury crafts such as gold artefacts which are often small, whose status was identified through a jade seal and a easily transportable, and may be used to express sta- few inscribed grave goods (Jiangxi 2016: 45-62). tus and prestige. In ancient societies, the ownership Namely, Liu He was a grandson of Emperor Wu, and of objects of distant origin was often associated with who was enthroned as emperor in 74 BCE but de- access to esoteric knowledge, which, in turn, con- posed after only 27 days. He became known as the ferred prestige and power (Helms 1988), some key Marquis of Haihun. Despite his misfortune, Liu He questions therefore arise what role did foreign mate- succeeded in bringing with him pieces of Han rials, techniques, and artistic styles play in the way imperial wealth from the capital and took these to the these objects acquired value in a new context? The grave; his tomb yielded more than ten thousand bur- study takes an interdisciplinary approach to ancient ial goods, many of which represented the finest crafts- gold-making technologies with a focus on the filigree manship and visual sophistication in Western Han Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 20, No 3, (2020), pp. 175-198 178 Y. LIU art. Amongst 478 gold artefacts, a group of 73 gold in- evidence of a variety of filigree work (Fig.2c). The gots in the shape of horse hooves was the most re- tomb occupant has been identified as Liu Xiu, the markable discovery (Fig. 2a). These hoof-shaped in- king of Huai in the Zhongshan kingdom (Hu 2018: 45- gots can be dated to the first century BCE, along with 62).