Tomb Treasures

This stunning Chinese art book presents almost a hundred recently unearthed objects that offer a glimpse into the extraordinary wealth and artistic accomplishments of elite society during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE). These exquisite treasures are from newly discovered sites in the Jiangsu region of China and are made of gold, silver, jade, bronze, pottery, lacquer, and other refined materials.

Masterworks include a full-length jade suit sewn with gold threads, an oversized coffin shrouded in jade, and a complete set of functional bronze bells. The book's texts explore a number of ideas about the lives and deaths of Western Han royalty.


About the Author:
Jay Xu is Executive Director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. He is the first Chinese American director at a major US art museum and first Asian American museum director elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Asian Art Museum—Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture is a public institution whose mission is to lead a diverse global audience in discovering the unique material, aesthetic, and intellectual achievements of Asian art and culture.