A jade seal that once helped archaeologists identify the owner of a major Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) tomb in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, is now offering new clues about when prized jade from today's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region reached China's Central Plains.
The personal seal of Liu He, the first Marquis of Haihun, located in Nanchang, is the earliest, most clearly dated and best-preserved specimen of Xinjiang Hotan jade pebble material unearthed through scientific archaeological excavation, according to Yu Ming, deputy director and secretary-general of the Jade Specialized Committee of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics.
"This is the earliest, most clearly dated and best-preserved specimen of Xinjiang Hotan jade pebble material discovered through scientific archaeology," Yu said at the International Symposium on Haihun Archaeology and Han Dynasty Jade in Nanchang.
Yu said the finding provides important archaeological evidence for when high-quality Hotan jade pebble material, known in Chinese as ziliao, reached the Central Plains.
Topped with a chi-dragon-shaped knob and inscribed with the characters "Liu He", the seal was found near the waist of Liu He's remains inside the main coffin. As his personal seal, it provided direct evidence confirming the tomb owner's identity.
