Liu He, a grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, briefly ruled as emperor for 27 days before being deposed. He was later given the title Marquis of Haihun. His tomb has yielded a rich collection of gold, bronze, lacquerware, bamboo manuscripts and jade artifacts.
Researchers are now turning their attention to the material used to make the seal.
Xu Lin, a jade researcher at the Palace Museum, said microscopic observation showed that the seal has an oily luster and a felt-like interwoven fiber structure, while pale reddish natural skin can be seen on parts of the carved dragon — characteristics associated with Hotan jade pebble material.
Yu said the jade is hard and dense, with a fine and smooth texture, and retains traces of its natural surface. An unworked piece of Hotan jade pebble material was also unearthed from the tomb, providing further physical evidence of the material's use in the Central Plains during the Western Han Dynasty.
Experts said the seal offers a securely dated archaeological reference for studying the movement and use of high-quality Hotan jade in ancient China.
More than 100 scholars from China and overseas attended the symposium, discussing jade unearthed from the Marquis of Haihun tomb, Han Dynasty jade culture and scientific approaches to jade archaeology.
