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Monday, 21 September 2009
Lady Dai tomb among richest finds in China’s history
Lady Dai was a Chinese nobleman’s wife in her mid-50s when she died of a heart attack. She was overweight, had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, liver disease, gallstones and her arteries were almost totally clogged.
Lady Dai tomb among richest finds in China’s history
AP 19 September 2009
Lady Dai was a Chinese nobleman’s wife in her mid-50s when she died of a heart attack. She was overweight, had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, liver disease, gallstones and her arteries were almost totally clogged.
She didn’t live the healthiest life but she left behind one of the most perfectly preserved bodies in history. She was buried about 2,100 years ago. Her tomb was found in the early 1970s on Mawangdui, a hill in Changsha, near the capital of Hunan Province in China. More than 1,400 equally well-preserved artifacts found around her were designed to help her in the afterlife.
‘The Han Dynasty is the foundation of Chinese culture,’ Susan Tai, curator of Asian Art for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, said. ‘We are looking at a tomb in Southern China from a very important cultural region that contributed some of the greatest literature and mythology and art to China.’
The museum will host ‘Noble Tombs at Mawangdui’ from Sept 19 to Dec 13. There are 68 items in the collection. Ninety per cent of those came from Lady Dai’s tomb because it was in such good condition.
Mawangdui was actually home to three tombs. Lady Dai’s husband, Li Cang, was the prime minister of Changsha. He died in 186 BC, 20 some years before his wife died. ‘His tomb was looted repeatedly in antiquity. There were no remains. All the treasures were gone. However, several coin-sized seals were found in the pit. They identified the tomb to be Li’s. They also helped identity his wife’s tomb,’ Ms Tai said.
The third grave, tucked slightly under Lady Dai’s, is believed to be that of one of the couple’s two sons, although some believe it was Li’s brother.
When Lady Dai’s tomb was first opened, there were gasps because there was no decay. Oxygen took an immediate toll, but even today, her body is well preserved at the Hunan Provincial Museum.
Modern day scientists are still working on ways to preserve bodies as well as Lady Dai’s, but they’ve found several reasons why it remained in such good shape. Her family wrapped her in 22 dresses of silk and hemp, bound her with nine silk ribbons and covered her face with a mask. All the clothes filled the coffin and it was perfectly sealed, keeping air out. There were inner and outer tombs, like nesting boxes. Nearly 20 gallons of an unknown liquid were found inside the coffin. A thick layer of white pastelike soil was put on the floor and the tomb was nearly 15 metres below the surface.
A T-shaped piece of silk with a painting of Lady Dai draped over her coffin is the earliest portraiture in Chinese painting, Ms Tai said. One part of the intricate painting shows Lady Dai dead, wrapped in cloth and surrounded by her descendants, food and drink. The centre of the painting shows her standing in profile and walking with a cane as if she is ascending into heaven.
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Lady Dai tomb among richest finds in China’s history
AP
19 September 2009
Lady Dai was a Chinese nobleman’s wife in her mid-50s when she died of a heart attack. She was overweight, had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, liver disease, gallstones and her arteries were almost totally clogged.
She didn’t live the healthiest life but she left behind one of the most perfectly preserved bodies in history. She was buried about 2,100 years ago. Her tomb was found in the early 1970s on Mawangdui, a hill in Changsha, near the capital of Hunan Province in China. More than 1,400 equally well-preserved artifacts found around her were designed to help her in the afterlife.
‘The Han Dynasty is the foundation of Chinese culture,’ Susan Tai, curator of Asian Art for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, said. ‘We are looking at a tomb in Southern China from a very important cultural region that contributed some of the greatest literature and mythology and art to China.’
The museum will host ‘Noble Tombs at Mawangdui’ from Sept 19 to Dec 13. There are 68 items in the collection. Ninety per cent of those came from Lady Dai’s tomb because it was in such good condition.
Mawangdui was actually home to three tombs. Lady Dai’s husband, Li Cang, was the prime minister of Changsha. He died in 186 BC, 20 some years before his wife died. ‘His tomb was looted repeatedly in antiquity. There were no remains. All the treasures were gone. However, several coin-sized seals were found in the pit. They identified the tomb to be Li’s. They also helped identity his wife’s tomb,’ Ms Tai said.
The third grave, tucked slightly under Lady Dai’s, is believed to be that of one of the couple’s two sons, although some believe it was Li’s brother.
When Lady Dai’s tomb was first opened, there were gasps because there was no decay. Oxygen took an immediate toll, but even today, her body is well preserved at the Hunan Provincial Museum.
Modern day scientists are still working on ways to preserve bodies as well as Lady Dai’s, but they’ve found several reasons why it remained in such good shape. Her family wrapped her in 22 dresses of silk and hemp, bound her with nine silk ribbons and covered her face with a mask. All the clothes filled the coffin and it was perfectly sealed, keeping air out. There were inner and outer tombs, like nesting boxes. Nearly 20 gallons of an unknown liquid were found inside the coffin. A thick layer of white pastelike soil was put on the floor and the tomb was nearly 15 metres below the surface.
A T-shaped piece of silk with a painting of Lady Dai draped over her coffin is the earliest portraiture in Chinese painting, Ms Tai said. One part of the intricate painting shows Lady Dai dead, wrapped in cloth and surrounded by her descendants, food and drink. The centre of the painting shows her standing in profile and walking with a cane as if she is ascending into heaven.
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