A silk fabric with what is called "longevity embroidery" patterns excavated from a 2,100-year-old tomb is on public display for the first time at a museum in Changsha City of Hunan Province in central China.
The fabric was unearthed from Mawangdui, a small hill in the eastern suburbs of Changsha, capital of Hunan. Mawangdui is home to the grand tombs of the Marquis of Dai during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), as well as his wife and son.
During the Han Dynasty, people typically leaned on a curved backrest for comfort when sitting on the ground. The exhibited fabric, originally serving as upholstery for a backrest, is the first of its kind found in China.
This fabric is well-preserved, retaining its shape with only a few small holes. It measures 152 cm in length and 106 cm in width. Embroidered on it is the most intact and representative standard longevity patterns from the early Han Dynasty.
"The patterns feature a bird design with a single crown, indicating that it is a phoenix. Surrounding the phoenix are various tassel-shaped clouds, resembling the tail of the longevity bird, which is why we call them 'longevity embroidery' patterns. The people of the Han Dynasty infused their crafts and daily items with these auspicious symbols, reflecting their aspirations for a better life at that time," said Yu Yanjiao, a researcher with the Hunan Provincial Museum.
This silk fabric not only showcases the exquisite and luxurious lifestyle of the Han nobility, but also highlights the advanced embroidery craftsmanship of the time.
"This fabric with 'longevity embroidery' patterns is likely the earliest and most intact backrest upholstery discovered in the history of Chinese archaeology, making it highly significant to research in this field. There are no historical records or archaeological data documenting backrest upholsteries, so the fabric fills a gap in this regard," Yu said.
The Mawangdui site grabbed international attention when researchers found a female corpse that showed no signs of decay when her coffin was opened in the early 1970s.
The Mawangdui excavation between 1972 and 1974 was one of the world's major archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
2,100-year-old silk fabric with fine embroidery patterns exhibited in Hunan
