Art between life and death in the dynasty of Han

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Art between life and death in the dynasty of Han

Death was understood not as an end, but as the dissolution of the human body on Earth, while the soul was believed to dwell somewhere above. For people of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), this belief was as real as it was a source of comfort in the face of loss. The grave and the coffin were no longer merely a chamber and a case for decaying flesh, but vessels for the spirit of a soon-to-be-buried loved one. This may help explain the elegant painted surfaces of coffins such as those shown in the photographs: a careful artistic treatment that elevates them into objects of refinement linking the worlds of the living and the beyond.

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