Back to the Museum

(May 28th) Well there were no pictures taken yesterday since I spent the day in quarantine... A long story, but I don't suggest it as part of a vacation. We spent today returning to the Hunan Provincial Museum. This time we saw the normal collection, rather than travelling exhibit that I had seen 3 days ago. The main collection revolves around tombs discovered from a noble family from the Han Dynasty (roughly 2150 years old). This a reconstruction of what the wife of the Marquis of Dai looked like at the time of her death at the age of 50.

There were many things inside the huge tombs. Musical instruments, pieces of art, clothing, food dishes, etc. There were a large number of these wooden figurines who I believe were supposed to help take care of the nobles after their death.

Last time I was here, I noticed that the crowds were really quite thick - much thicker that what you would see in your average western museum on a weekday. Here's an example of how crowded it was - this is just a relatively unimportant artifact from the tomb.

As we made our way through the many artifacts, we came to the climax of the exhibits. There were three large ornate coffins belonging to the nobles of the family - two of the sons and the Marquis' wife. The coffins, like many of the artifacts, were made of this beautiful rosewood.

Finally there was the mummy of the Lady of Dai herself. This mummy is the best-preserved mummy in existance. When they unearthed it, they were able to give her a full autopsy like she had just died. All her hair was present, etc. I think it's not quite in as good shape as when they first found it. No one knows exactly why she was so well preserved.

The museum had other exhibits as well. There were many artifacts from the Bronze Age period as well. This vase is roughly 3500 year old. It's hard to believe people were making things like this then.