Dragon-shaped pendant

Objects of Personal Adornment from the Eastern Zhou and Western Han Periods

Hereditary practices during the early parts of the Zhou dynasty had focused much of the wealth and power in the hands of a small aristocracy. These practices lost some of their importance with the breakdown of the Zhou government and ritual system. The subsequent social changes corresponded with the beginnings of the use of iron and other changes in technology, and resulted in an increase of wealth among a much broader segment of the population.

These new patrons created a demand for luxury items in bronze, jade, lacquer, textile, and other materials. Items of personal adornment in bronze, which had been rare in earlier periods, were created in great numbers. Many were small in scale, elegant, and superbly crafted. Gilding, inlaying, and other decorative techniques also became more common and many items featured inlays of gold, silver, jade, and precious stones. All of these qualities are found in belt hooks, which were used to hang small objects or fasten elaborate belts around loose-fitting embroidered silk robes. From the objects in this case you will see that bronze, iron, and jade served as bases for these belt hooks. Iron corrodes much more easily than bronze, and few iron pieces have survived from this early period.