Jade and gold clothes of a prince's wife

Jade and gold clothes unearthed from the tomb of Prince Jin of Zhongshan of the Han Dynasty. [Photo/Atron.Net]

An exhibition featuring gold and silver wares, jade wares and weapons unearthed from tombs of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC- 220AD) launched in Changsha in Hunan province today.

Among the showpieces, the jade and gold clothes of Dou Wan, the wife of Prince Jin of Zhongshan, attracted much attention. With 2,160 jade pieces held together by 700g of gold wire, the 1.72m long clothing is a rare national cultural relic.

Also called yuxia, gold-woven clothes were the finest garb for dead emperors and high ranking nobles in the Han Dynasty.

A complete suit consists of six parts: a head covering, upper clothes, sleeves, gloves, trousers and shoes. Each part was made by various shapes of jade pieces. On the jade pieces, there are many small holes, through which the pieces can be "woven" into a suit or clothing using fine gold, silver or bronze wire.