Han: Did you mean...?

A funerary garment from the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE - 2 century CE). Made from hundreds of small rectangles of jade stitched together using gold and silver wire, they were used to completely encase the body of deceased royalty. (On...

A pottery model of a watchtower, Han dynasty, 25-220 CE. Height: 86 cm. (British Museum, London)

A Han dynasty iron sword and scabbard with wood and lacquer decoration, China, 2nd century BCE. (British Museum, London)

A carved jade dragon. Han dynasty, 2nd-1st century BCE. The British Museum, London.

A lacquered box of the Eastern Han Dynasty, China. 25-220 CE. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

A mounted archer hunting, Han dynasty, 206 BCE - 220 CE. From a funeral slab.

A gilt bronze oil lamp in the form of a kneeling servant girl; her arm acts as the lamp's chimney. Han dynasty, late 2nd century BCE, from the tomb of Prince Liu Sheng and Princess Dou Wan at Mancheng. Height: 48 cm. (Hebei Museum, Shijiazhuang...

Though similar to small castings found in the provinces of Southeast China, including Guanxi, such figures have been found in royal tombs in the North and may represent tribute bearers. Han Dynasty, 206 BCE to 200 CE. From modern-day China...

A red and black lacquered bowl from the Western Han Dynasty, China. 206 BCE - 9 CE. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Throughout history, in order for a government to be respected and obeyed, it must possess some form of legitimacy recognized by the governed. Governmental systems have relied on a number of models for legitimacy, among them the dynastic form...