The Western Han dynasty (202 BCE-9 CE) was a foundational period for the
artistic culture of ancient China, a fact particularly visible in the
era's funerary art. Iconic forms of Chinese art such as dazzling suits
of jade; cavernous, rock-cut mountain tombs; fancifully ornate wall
paintings; and armies of miniature terracotta warriors were prepared for
the tombs of the elite during this period. Many of the finest objects of
the Western Han have been excavated from the tombs of kings, who
administered local provinces on behalf of the emperors.
Allison R. Miller paints a new picture of elite art production by
revealing the contributions of the kings to Western Han artistic
culture. She demonstrates that the kings were not mere imitators of the
imperial court but rather innovators, employing local materials and
workshops and experimenting with new techniques to challenge the
artistic hegemony of the imperial house. Tombs and funerary art, Miller
contends, functioned as an important vehicle of political expression as
kings strove to persuade the population and other elites of their
legitimacy. Through case studies of five genres of royal art, Miller
argues that the political structure of the early Western Han, with the
emperor as one ruler among peers, benefited artistic production and
innovation. Kingly Splendor brings together close readings of funerary
art and architecture with nuanced analyses of political and
institutional dynamics to provide an interdisciplinary revisionist
history of the early Western Han.
