2,100-year-old silk fabric exhibition

A silk fabric with what is called “longevity embroidery” patterns excavated from a 2,100-year-old tomb is on public display for the first time at a museum in Changsha City of Hunan Province in central China. The fabric was unearthed from Mawangdui, a small hill in the eastern suburbs of Changsha, capital of Hunan. 

Mawangdui is home to the grand tombs of the Marquis of Dai during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), as well as his wife and son. During the Han Dynasty, people typically leaned on a curved backrest for comfort when sitting on the ground. The exhibited fabric, originally serving as upholstery for a backrest, is the first of its kind found in China.