The head of the mummy was also wrapped with a silver thread mesh a gilded bronze coronet on the top. The coronet has one ear missing and features a dragon and ‘lucky’ clouds – traditional attributes of Chinese culture – on the remaining one. The face was covered with a mask which clearly outlines facial features seeming to be meditating with its eyes closed.
According to archeologists, the meshed suite displayed at the Guimet Museum is funeral attire common for the Liao Dynasty (AD 916-1125) aristocrats around the 10 century.
The Liao Dynasty was a regime established by an ethnic minority called the Qidan who were settled in northeast China. In 916, a Qidan man named Yelu Abaoji established the Qidan Kingdom. In 947, the title of the kingdom was officially changed to Liao, with Balin Left Banner (located in Inner Mongolia) as its capital city. The territory of the Liao Dynasty mainly covered the northern part of China.
During their reign, the Qidan people developed a unique funeral system for the royal family. Believed to be capable of protecting the soul of the dead from being disturbed, metal meshed suits were made for each member of the royal family. The suits were usually worn over layers of silk wrappings under formal funeral attire.
A number of mummies in similar suites were found in mainland China. For example, in July 1986 archeologists discovered well-preserved gilded coronets in the tomb of a Liao princess and her husband in Inner Mongolia, also wearing golden masks and meshed suits covering their entire bodies.
By Dong Jirong
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