Coffin Fragment

Coffin slab made of limestone showing, in low relief, three carriages each drawn by one horse and carrying two persons, two men on horseback, a horse-drawn carriage carrying one person and a man on horseback. During the Han Dynasty, the horse was prized for its strength, eventually becoming a status symbol. In tombs, the horse drawn carriage was seen as a transport for the deceased into the afterlife. The inscription, which states, 室萬年用之, Shi wan nian yong zhi, literally “chamber, for 10,000 years use it.” indicated the slab was part of the sarcophagus. However this may have been added in recent times, Broken to the right of the middle.