Silkworm

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Silkworm

China

Date
3rd century BCE- 3rd century CE
Medium
Gilt bronze
Department
Asian Art
Institution
Minneapolis Institute of Art

Solidly cast in a realistic form, this bronze silkworm might have functioned as a mat or shroud weight in a Han dynasty tomb. Sericulture, or silk farming, was an important industry in ancient China and, with the opening of trade routes to the West during the second century BCE, the export of silk became an important source of wealth. Accordingly, this tiny worm would have symbolized both luxury and economic prosperity to Han society. Asia

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