Gold headdress

Gold headdress from the Hu peoples, made during the Warring States period (403 to 221 B.C.). It was unearthed in an archaeological excavation in 1973 near Hangjin Banner City.

The skull cap is made of thick hammered gold and decorated in bas relief with four wolves attacking four rams. The head of the eagle atop the cap is formed of two pieces of turquoise, and the head and tail are attached to the body with gold wires, making them movable. The bird ornament and the bas relief designs on the cap compose a scene of an eagle circling and gazing down on wolves devouring their prey.

The lower part of the headdress consists of three semicircular gold pieces, two of which stack to form what was probably the front of the head-band. All three bands are adorned with braided string design, and each features an animal (a couchant ram, a horse, and a crouching tiger) at one end.

GENGHIS KHAN: TREASURES OF INNER MONGOLIA was organized and circulated by the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Credits Photographer: Kong Qun. Source: Collection Inner Mongolia Museum, Huhehaote

Caption source: Adam T. Kessler (1994) Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Adapted from p. 53.

Image source: Photo CD 6315 3021 1433, Image # 010