ZEUS, HERA , APHRODITE AND ATHENA DEPICTED IN BOWL FOUND IN INNER MONGOLIA, ~ CHINA

 

The Yihe-Nur Cemetery, excavated in 2012-2014,is important as the northernmost Northern Wei Dynasty (े兿) cemetery so far discovered in China, with artefacts indicating connections with peoples of 

the steppe and more broadly along the Eurasian “silk roads.“

One of the most striking artefacts of all those excavated in the cemetery, this bowl, found in Tomb M1, is 14 cm in diameter and stands 4 cm high. The inside is smooth and has no decoration. The outside is framed by a pearllike band, and most of the surface covered by acanthus leaves in low relief set off against a gilded background. Four projecting “bosses” depict characters from Greek religion: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena.

SOURCE silkroadfoundation.org