Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Seal of a Surrendered Qiang Chieftain
Eastern Han dynasty (25–220)
Not on view
The nomadic Qiang people traditionally lived along China’s western and northwestern frontiers. By the Eastern Han, many had resettled in the interior, and the Han government subsumed them into their populace, requiring them to pay taxes and to render service as laborers or soldiers. In return, their surrendered chieftain received titles and a seal such as this one. In typical Eastern Han calligraphic style, the characters feature elongated shapes and broad, square strokes. The knob is in the shape of a ram, which was standard for officials of non-Chinese background, in contrast to the turtle-shaped knobs for their Chinese counterparts.
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