Abstract
Archaeological material from the medieval sites in Primorye (the 12th–13th centuries), associated with the details of the belt set, makes it possible to approach the issues of reconstruction of the set belts of the Jurchens, and to consider these objects in the ethno-cultural tradition and in the sign system. The purpose of this study is to characterize the belt pads with the image of a tiger, since this is a special part of the belt, the decoding of the style of which makes it possible to determine the status and social hierarchy of the owner of this thing. Analysis of the accompanying material suggested that the belt with the pads in the form of a tiger was related to a high-ranking offi cial. Obviously, the Jurchens formed a system according to which each rank was to wear a strictly regulated number of belt pendants and linings, which were transformed into a kind of jewelry. Borrowed from the Chinese, the custom of decorating belts to determine the rank of an offi cial is later traced among the Mongols in a slightly transformed form and lives on from the creators of this tradition themselves up to the Qing period inclusive.
Keywords
Belt plaques, set belt, tiger image, jewelry, Middle Ages, Jurchens, Eastern Xia state, Far East
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