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Eastern Han Dynasty, 25-220 AD
Sanxingdui Museum
This tree did not come from the Sanxingdui pits; it is a typical money tree of the much later Eastern Han dynasty, excavated from Mianyang, 100km (60mi) north of Chengdu. Money trees were a favorite artistic theme in Sichuan during the Later Han. This tree is capped by a splendid phoenix, rearing with outstretched wings. Below its fronds dangle a myriad of coins (circular, with square holes) that give this kind of tree its name, symbolic not only of wealth in particular, but of good fortune and abundance in general. In the bottom photos, curving branches support vignettes of Xi Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the West, surrounded by her retinue.
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