Coffin Box Panel: Horse and Grooms, 10th–early 11th century

These three rare Liao dynasty wooden panels are part of a set of six that likely formed the outer walls of a coffin box that housed an inner container for the body. The nested coffins would have been placed on a platform inside a tomb chamber. Vividly painted, the panels depict images relating to the transition and journey to the afterlife, and family members offering obeisance to the deceased. The Liao dynasty was ruled by the seminomadic Khitans, whose homeland included parts of present-day northern China and Mongolia. After conquering territory to their south formerly ruled by the Tang dynasty (618–907), the Liao elite adopted a range of Chinese cultural practices, including the construction of richly decorated underground tombs.