A shining moment for the north

"Gold and silver wares, thanks partly to their portability, featured prominently in the aristocratic life of Liao society, as it did with other nomadic groups, such as the ancient Turkic people," says Gai Zhiyong, deputy director of the Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who's closely involved in the excavation of several prominent Liao tombs.

In that respect, Liao had come under the direct influence of the once-powerful Tang Dynasty (618-907), which in 648 made the traditional Khitan land its protectorate. When the fortunes of Tang started to wane, Abaoji, who had united the various Khitan tribes, rose to seize the opportunity, establishing the rule of Liao in 916.

"One of the things Liao had inherited from Tang was the gold and silver making tradition which, thanks to the flourishing of the Ancient Silk Road trade during the Tang period, had come to bear multiple stylistic imprints ranging from Chinese to Sogdian and Sassanian," says Gai.