Pair of rein brackets which once graced the yoke of a chariot. The reins of the chariot passed through these brackets. Their exact original location on the horse’s yoke can be seen on one of the photos. They are inlaid with silver and marked ‘Ling Li’. Not much is exactly known about ‘Ling Li’. In the collection of Gustaf Adolf, crown prince of Sweden was a chariot fitting with the inscription ‘Ling Li Guo Shi’ which has been translated as ‘the family Guo of Ling Li village’. Regina Krahl, former acting curator at the British Museum, mentions that ‘Ling Li’ is the name of a road leading to Maoling (40 kms to the west of Xian), the mausoleum of Emperor Han Wudi who reigned China from 141-87 BC so it is possible that these rein brackets came from an accompanying tomb. According to the late Dr Thomas Lawton, internationally esteemed scholar of Chinese art, the earliest reference to Lingli appeared in the biography of a Western Han dynasty official, Shi Fen (d. 124 BC), who retired to Lingli after a long official career. In the biography Lingli is identified as a village near Maoling County, located in the present-day Xingping City, Shaanxi province. Maoling County was allegedly established to the southeast of the mausoleum of Han Emperor Wudi and developed into a residential area known for its extravagant lifestyle, with a population of over 270,000 housing many wealthy elites. Marking bronze items may be comparable to marks on high quality porcelains made in the imperial porcelain city Jingdezhen. Objects with the inscription ‘Ling Li’ are rare. These rein brackets date from the Western Han period (206bc – 25AD). They have a width of 8 cm and a height of 5.1 cm. Also in the collection are a set of six yoke fittings (See Quick Find 4807) and two chariot post finals (See Quick Find 4810) which are all marked ‘Ling Li’