Well-preserved molded-brick reliefs depicting 4th-century hermits -- known as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove -- and Rong Qiqi, a worthy from the much earlier Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), are just some of the treasures of the Nanjing Museum.
Unearthed from the Eastern Jin (317-420) tomb in Nanjing in 1960, they were baked with stamp mold images of eight figures in subtle lines. The tomb occupant, an admirer of the seven sages and Rong who shared the same level of integrity, had commissioned the brick murals to serve as his companions in the afterlife.