Before the twentieth century, collectors of cultural relics or antiquity in China distinguished between different media and formats, and between work made for personal expression and work collected because of its historical value, ritual significance, or workmanship (bronzes, jades, ceramics, lacquers, seals, antique furniture, and so on). Many of the objects were found in tombs, yet were studied independently without consulting the original tomb contexts. There were virtually no studies on tomb architecture or design. By the twentieth century, European scholars had developed a set of practical and historical methodologies that formed the basis for current research practice. Extensive archaeological information about their burial contexts offers more interesting perspectives on their possible functions, identities, and meanings. The chapter reevaluates the materials with new and unconventional approaches, and challenges conceptual notions about what early Chinese art was.