The Double-Headed Bronze Dildo and Stone Eggs from the Tomb of Prince Liu Sheng  (died. ca. 113 BCE), Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) © Hebei Museum

When archaeologists opened the tomb of Prince Liu Sheng in 1968, they expected jade suits and bronze vessels. They also found something more personal: a double-ended bronze phallic object and two polished stone eggs.

These artifacts, now in the National Museum of China, are widely accepted as ancient sexual aids from the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD)Prince Liu Sheng. The Han period was relatively open about intimacy among the elite. Emperors and nobles often had male favorites alongside their wives, and such objects were likely used for pleasure or physical training.

Their presence in a prince’s tomb suggests they were important enough to carry into the afterlife, a quiet acknowledgment that human desires did not end with death.