At Xi'an

This is an interesting object called a Tally. It was used to verify imperial commands to outlying armies. Again, I could not include the description card in the picture but I transcribe it here:

Bronze Tiger-shaped Tally
Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.)
Excavated from Shanmenkou, southern suburbs of Xi'an City

Tally was one kind of special token used by emperor to transmit his order and to confer military power upon his ministers. It is comprised of two halves, the left and the right. The right half was kept in the imperial palace, while the left half was hold by the commander stationed outside. Only when both parts were fitted together, completing the inscription, would an officer accepted the written order as valid.