ISSN 2152-7237 (print)

ISSN 2153-2060 (online)

The

Silk Road
Volume 12 2014

Contents
Silk Road Dress in a Chinese Tomb: Xu Xianxiu and Sixth-Century Cosmopolitanism,
by Kate A. Lingley .......................................................................................................................... 1
Images of the Early Turks in Chinese Murals and Figurines from the
Recently-Discovered Tomb in Mongolia,
by Sergey A. Yatsenko ................................................................................................................... 13
Connections between Central Asia and the Northern Littoral of the Black Sea:
the Evidence from Objects with Tamgas,
by Sergey V. Voroniatov ................................................................................................................. 25

Some Examples of Central Asian Decorative Elements in Ajanta and Bagh Indian Paintings,
by Matteo Compareti ................................................................................................................... 39

The Afrasiab Murals: a Pictorial Narrative Reconsidered,

by Guitty Azarpay ........................................................................................................................ 49

The Performance of Pain and Remembrance in Late Ancient Iran,

by Touraj Daryaee and Soodabeh Malekzadeh ..................................................................... 57
Russo-Polovtsian Dynastic Contacts as Reflected in Genealogy and Onomastics,
by Anna Litvina and Fjodor Uspenskij .............................................................................. 65

Excavation of Rezvan Tepe in Northeastern Iran, an Iron Age I-II Cemetery,

by Mahnaz Sharifi and Abbas Motarjem .............................................................................. 76

The Site of Banbhore (Sindh – Pakistan): a Joint Pakistani-French-Italian Project.

Current Research in Archaeology and History (2010-2014),
by Niccolò Manassero and Valeria Piacentini Fiorani .................................................... 82

Emgentiin Kherem, a Fortress Settlement of the Khitans in Mongolia,

by Nikolai N. Kradin, Aleksandr L. Ivliev, Ayudai Ochir, Sergei Vasiutin,
Svetlana Satantseva, Evgenii V. Kovychev, and Lkhagvasüren Erdenebold ................. 89
The Carpet Index: Rethinking the Oriental Carpet in Early Renaissance Paintings,
by Lauren Arnold ...................................................................................................................... 98

Safavid Carpets of the Tahmasp School and the Tahmasp Shāhnāma,

by Gholamreza Yazdani, Mina Ranjbar, Masume Azarmdel,
and Maryam Rezai Banafshe Deraq ................................................................................ 106
(continued)

“The Bridge between Eastern and Western Cultures”

Huang Wenbi: Pioneer of Chinese Archaeology in Xinjiang,
by Justin M. Jacobs ........................................................................................................................ 122
Featured Museum, I: The David Collection,
by Daniel C. Waugh ...................................................................................................................... 132
Featured Museum, II: The Arts of China in Seattle,
by Daniel C. Waugh ...................................................................................................................... 137
Featured Review: Re-Imagining and Re-Imaging Eurasian Exchange [Wilkinson],
by Daniel C. Waugh ...................................................................................................................... 153
Reviews (by Daniel C. Waugh)

Reconfiguring the Silk Road [ed. Mair and Hickman] ................................................................................... 164
The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction [Millward] ................................................................................... 167
Court and Craft: A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq [ed. Ward] ................................................................. 169
Kochevniki Evrazii na puti k imperii. Iz sobraniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha ........................................... 171
Sogdiitsy, ikh predshestvenniki, sovremenniki i nasledniki [Marshak Festschrift] ........................................ 172
Scripta Antiqua, Vols. 1–3 ...................................................................................................................................... 175
Gosudarstvo Bokhai: arkheologiia, istoriia, politika [D’iakova] ....................................................................... 178
CDs and a DVD of traditional Kazakh performance, from Silk Road House ..................................... 180
Book Notices (written/compiled by Daniel C. Waugh) ......................................................................................................... 182

Two Arabic Travel Books, ed.Mackintosh-Smith and Montgom- Brook. Mr. Selden’s Map of China. Decoding the Secrets of a
ery. Vanished Cartographer.
Uighurskie delovye dokumenty X–XIV vv. iz Vostochnogo Turke- Cities of the Dead. The Ancestral Cemeteries of Kyrgyzstan. Pho-
stana, ed. and tr. Tugusheva. tographs by Morton. Text by Rabbat, Köchümkulova, and
“Novye zakony” Tangutskogo gosudarstva, ed. and tr. Kapalova.
Kychanov. Ming: 50 Years that changed China, ed. Clunas and
Dokumenty i materialy po istorii bashkirskogo naroda. Harrison-Hall.
Leskov et al., Meoty Zakuban’ia IV–III vv. do n. e. Nekropoli u Kessler. Song Blue and White Porcelain on the Silk Road.
aula Uliap. Sviatilishcha i ritual’nye kompleksy.
Publications of the M. A. Usmanov Center for Studies of the
Materialy Tokharistanskoi ekspeditsii, Vyp. 9. Poselenie History of the Golden Horde: 1) Mirgaleev. Zolotaia Orda:
Dabil’kurgan v Severnoi Baktrii. bibliograficheskii ukazatel’; 2) Zolotoordynskaia tsivilizatsiia.
Baipakov. Drevniaia i srednevekovaia urbanizatsiia Kazakhsta- Nauchnyi Ezhegodnik.
na, Vols 1–2. Gorod i step’ v kontaktnoi Evro-Aziatskoi zone [Fëdorov-
Akishev. Drevnie i srednevekovye gosudarstva na territorii Davydov Festschrift].
Kazakhstana.
Ermitazhnye chteniia pamiati V. G. Lukonina (21.01.1932–
Kost. The Practice of Imagery in the Northern Chinese Steppe (5th 10.09.1984).
– 1st Centuries BCE). Bonn Contributions to Asian Archaeol-
ogy, Vol. 6. Bulletin of the Asia Institute. N. S., Vol. 23 (2009) [2013]. Evo
ṣuyadi. Essays in Honor of Richard Salomon’s 65th Birthday.
Grushevoi. Ocherki ekonomicheskoi istorii Sirii in Palestiny v
drevnosti (I v. do n.e.—VI v. n.e.) / Essays on Economic History 西域文史 Literature and History of the Western Regions. Vol. 8
of Ancient Syria and Palestine (1st c. B C—6th c. AD). (2014).
Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Xiyu yanjiu 西域研究 The Western Regions Studies. A Quar-
Buddhism, ed. Lin and Radich. Hamburg Buddhist Studies, terly.
Vol. 3. Color Plates I – XVI ............................. following page 192

Cover: 1) Decoration on harp buried in tomb of Queen Puabi, with gold, lapis lazuli and shell. Ca. 2500 BCE (Early Dynastic
III). From Grave PG 800, Ur. Collection of the British Museum, ME 121198A; 2) A modern replica of the Ardabil carpet in the
Chini Khaneh at the Ardabil shrine. Photographs by Daniel C. Waugh. 3) Sindukht and Rudabeh, detail of miniature from
Shah Tahmasp’s Shāhnāma. After: Shāhkār’hā-ye Miniyatur-e Īrān [Miniature Masterpieces of Iran] (2005), p. 254.
 Readers are strongly encouraged to view the online version of the journal,
since so many of the illustrations are in color and can be best appreciated that way.

The Silk Road is an annual publication of the Silkroad Foundation supplied free of charge in a limited print run to academic
libraries. We cannot accept individual subscriptions. Each issue can be viewed and downloaded free of charge at: <http://www.
silkroadfoundation.org/toc/newsletter.html>. The print version contains black and white illustrations, the few color plates
a new feature beginning with Volume 11 (2013); the online version uses color throughout. Otherwise the content is identical.
The complete online version of The Silk Road, Vol. 12 is at: <http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol12/srjournal_v12.pdf>.
Starting with Vol. 10, individual articles may also be downloaded as pdf files.

The journal actively invites submissions of articles. Please feel free to contact the editor with any questions or contributions.
Information regarding contributions and how to format them may be found on the website at <http://www.silkroadfoun-
dation.org/newsletter/vol8/SilkRoadinstructionsforauthors.pdf>. It is very important to follow these guidelines, especially
in the matter of citations, when submitting articles for consideration.
Editor: Daniel C. Waugh
dwaugh@u.washington.edu
All physical mailings concerning the journal (this includes books for review) should be sent to the editor at his postal address:
Daniel Waugh, Department of History, Box 353560, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 USA. It is advisable to send
him an e-mail as well, informing him of any postings to that address.

Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation

Copyright © 2014 by authors of individual articles and holders of copyright, as specified, to individual images.
The Silkroad Foundation (14510 Big Basin Way # 269, Saratoga, CA 95070) is a registered non-profit educational organization.

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 Silk Road Dress in a Chinese Tomb:
Xu Xianxiu and Sixth-Century Cosmopolitanism

Kate A. Lingley
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Honolulu, Hawai’i

T he Northern Qi tomb of Xu Xianxiu in Taiyuan,

dating to 571 CE, is remarkable for its unusually
well-preserved tomb murals, depicting the deceased
China by the beginning of the Tang. They can help
illuminate the process by which the foreign becomes
familiar in a multicultural society.
and his wife along with over 200 attendants of various
The tomb
kinds. It is a rich resource for the study of a period
during which categories of “indigenous” and “for- Xu Xianxiu’s tomb is located in an orchard near the
eign” were notably fluid (Lewis 2011, pp. 167–68). By village of Wangjiafeng, in the eastern part of Taiyuan
the Northern Qi, the preceding two centuries of con- City, the capital of Shanxi province [Figs. 1, 2]. It is
quest and trade gave rise to a cosmopolitan culture marked above ground with a tumulus that rises five
that drew on a variety of influences, presaging the meters above the flat surface of the land, making it
better known cosmopolitanism of the Tang. The va- visible from a significant distance. It remained undis-
rieties of dress shown in the tomb’s murals illustrate turbed in modern times until December of 2000, when
the lively interactions between Chinese and Silk Road local residents noticed that tomb robbers had attempt-
cultures during the period, belying the old stereotype ed to dig into the tomb, and alerted the archaeologi-
of inexorable Sinicization. In fact, the figures in Xu’s cal authorities. Salvage excavations and conservation
tomb illustrate a complex transition by which certain work took place over the next two years, concluding
styles of dress, derived from Central Asian models, in October of 2002 (Shanxi kaogu 2003).
became entirely normalized and domesticated in

< Fig. 1. Map of

northeast China
showing location
of Taiyuan, with
other significant
cities and sites
of the period.
Drawing by the
author.

> Fig. 2. Map of

the Taiyuan area
with location
of Xu Xian-
xiu’s tomb. After:
Shanxi kaogu
2003, p. 5.

1 Copyright © 2014 Kate A. Lingley

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 1 - 12 + Color Plate I Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 Fig. 3. Plan of the tomb. After: Shanxi kaogu 2003, p. 6.

The tomb consists of a single, large, chamber about Despite its past depredations, the tomb immediately
6.5 m square, constructed of grey bricks, with a became the focus of intense interest for its unusual-
four-sided vaulted ceiling. The chamber is located di- ly well-preserved mural paintings. Both side walls of
rectly under the tumulus, with a short, barrel-vaulted the sloping tomb passage and the barrel-vaulted en-
brick entryway and a fifteen-meter-long tomb passage try, and all four walls of the tomb chamber, are cov-
dug directly into the earth [Fig. 3]. The tomb passage ered with paintings of mostly human figures, painted
begins at ground level at its southern end, extending at or nearly life size. The area covered is more than
northward and sloping down to the level of the tomb 300 square meters, and more than 200 human figures
entrance. The entrance was sealed with a carved stone are represented. The figures in the tomb passage are
door and door frame. painted on a skim coat of white plaster applied direct-
The presence of no fewer than five looters’ tunnels ly to the earthen walls. Within the brick structure of
(four in the main chamber and one in the entryway) the tomb chamber and entryway, a thicker layer of
suggests it was robbed at various times throughout plaster has been applied over the bricks to create a
its history, and relatively few grave goods survive. smooth surface for the murals. Other than one miss-
What remains are mostly objects whose value is large- ing section on the south wall of the tomb chamber, the
ly historical: ceramic tomb figurines and glazed ves- murals in Xu Xianxiu’s tomb are essentially intact, and
sels, and the carved-stone tomb epitaph. A plain silver provide a rich visual reference for their time.
ring, and a more ornate gold ring with a blue intaglio
gem, were overlooked by robbers in the rubble, and The murals
are nearly the only objects of precious metal found
during the dig. This tomb displays a decorative scheme which Zheng
Yan has characterized as the “Yecheng model” (邺城
The tomb epitaph identifies the male tomb occupant 规制) (Zheng 2002, pp. 181ff). The Yecheng model is
as one Xu Xianxiu (徐显秀), who died in 571 CE at the found in aristocratic tombs of Northern Qi date found
age of seventy. Xu was the son and grandson of offi- in the region of the Northern Qi capital, Yecheng (now
cials who served the Northern Wei. As a young man, Linzhang county in southern Hebei province). Tombs
he became a follower of the Northern Wei general Er- of this type are also found in and around the city of
zhu Rong (尔朱荣), and then of Erzhu’s own general Jinyang (now Taiyuan), the Northern Qi’s secondary
Gao Huan (高欢), who became father and grandfather capital. Yecheng-type tombs are simple in layout, like
of the emperors of the Northern Qi dynasty (550–577). Xu Xianxiu’s tomb, comprising a single main tomb
Under the Northern Qi, Xu served in a series of im- chamber with entrance and tomb passage. They are
portant military and civil positions, culminating in his furnished with extensive and elaborate mural paint-
enfeoffment as Prince of Wu’an (武安王) under the ings in a distinctively Northern Qi style, painted us-
reign of Emperor Wucheng (武成帝), and later pro- ing an iron-wire outline in black on a white plaster
motion under Houzhu (后主) to Defender-in-Chief ground, which was then filled in with color. Of the
(太尉), the head of the imperial armies (Taiyuan wen- eight or more such tombs which have been excavat-
wu 2005, n.p.). In other words, Xu was an important ed,1 Xu’s is by far the best preserved.
military official of the Northern Qi, and the scale and
elaboration of his tomb were commensurate with his The decorative program of Xu Xianxiu’s tomb (Tai-
rank and position. yuan wenwu 2005) begins at ground level, at the en-
2
 Fig. 4. Elevation of the tomb with tomb passage murals.
After: Shanxi kaogu 2003, p. 6.

trance to the tomb passage, and culminates on the rear The tomb entrance, with its stone framing, is flanked
wall of the main chamber. Walking down the sloping by two painted guard figures, armed with whips or
passage, the visitor is flanked on either side by mu- flails. Similarly armed figures stand on both sides
ral paintings [Fig. 4]. Those at ground level are frag- of the barrel-vaulted entryway. The visitor emerges
mentary, but seem to represent a pair of supernatural through an arched doorway into the main tomb cham-
guardian figures, one on either side of the passage. ber, a high-vaulted, square room. On the near wall, the
These are followed by a large number of human fig- mural paintings have fallen away to the right (east) of
ures, making up an honor guard of armed soldiers. the entrance, but the remaining mural on the left side
These male figures carry a variety of weapons, and allows us to imagine the missing material with some
fall broadly into two groups. The first group, on both confidence. The entrance is flanked by standard-bear-
sides of the upper part of the tomb passage, hold aloft ers who carry banners on long pikes and face the door-
standards with streaming banners, and some bear way on both sides. Above the doorway are two more
long conical trumpets over their shoulders. In other supernatural guardians, descending from above.
tombs, murals and figurines show similar instruments
The procession of standard-bearers continues
actually being played, as if to provide a martial fanfare
around the corners of the chamber and onto both side
(see Cheng 2003, p. 441). The second group, nearer to
walls [Fig. 5]. The east wall is dominated by a large
the tomb entrance, bear no banners or trumpets, but
and very ornate ox-cart, surrounded by grooms and
lead two war horses, saddled and bridled, on either
attendants [Fig. 6, next page]. The attendants who fol-
side. All the figures on the passage walls are painted
low behind the cart, supporting its canopy or holding
in three-quarter view, and all face outward, as if they
fans or other objects, are clearly female. In the corre-
are keeping watch for threats that might come from
the outside world. The visitor passes between their Fig. 5. Drawing of the murals in the tomb chamber.
ranks like a supplicant. After: Shanxi kaogu 2003, p. 16.

3
 Fig. 6. Photograph of the east wall murals. are a pair of female servants bearing trays of drinking
After: Taiyuan wenwu 2005, Pl. 22. cups. To the viewer’s right, nearest Xu Xianxiu himself,
the attendants are all men, including two pipa (lute)
sponding position on the west wall is a riderless horse players and what may be a flutist, along with others
[Fig. 7], saddled and caparisoned with a rich sad- bearing objects including a furled umbrella-like can-
dle-cloth. The horse is followed by male attendants, opy. To the viewer’s left, nearest Xu’s wife, the atten-
who bear a large canopy, a huge fan of the deer-tail dants are all women, and include musicians playing
(鹿尾) type, long pikes and other weapons, and vari- a pipa, a sheng (mouth organ), and a konghou (harp).
ous items of gear. Others carry a second canopy and a large round feath-
So far, all the figures encountered by the visitor on er fan. All round the four walls of the chamber, flying
the way into the tomb have faced outward, as if to lotus blossoms and buds fill the air.
guard against unwelcome intrusion. Within the tomb, The murals on the vaulted ceiling are damaged and
the ox-cart and horse also face outward, suggesting faded, but details of constellations can be made out
the possibility of movement toward the tomb entrance here and there, and the overall design probably repre-
and beyond. But the figures on the rear wall of the sented the heavens. It is not unusual for mural-paint-
chamber face inward, in a composition centered on ed tombs of the sixth century to have cosmological
the portraits of Xu Xianxiu and his wife, whom the designs painted on the ceilings, including constella-
viewer approaches face to face [Fig. 8; Color Plate I]. tions, the Milky Way, zodiac animals, supernatural
They sit on an elevated platform couch (床) under a creatures, and so on. Examples include the late North-
high, square canopy, which has been drawn back ern Wei tomb of Yuan Yi near Luoyang, with a rela-
on either side with ribbonlike ties. A folding screen tively well-preserved star map (Wu 2010, p. 51), or the
stands behind them. Xu himself sits on the proper left Northern Qi tomb of [X] Daogui2 near Ji’nan, in which
(the viewer’s right) and his wife is at his right hand. the portrait of the deceased, on the north wall, sits be-
Between them are numerous dishes and platters piled neath the Big Dipper and Polaris, flanked by the sun
high with food. Each holds a drinking cup in the right and moon (Zheng 2002, p. 126).
hand.
The directionality of this pictorial programme is
Xu and his wife are flanked by an entourage of ser- common to many mural-painted tombs of the sixth
vants and musicians. On their immediate left and right century, including those that conform to the “Ye-
4
Fig. 7. Photograph of the west wall murals.
After: Taiyuan wenwu 2005, Pl. 31.
Fig. 8. Photograph of the north wall murals.
After: Taiyuan wenwu 2005, Pl. 15.

5
cheng model,” as well as later tombs of the same basic this date (Cheng 2011, p. 79; Wu 2010, pp 192ff). Be-
type (with arched brick chambers and long, sloping yond this, the lavishness of both vehicles is also a sign
passageways) from the first half of the Tang dynasty of the status of the deceased. In this case, the richly
(Wu 2010, pp. 213–17). The use of pictorial decoration bedecked stallion surrounded by male attendants is
to give meaning and direction to the spaces of a tomb clearly Xu Xianxiu’s own mount, while the elaborate
goes back at least to the Han dynasty, when massed enclosed ox-cart, followed by female attendants, obvi-
chariots and processions of immortal creatures sug- ously belongs to Xu’s wife. One might expect the ox-
gested the movement of the deceased through the cart to appear on the west wall, nearest the figure of
spaces of the tomb or out into the world. The same Xu’s wife, but for reasons that remain unclear, their
tension seen in Han tombs, between the tomb as the positions are reversed.
home of the deceased and the idea of a journey from
the tomb into the afterlife (Wu 1997, pp. 86–88), is vis-
Dress, textiles, and Silk Road trade
ible in the murals of Xu’s tomb. Xu and his wife sit
in state, attended by servants and guarded by armed Because of the remarkable state of preservation of
men, and provided with everything they need for en- the murals in Xu Xianxiu’s tomb, it offers a trove of
joyment of a life in the tomb, even as their fine horse evidence for investigating any number of questions
and costly oxcart wait, together with an armed escort, about the Northern Qi. It is a particularly rich source
supernatural guardians, and traveling gear, to carry of evidence for modes of contemporary dress and
them into another existence. personal adornment. The amount of attention the
The orientation of the tomb ensures that the portraits muralists have given to details of dress and textiles
of the deceased occupy a position which had both cos- in general, especially in the tomb chamber, suggests
mological and political significance. Xu and his wife that the details were important. Clearly, the way peo-
are located at the north end of the tomb, facing south. ple dressed was not a trivial detail in this context, but
In the old geomantic tradition based on principles of rather served as an important visual signal of identity.
yin and yang, the south-facing position is a position of Of course, it is far from clear that any of the figures
power and authority. The ruler in his palace is said to other than those of Xu and his wife necessarily repre-
sit in the north and face south, which was often liter- sent actual living members of Xu’s household. Just as
ally as well as figuratively true, such that even in very the terra-cotta warriors in the tomb of the First Em-
early texts the phrase “to face south” (南面) is used as peror of the Qin dynasty are unlikely to be portraits of
a synonym for “to rule.”3 The placement of Xu’s por- actual soldiers of the Qin army (Kesner 1995), the ser-
trait at the north end of the tomb puts the viewer in vants and attendants and soldiers who surround Xu
the position of a supplicant, approaching a person of and his wife are probably not portraits of the people
superior rank. who attended them in life. Rather, they are types: the
The relative positions of Xu and his wife are also soldier, the groom, the lady-in-waiting. The clothing
governed by concepts of yin and yang; from their per- they wear may not tell us exactly how servants in the
spective, Xu sits on the left and his wife, on the right. Xu household actually dressed, but it can tell us much
Traditionally, the left hand is the position of greater about what kind of dress was considered fitting for
prestige, as we see in Chinese official titles (where the each of these different roles.
official of the Left is always senior to the same-titled
The same is likely also true of the figures of Xu and
official of the Right). The reasoning behind this is also
his wife, even though these are portraits. It is conceiv-
apparently related to yin-yang cosmology (Wong
able that they were indeed painted wearing articles of
2003, p. 96). The same distinction is easily applied to
clothing that they owned in life. But it is just as likely
gender, not only because men were considered supe-
that the portraits represent idealized forms of dress
rior to women, but also because yang is understood as
considered appropriate to their station in life — or
a masculine force, and yin a feminine one; this makes
even to a higher station they hoped to occupy after
it natural for Xu to sit on the left and his wife on the
death. Is what we see here everyday dress for people
right.
of their social standing? Is it formal court attire? Is it
That said, this gendering of space breaks down in particular to a special occasion of some sort? Might it
the position of the riderless horse on the west wall, be somewhat better than the dress they actually wore
and the ox-cart on the east wall. Their presence in in life? No textiles remain among the looted tomb
the tomb is not remarkable: they represent a means goods to help answer these questions. But the repre-
of transport for the deceased on the journey into the sentation of dress and textiles in the tomb murals still
afterlife. The theme of the journey of the soul is an has a great deal to tell us, even though it cannot be
old one in Chinese tombs, and well established by perfectly correlated with actual sartorial practice.

6
 With this in mind, the most striking thing about Xianxiu’s particular household livery), or any number
the styles of dress represented in Xu Xianxiu’s tomb of other influences.
murals is how many of them are derived from Cen-
The basic form of dress we see here — long, belt-
tral Asian or nomadic designs. The soldiers, grooms,
ed tunic, boots, and presumably trousers underneath
and other male attendants, for example, all dress in
(which are more visible in other representations of
the same basic attire: a long tunic or kaftan falling to
this dress) — is clearly derived from similar attire
below the knee, with a V-neck and what appears to
first depicted in Chinese art during the fifth century,
be a wrap closure, in which the left-hand front panel
after the founding of the Northern Wei dynasty. The
laps over the right panel. The narrow-sleeved tunic,
Northern Wei was founded by the Xianbei, an ethnic
which comes in a range of solid colors, is worn over
confederation with its roots in what is now China’s
a round-collared undergarment of a light color. Each
far northeast. Xianbei dress, as we see it represent-
man wears a contrasting belt that sits low on the hips,
ed during the early years of their rule over northern
sometimes decorated with studs, from which a scab-
China, consisted of this long tunic over trousers and
bard or a purse may be suspended. Each also wears
boots for men, and long skirts for women. This is by
high black or brown boots. The men wear a variety
contrast to forms of male and female dress derived
of practical headgear, from simple cloth kerchiefs not
from Han-period prototypes,
unlike the later Tang futou (幞头), to larger turban-like
consisting of a long wrap robe
hats, to small round or pointed caps with a neck-cloth
closed with a sash, with loose,
hanging down behind. These doubtless indicate dis-
voluminous sleeves. (For more
tinctions of rank or function which would have been
detailed discussion, see Dien
legible to a contemporary viewer.
2007, pp. 317–19.)
All of these details of dress can also be seen repre-
The Xianbei were still rec-
sented in other contemporary artworks, including
ognized as a distinct ethnic
tomb murals, tomb figurines, and the donor images
group during the Northern Qi,
found on Buddhist monuments; for a few comparative
and the ruling Gao family had
examples, see Figs. 9, 10, 11. That said, from tomb to
strong Xianbei ties, but by the
tomb and from monument to monument (and some-
founding of the Northern Qi in
times from figure to figure), one can observe varia-
550, the Xianbei had been liv-
tions in how garments and accessories are combined.
ing in China proper, and inter-
This diversity of detail makes it impossible to produce
marrying with local families,
a clear typological reading of sixth-century dress: we
for well over 150 years. After
can’t reliably tell soldiers from house servants from
traveling merchants, based solely on what they are Fig. 10. Figure of armored man with
wearing. There were doubtless forms of dress consid- tiger-skin pauldrons, from the tomb
ered appropriate to soldiers and to servants and so on, of Xu Xianxiu. After: Shanxi kaogu
but there was also, clearly, considerable room for vari- 2003, Pl. 37.
ation. The differences may reflect regional fashions,
economic constraints, personal preferences (perhaps Fig. 9. Male and female donors from the front wall of the
the figures on the walls of this tomb are dressed in Xu Shuiyusi West Cave Temple, Fengfeng, Hebei. Northern
Qi, c. 570 CE. Photograph by the author.

7
 is wearing a similar long tunic in an auspicious red
color, with a black belt. His cross-legged pose and
one dangling sleeve obscure his feet, but likely the en-
semble included trousers and boots like all the others.
His headgear is a winged gauze cap which elsewhere
seems to indicate official, or at least high, status. The
most striking detail of Xu’s attire, and one which has
not been seen in other tombs of the period, is the re-
markable fur coat he wears over his shoulders. It is
made of the white winter pelts of ermine, with their
black tail tips; it has a collar and shoulder pieces of
contrasting dark gray fur, and a dark cloth lining.
Although the coat clearly has sleeves, Xu is not us-
ing them, but rather wearing the coat thrown over
his shoulders like a cloak. Seen regularly in other
sixth-century art, this seems to be a Central Asian
fashion. It is traceable as far back as the fifth century
BCE, in reliefs at Persepolis depicting Median ambas-
sadors to the Persian court. The same style survived
into the modern day in coats worn by Eurasian shep-
herds, such as the Hungarian szür (Gervers-Molnár
1973).
As for the material of the coat, ermine was certain-
ly among the furs hunted and traded by Siberian and
Central Asian nomads from the Iron Age onward:
samples of ermine are found in garments from the
Pazyryk tombs, dated to the 4th–3rd centuries BCE
(Rudenko 1970, p. 200; also pp. 59, 85, 86, 97). Exten-
sive finds of medieval Central Asian silver in the Ural
Fig. 11. Donor figure representing Chen Lanhe, wearing a fur coat
as a mantle. From the Gaomiaoshan cave temple, Gaoping, Shanxi. Mountains, long a region of fur export, suggest an
Eastern Wei, c. 540-550 CE. Photograph by the author. ongoing trade relationship which probably included
ermine pelts. Later records indicate that ermine was
so long, distinctions such as “Xianbei” and “Han” traded between Russia and China in the late imperial
had become remarkably fluid (Lewis 2011, pp. 144ff; period: a 1668 caravan to Beijing carried 3574 ermine
Dien 2007, p. 427). Similarly, by the late sixth centu- pelts (Lim 2013, p. 31). Although we have no records
ry, it is clear that what we might call “Xianbei-type to explain the symbolic status of ermine in medieval
dress” and “Chinese-type dress” coexisted in China, China, we do know that a fur coat was itself a sign of
and that they were in the process of acquiring other high status (Zheng 2003, p. 60). The small size of the
meanings besides the strictly ethnic. Eventually, by ermine (a kind of weasel) and the number of pelts re-
the early Tang dynasty, the Xianbei-type combination quired to make a full-size coat suggest that this must
of belted tunic and boots that we see here becomes a have been a valued luxury garment.
form of standard Chinese men’s dress, even as it also The ladies-in-waiting that attend on Xu Xianxiu’s
continues to be worn by Central Asians outside of wife also wear a form of dress that is based more close-
China. Chinese-type robes continue to be worn by cer- ly on Xianbei or other Central Asian prototypes than
tain types of official into the early Tang, but in general, it is on the Han wrap robe. The dress they wear seems
Chinese-type garments remain much more common to be particular to the Northern Qi and perhaps also
in women’s dress than in men’s (for a fuller version to the Shanxi region, as it is also seen in the Shuozhou
of this argument, see Lingley 2010). Women’s dress tomb mentioned in note 1. These attendants wear a
is also more variable in design, beginning in the late round-necked under-dress that falls to mid-calf. Over
sixth century, than men’s dress, and more subject to this is worn a shorter, plain coat of a different fabric,
short-term shifts in fashion. that falls to about knee level. In a few cases the atten-
Xu Xianxiu himself is dressed in attire that differs dants seem to have added a belt over both the un-
little from that of his male attendants and soldiers, der-dress and the coat, and then shrugged out of the
except that it is clearly finer and more luxurious. He coat’s sleeves, leaving the upper part of the garment to

8
dangle behind; this seems to be what the female musi-
cians have done, among others. Perhaps this allowed
for more freedom of movement.
For the most part, all the women in the tomb have
the same basic hairstyle, an asymmetrical bun which
has been identified as the “flying-bird bun” (飞鸟
髻) by archaeologists. Again, this is also seen in the
Shuozhou tomb. The hair is drawn up sleekly and
tightly away from the face and the bun sits atop the
crown of the head. There are only two exceptions,
among the attendants following the ox-cart on the east
wall. Two women show a hairstyle in which curly hair
is worn low over the ears and pulled up loosely in the
back.
The female attendants in this tomb are especial-
ly striking for the variety of textile patterns that can
be observed on their garments. These include sev- Fig. 12. Stucco plaque with bodhisattva’s head in a pearl
eral variations on the pearl-roundel brocade pattern roundel, from Shorchuk. Collection of the British Museum.
characteristic of prized Persian and Sogdian silks in Photograph by Daniel Waugh.
the early medieval period. (For more on pearl-roun-
del textiles in medieval China, see Kuhn 2012, pp. cept in protected or highly arid conditions.
167–201, esp. 194–99.) The two attendants who flank The only figure in the tomb who wears clothing un-
the deceased both wear red under-dresses with white equivocally derived from Han prototypes is Xu Xian-
pearl-roundel patterns, one showing confronted ani- xiu’s wife. Seated beside her husband, she is dressed
mals within the roundel, and one an abstract vegetal in a voluminous wrap-style red robe, with a wide
design. More unusual is the pattern seen on one of the band of white forming a collar that stands away from
female attendants who follow the ox-cart. She wears her body. A light gray under-dress with a plain round
a white under-dress with a vermilion pearl-roundel neckline can be seen under it. Her large, flaring sleeves
pattern. Within each roundel is the head of a bodhisat- are attached with decorative white and red bands at
tva, recognizable from contemporary Buddhist art. A shoulder level; they have wide white bands of yet
similar pattern is seen on the border of the uppermost another material at the wrist. The robe is belted just
of two saddle-cloths worn by Xu Xianxiu’s horse. below her breasts, and a fall of contrasting material
Rong Xinjiang points out that among the motifs cascading downward suggests an additional garment
found within the pearl roundel on textiles of this or overskirt. The red material of the robe itself is plain,
kind are supernatural figures, including the sun-god but there are at least three and maybe four different
in his chariot or mythical hybrid creatures that come patterned brocades or embroideries in the neckband,
from an Iranian religious context (Rong 2003, p. 66). sleeve bands, cuffs, and possibly the overskirt. This is
Although Buddhism was not unknown in Persia and clearly a very fine garment.
Sogdiana at this time, it was a minority religion at The basic design of this robe is Chinese, though its
best, except among Sogdians living in China (Mar- details are altered from its Han prototypes (see Ling-
shak 2002, p. 20). Rong notes that a few examples of ley 2010). With its high waist and wide standing col-
Buddha or bodhisattva figures in pearl-roundel mo- lar, it can be seen in many images of women from
tifs have been identified at the Buddhist site of Bami- the sixth century, although other examples are worn
yan in present-day Afghanistan, but the only example without an under-dress, exposing the wearer’s throat
known from regions nearer China was found by Au- and decolletage. What is striking is how different her
rel Stein at the site of Shorchuk (Ming-oi) in what is dress is from that of the other women in the tomb.
now Xinjiang province [Fig. 12]. It is a stucco plaque Why might the lady of the household alone choose to
showing a bodhisattva’s head within a pearl roundel dress in so markedly Chinese a fashion? A suggestive
(Rong 2003, p. 67). The pearl-roundel textiles seen in observation comes from the research of Judith Lerner,
Xu Xianxiu’s tomb are unusual, but can be explained who has studied funerary materials belonging to Sog-
as an adaptation of an imported motif to a local cul- dians living in China in the sixth and seventh centu-
ture with a strong tradition of Buddhism. No actual ries. She points out that Sogdian women’s dress was
textiles with this bodhisattva pattern have so far been associated with dancing girls and other low-status
identified, but silk from this period rarely survives ex- entertainers who fulfilled north China’s taste for en-

9
tertainment with a Silk Road flavor. In this context, This decoupling of dress from ethnic origin only
upper-class Sogdian women may have deliberately continued into the Tang, when the men’s dress shown
eschewed Sogdian dress to avoid these associations here became so normalized for Chinese men as to be
(Lerner 2005, p. 22 and n. 52). Xu Xianxiu was, so far near-universal in painting and sculpture of the time.
as we can tell, of Chinese descent, though we know Ethnic difference in Tang art is marked by differenc-
nothing about his wife; but regardless of her ethnic es of physiognomy, rather than differences of dress
background, if Central Asian-style dress for women (Abramson 2003). We can already see the beginnings
was associated with performers of humble status, it of this process in the figure of the groom who stands
might explain why it is seen here on servants but not behind the ox’s rump on the east wall of the tomb. By
on their mistress. contrast to all the other figures in the tomb, this man
The murals in Xu Xianxiu’s tomb reflect the inter- is shown with wide, round eyes, a protuberant nose,
nationalism and multiculturalism of the Northern Qi. and a full beard. He appears to wear a close-fitting
While the basic layout of the tomb and its pictorial cap, with curly hair protruding at the sides and back.
and conceptual themes are consistent with an indige- This is the only figure in Xu’s tomb who is unequivo-
nous tradition of decorated tombs that begins as early cally marked as a foreigner, and it is his physiognomy
as the Han dynasty, the details of dress and material rather than his dress which distinguishes him.
culture reflect post-Han cultural changes, including Xu’s tomb was furnished to provide for his journey
the arrival of Buddhism and the influx of non-Chi- into the afterlife, and to ensure his rank and privilege
nese populations. We can identify various details as would be recognized along the way. The signs of that
Chinese or non-Chinese, but this is less telling than privilege, including his entourage and guard compa-
considering the tomb as a whole, as an example of ny, are made legible through the dress and person-
the complex ways material and visual culture reflect al adornment of the figures on its walls. They are a
a multicultural society. As Albert Dien observes, Xu’s manifestation of Northern Qi cosmopolitanism, when
tomb suggests strategies of hybridity characteristic of the new ideas, people, and objects pouring into China
life in sixth-century north China (Dien 2007, p. 427). along the Silk Road fed the growth of a vital, multi-
If we think that Xu Xianxiu and his wife are both cultural society, decades before the founding of the
“dressed in their best” here, it is worth pointing out cosmopolitan Tang.
that his best included a rich Central Asian-style fur
coat, while hers was a fine Chinese-style robe, doubt- About the author
less of silk, adorned with several different decorative
brocades and embroideries. And one of the few sur-
Kate A. Lingley is Associate Professor of Art History
viving valuables from this tomb, the gold ring found
at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Her research
among the looters’ rubble, was clearly made in west-
focuses on Buddhist votive sculpture of the Northern
ern Asia, with its intaglio gemstone, granulated bezel,
and Southern Dynasties period, with a particular inter-
and double lion’s-head mount (Zhang and Chang
est in the social history of religious art in North China.
2003).
Her recent articles in this area have been published
The forms of dress seen in this tomb mark a transi- in Asia Major, Ars Orientalis, and Archives of Asian Art.
tional period, in which styles which began as mark- She is currently working on a book manuscript that
ers of ethnic difference acquire new meaning after a examines the relationship between tomb portraits and
century or two of ongoing cultural interaction. The donor figures in the art of Northern Dynasties China.
phenomenon is familiar in our own experience of liv- E-mail: <lingley@hawaii.edu>.
ing in a globalizing world. U. S. readers over a certain
age can doubtless remember when sushi was a new References
and exotic introduction to the North American palate.
Now, although its Japanese origins have not been for-
Abramson 2003
gotten, sushi is a familiar part of the culinary scene in
Marc Samuel Abramson. “Deep Eyes and High Noses:
most cities. U. S. sushi menus routinely include local
Physiognomy and the Depiction of Barbarians in Tang Chi-
innovations like the California roll, whose existence na.” In: Nicola Di Cosmo and Don J. Wyatt, eds., Political
speaks to the “domestication” of sushi. Similarly, Xu Frontiers, Ethnic Boundaries, and Human Geographies in Chi-
Xianxiu and his contemporaries were doubtless quite nese History. New York: Routledge-Curzon, 2003: 119–59.
conscious of the cultural origins of the forms of dress
represented here, and likely chose them deliberately Cheng 2003
for the meanings they conveyed. But it is unlikely that Bonnie Cheng. “Attending the Dead: Shifting Needs and
anyone depicted in these murals was understood to be Modes of Presentation in Sixth Century Tombs.” In: Wu
dressing as a foreigner. Hung, ed., Between Han and Tang: Visual and Material Culture

10
in a Transformative Period. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 2003: Rudenko 1970
425–69. Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko. Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazy-
Cheng 2011 ryk Burials of Iron Age Horsemen. Translated and with a pref-
ace by M. W. Thompson. Berkeley: Univ. of California Pr.,
_______. “Functional and Nonfunctional Realism: Imagined
1970. (Originally published in Russian as Kul’tura naseleniia
Spaces for the Dead in Northern Dynasties China.” In: Re-
Gornogo Altaia v skifskoe vremia. Moskva: Izd-vo. Akademii
becca M. Brown and Deborah S. Hutton, eds., A Companion
nauk SSSR, 1953.)
to Asian Art and Architecture. New York: Wiley-Blackwell,
2011: 70–96. Shanxi kaogu 2003
Dien 2007 Shanxi sheng kaogu yanjiusuo 山西省考古研究所 and Tai-
yuan shi wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 太原市文物考古研究所.
Albert E. Dien. Six Dynasties Civilization. New Haven: Yale
“Taiyuan Bei Qi Xu Xianxiu mu fajue jianbao” 太原北齐徐
Univ. Pr., 2007.
显秀墓发掘简报 [Preliminary report on the excavation of the
Gervers-Molnár 1973 Northern Qi tomb of Xu Xianxiu in Taiyuan]. Wenwu 2003
Veronika Gervers-Molnár. The Hungarian Szür: An Archaic (10): 4–40.
Mantle of Eurasian Origin. ROM History, Technology and Art Shanxi kaogu 2010
monograph no. 1. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1973.
Shanxi sheng kaogu yanjiusuo 山西省考古研究所, Shanxi
Kesner 1995 bowuyuan 山西博物院, Shuozhou shi wenwu ju 朔州市文
Ladislav Kesner. “Likeness of No-One: (Re)Presenting the 物局, and Chongfusi wenwu guanlisuo 崇福寺文物管理所.
First Emperor’s Army.” The Art Bulletin 77/1 (1995): 115–32. “Shanxi Shuozhou Shuiquanliang Bei Qi bihua mu fajue
jianbao” 山西朔州水泉梁北齐壁画墓发掘简报 [Preliminary
Kuhn 2012 report on the excavation of the Northern Qi mural-painted
Dieter Kuhn, ed., Chinese Silks. New Haven: Yale Univ. Pr. tomb at Shuiquanliang in Shuozhou, Shanxi province]. Wen-
2012. wu 2010 (12): 26–42.

Lerner 2005 Sima 1993

Judith A. Lerner. Aspects of Assimilation: The Funerary Prac- Sima Qian 司马迁. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dy-
tices and Furnishings of Central Asians in China. Sino-Platon- nasty I. Translated by Burton Watson. Revised edition. New
ic Papers 168. [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania], York: Columbia University Press, 1993 (originally published
2005. 1963) .

Lewis 2011 Taiyuan wenwu 2005

Mark David Lewis. China Between Empires: The Northern and Taiyuan shi wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 太原市文物考古研究
Southern Dynasties. History of Imperial China book 2. Cam- 所. Bei Qi Xu Xianxiu mu 北齐徐显秀墓 [The Northern Qi
bridge, MA: Belknap Pr., 2011. tomb of Xu Xianxiu]. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 2005.

Lim 2013 Wong 2003

Susanna Soojung Lim. China and Japan in the Russian Imagina- Dorothy Wong, “Ethnicity and Identity: Northern nomads
tion, 1685–1922: To the Ends of the Orient. London: Routledge, as Buddhist art patrons during the period of Northern and
2013. Southern dynasties.” In: Nicola Di Cosmo and Don J. Wyatt,
eds., Political Frontiers, Ethnic Boundaries, and Human Geogra-
Lingley 2010 phies in Chinese History. London; New York: Routledge-Cur-
Kate A. Lingley. “Naturalizing the Exotic: On the changing zon, 2003: 80–118.
meanings of ethnic dress in medieval China.” Ars Orientalis Wu 1997
38 (2010): 50–80.
Wu Hung, “Beyond the Great Boundary: Funerary Narra-
Marshak 2002 tive in the Cangshan Tomb.” In: John Hay, ed., Boundaries in
Boris I. Marshak. “Central Asia from the Third to the Sev- China. London: Reaktion Books, 1997: 81–104.
enth Century.” In: Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner, Wu 2010
eds., Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men along China’s Silk Road.
Silk Road Studies 7. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2002: 11– Wu Hung. The Art of the Yellow Springs: Understanding Chi-
23. nese Tombs. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Pr., 2010.

Rong 2003 Zhang and Chang 2003

Rong Xinjiang 荣新江. “Lue tan Xu Xianxiu mu bihua de Zhang Qingjie and Chang Yimin 张庆捷，常一民. “Bei Qi
pusa lianzhuwen” 略谈徐显秀墓壁画的菩萨连珠纹 [A brief Xu Xianxiu mu chutu de qian lan baoshi jin jiezhi”北齐徐显
discussion of the pearl-roundel bodhisattva pattern in the 秀墓出土的嵌蓝宝石金戒指 [A gold ring with a blue intaglio
mural paintings of the Xu Xianxiu tomb]. Wenwu 2003 (10): gem excavated from the Northern Qi tomb of Xu Xianxiu].
66–68. Wenwu 2003 (10): 53–57.

11
Zhao 1999 number of additional tombs in the region whose wall
Zhao Feng. Treasures in Silk. Hong Kong: ISAT/Costume paintings have not survived (p. 188), as well as the tombs
Squad, 1999. of Kudi Huiluo, Lou Rui, and Xu Xianxiu, and the Taiyu-
an No. 1 Thermoelectric Plant tomb, all near Taiyuan (pp.
Zheng 2002 199–200). The more recent discovery of a tomb of this type
in Shuozhou, in the northern part of Shanxi province, im-
Zheng Yan 郑岩. Wei Jin Nanbeichao bihua mu yanjiu 魏晋南 plies that it was even more widespread among the North-
北朝壁画墓研究 [Study of mural-painted tombs of the Wei, ern Qi aristocracy than Zheng’s preliminary study suggests
Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties]. Beijing: Wenwu chu- (Shanxi kaogu 2010).
banshe, 2002.
2. The tomb occupant’s surname [X] has been lost, and only
Zheng 2003 his personal name, Daogui, survives.
Zheng Yan 郑岩. “Bei Qi Xu Xianxiu mu muzhu huaxiang
youguan wenti” 北齐徐显秀墓墓主画像有关问题 [Ques- 3. Although by no means the earliest, an example of this
tions relating to the portrait of the tomb occupant in the usage can be found in Burton Watson’s English translation
Northern Qi tomb of Xu Xianxiu]. Wenwu 2003 (10): 58–62. of the Records of the Grand Historian, a history compiled in
the first century BCE by Sima Qian: “Wu Chen, Zhang Er,
Notes and Chen Yu brandished their horse-whips and conquered
twenty or thirty cities of Zhao and, when they were done,
1. These are enumerated in chapter six of Zheng 2002, pp. each hoped to face south and become a king. How could
181–203. They include the tomb of the Ruru Princess, the any of them be satisfied to remain a minister?” (Sima 1993,
tomb of Yao Jun, the tomb of Gao Run, and the Wanzhang p. 137)
tomb, all near the former city of Yecheng (p. 187), plus a

12
 Images of the Early Turks in Chinese Murals and
Figurines from the Recently-Discovered Tomb in
Mongolia

Sergey A. Yatsenko
Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow

T he comparison of costume materials of the ear-

ly Turks in the east and west of their territories
following the dissolution of a single Qaghanate is of
Our subject here will be depictions from the Shoroon
Bumbagar tomb in Baiannuur sum, Bulgan aimag,
Central Mongolia, excavated in 2011 (Fig. 1.1-2). The
great interest. Their costume, especially that of the anthropomorphic images of this site (in the murals
elite, changed significantly under the influence of and the burial figurines made by the provincial Chi-
both internal and external factors (Yatsenko 2009). nese artists) have been completely published (see esp.
Ochir et al. 2013; Sartkojauly 2011),
but they undoubtedly will continue
for a long time to be the subject of
scholarly analysis. This is the north-
ernmost location where there is an
extensive series of works by early
medieval Chinese artists created at
the site. The murals, executed by
artists of varied skill, are in all sec-
tions of the structure except section
IV [Fig. 1.3] (Ochir et al. 2013, Figs.
5, 19). On the right side of the walls
(as one faces the burial chamber),
which is the more significant in tra-
ditional societies, priority was given
to the display of the more complicat-
ed subjects and related symbols. We
will not dwell here on the iconogra-
phy of these scenes.
On each side of the entrance cor-
ridor (section I) are analogous com-
positions of the genuflection to three
banners on the part of four standing
men (Nos. 1-4 counting from the en-
trance). They include on each side
a “master of ceremonies” [Fig 2.1],
the only individual with a sword,
dressed in a red or brown caftan,
who stands on one side of the ban-
ners. On the other side of them are
two praying men of different height

Fig. 1. Plan of the barrow and crypt in

Shoroon Bumbagor. After: Ochir et al.
2013, Figs. 5, 19.

Copyright © 2014 Sergey A. Yatsenko

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 13 - 24 13 Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
Fig. 2. Costume details from the wall painting and terracotta in
Shoroon Bumbagor. After: Ochir et al. 2013. Fig. 3. Some types of burial mingqi terracotta from Shoroon
Bumbagor and from Omogoor Tash (6). After: Ochir et al. 2013.

14
 Fig. 4. Chinese analogies for the female costume (1)
and the means of tying up “putou” headdresses (2)
(1 – After: Li 1995, pp. 153, 159, 193; 2 – After:
Kriukov et al. 1984, pp. 159–60).

< Fig. 5. Male costume elements of the early Turks

in Shoroon Bumbagor.

(and age?), with crossed hands, dressed in

gray-green caftans. In between the two is a
personage in a red caftan [Fig. 2.2], standing
with hands clasped in the Chinese manner.
The costume of all the participants in these
scenes is quite similar [Fig. 2.1-2.8]. That is,
they have caftans of a single color somewhat
below the knees in length, with a wide collar
without lapels, tightly fastened on the chest
and below the belt with buttons, wrapped
over in the Chinese manner on the right
side and sewn along the bottom hem with
a wide, somewhat darker selvedge. Their
sleeves (markedly longer than the arms) are
gathered at the cuffs by buttons [Fig. 5.12].
Under them is a white shirt with a narrow
horizontal collar. Also specifically a Chinese
fashion are the complete “putou” headdress-
es, gray in color, with the 7th-century tech-
nique of tying them [Figs. 4.2; 5.10-11] (see
the plates in Kriukov et al. 1984, pp. 159–
60).1 The boots are of a rather light color,
tied with thongs around the ankle (they are
black only on the “master of ceremonies” on

15
the left side) [Fig. 5.20]. They have black leather belts that period and points also with the right hand in the
(no buckles or tie straps are visible), which can have direction of the burial chamber. On the left (the side
as many as 12 unevenly spaced hanging straps (on the of lesser stature) the images are just barely and very
second personage on the left) [Fig. 5.16], from 4-8 on badly preserved to the level of the chest: a youth in
a side. The ends of the belt itself hang down in front the center, a girl to his left (and of shorter stature) in
and in back. Only the third figure on the left lacks the Chinese costume [Fig. 2.7], and to his right (on the
hanging straps entirely.2 The men are beardless, but “male side”) possibly a boy of short stature (the fig-
have moustaches of three kinds: very long and slight- ure is barely visible). The youth in the center has no
ly curled on the ends, saturated with a pomade (on moustache, sports a putou headdress, but like the left
both of the masters of ceremonies and on right figure groom, wears a white caftan with two lapels (but-
no. 2 and left no. 3) [Fig. 5.1]; long and hanging (no. toned on the tips) on a red lining. Under the caftan is
2 on the left) [Fig. 5.2]; and short horizontal (no. 3 on a white shirt with a narrow horizontal collar. In other
the right) [Fig. 5.3]. On the left master of ceremonies words, elements of his costume are in part similar to
are drop-shaped earrings [Fig. 5.1]. The figure farthest those of the men in the entrance corridor (section I), in
from the entrance on the right points with his hand in part those of the young grooms. He has drop-shaped
the direction of the burial chamber. earrings, turned upside down.
On each side of the corridor of the following section In the burial chamber itself (section VIII) are two
II we see a “groom” leading a horse (of the deceased?). groups of wall paintings. In one of them are the
These youths, who lack moustaches, apparently are of mourners and those praying for the soul of the de-
lesser rank, although they are dressed very impres- ceased who are of junior status and the younger rel-
sively. In contrast to the figures in Section I, their cos- atives and faithful servants (?). Left of the entrance is
tume has no elements of Chinese origin [Fig. 2, Nos. a symbolic row of men and women (7 of them pre-
5.7,9,14,21]. On the caftans of both (folded over fol- served), the predominant color of their attire red. Each
lowing the ancient tradition on the left side) are two of them prays separately next to a tree. The tallest fig-
lapels with a button on the tip. Sleeves are rolled up ure is man who heads the group, praying with arms
for engaging in work; on the figure on the left, the left crossed on his chest. Like the figures in the entrance
hem of the caftan is tucked in, displaying white trou- corridor, he wears a tightly buttoned red caftan to
sers [Fig. 5.14]. They have red boots, tied with thongs the knees and dark boots. But he lacks the headdress;
at the ankle [Fig. 5.21]. Even the shape of the faces instead of it we see his shoulder-length hair combed
differs from the faces of all the other men: they are back. The second figure, also a man in a longer (almost
not elongated but wide and flattened. Their caftans to his heels) red caftan [Fig. 5.13], has on his head a
are red and (as was specific to the Early Turks) blue black putou. He points ahead, his sleeve ritually hang-
with black or white linings respectively. The white ing loose below the hand. Then there are two women
belts have no supplementary ties. The figure on the of equal stature with clothes and coiffure typical for
right (pointing with his hand in the direction of the Chinese women of the 7th century [Fig. 2.11, the better
burial chamber) has a red headdress in the shape of preserved of the two]. The fifth individual is a man,
a low, truncated cone, sewn from four “petals” with dressed identically to the second figure. He prays with
rounded lower edges; on the forehead is sewn an am- his arms crossed on his chest [Fig. 2.3]. The sixth fig-
ulet (?) [Fig. 5.9]. Such a headdress is so far unique for ure is a short girl (her height indicating either her sta-
the early Turks, though known on depictions of later tus or age); the seventh, a woman, again of normal
Turks. The left groom is one of only two of the men height. All the women have long-sleeved jackets, the
shown with straight hair (both of them on the left side sleeves ritually allowed to hang loose. The left hand of
from the entrance): he has long hair to the shoulders; figures 4 and 6 extend forward.
the brow is partly shaved, leaving in the center a small
On the other side of the walls of the burial cham-
forelock [Fig. 5.7]. Both grooms wear oval-shaped ear-
ber are three young men without moustaches (all are
rings.
different heights). Unlike all the other figures, they
In the next compartment, section III, are depicted are not standing still but walking, with hands crossed
on both sides what are possibly family members of at the chest and flowing sleeves. On their heads they
the deceased (Ochir et al. 2013, Fig. 27, Pl. 26). Un- have the putou. On the cheeks of each of them is a spe-
fortunately their images have been poorly preserved: cific drawing in black paint or a tattoo [Fig. 5.4-6]. On
the colors have faded; the surface of the wall is partly the cheek of the lead one are two signs— in the shape
damaged. On the right a man, dressed like the figures of a trefoil (“growing” from the eyes) and below it,
in the entrance corridor, section I, says something to one shaped like “the silhouette of a flying gull.” On
a woman standing to his left in a Chinese costume of the brows of the middle figure is a small sign shaped

16
like a sprout with four leaves, “growing” toward the the rare depictions of Turkic figures, the standing no-
eyes. The last one in the row has a mark also shaped tables have a longer caftan without sleeves that serves
like a sprout on the cheek, “growing” away from the as a cloak (Yatsenko 2009, Figs. 20–21). The caftan of
eyes. The first two wear long (almost floor-length) caf- the standard-bearer is made of inexpensive materi-
tans in blue and red, under which can be seen the toes al, apparently of brown silk, which in the 7th century
of boots. The rearmost individual has a red caftan that fell out of favor among the Turkic elite and is found
is shorter, extending a bit below the knees [Figs. 2.4; among peripheral groups in entirely ordinary burials
5.13].3 (Ibid., n. 23). It is close in appearance to an example on
an as yet rare figurine of an ordinary person, where,
The second important group of images from the
however, the surface treatment underscores the fact it
tomb is the terracotta burial figurines common in Chi-
is made of animal skins (Ibid., Fig. 22).5
na in that period (mingqi). They were positioned in a
complex composition in the burial chamber. In front On the head of the standard-bearer, the headdress
were 13 figurines of standing Chinese women in fan- is shaped like half an egg, with a wide and elongated
cy dress [Figs. 2.12, 3.8]. Their costume, coiffure and projection on the back of the neck [Fig. 5.8], of the type
makeup (the marks on the face, etc.), like those on the which in Mongolia and China became widespread
murals, correspond to widely known Chinese models starting in the 4th–5th centuries in the time of domina-
[Fig. 4.1] (see concrete analogies to this tomb, e.g., Li tion by the descendants of the nomadic Xianbei. In
1995, pp. 153, 159, 193 etc.). Then in three columns/ one instance it is known on an early Turkic statue in
rows were 15 standing Turk horsemen, many of them Mongolia (Yatsenko 2009, Fig. 26); we also see it on
playing horns (of several different types) [Figs. 2.6, mingqi from China which depict members of the Tur-
3.7]. At the back, along the wall of the burial chamber kic elite (Ibid., Fig. 20). The long, wide white trousers
were 37 figures of standing male Turks [Figs. 2.9; 3.1- do not reach the ground; from under them can be seen
5], several of whose left (!) hands, by good fortune, the toes of shoes. Drawn on the figurines is a black
still holding the wooden staffs of banners (Ochir et al. belt with hanging straps. This detail is the only one in
2013, pl. 37) and even partially their fabric. Alternat- which the artist (and patron), unlike in the mural, felt
ing with them in a single row (at varying intervals) it necessary to vary somewhat the design [Fig. 5.17-
were 40 terracotta standing Chinese officials, leaning 19]. Here we see a belt significantly longer than the
on staffs [Figs. 2.10, 3.9]. In addition, there were four circumference of the waist and wrapped twice around
wooden figurines of officials with red caftans [Fig. it. In addition one end is fastened by a buckle, which
3.10] and nine figurines and busts of Chinese wom- hangs in front. Only on five of the terracottas was the
en [Fig. 2.13]. The figures of each group were crafted buckle apparently on the side (Ochir et al. 2013, pp.
following a single iconographic type, but are not iden- 57, 59, 67, 88, 115). The other end of the belt, which is
tical. They differ not only in small details of the faces tucked in and has a distinctive decorative tip, always
drawn freehand (and apparently in some haste), but hangs down from the back. For comparison, see the
also in some instances in the color of the décor of some back of the statues from the Bilge qaghan complex in
details of the clothing. Mongolia and in Omogoor Tash [Fig. 3.6]. In addi-
tion, besides the two hanging ends of the belt, there
Among the terracotta figurines of particular interest
are several short hanging straps for the fastening of
for us are the standing Turkic standard-bearers. They
various necessary accessories. In the majority of cas-
are conventional types, grown men with small, some-
es there are three on each side, six altogether.6 These
what drooping moustaches (in two cases, the mous-
items suspended from the belt on the left are depicted
tache is longer; only in one case out of the 36 does it
on two terracottas—a small pouch (kaptarga), in one
bend upwards) (Ochir et al. 2013, pp. 58, 113, 126).
case also a whetstone (?), and a pencil-box (kalamdon)
They display a barely noticeable band of a small beard
(?) [Fig. 3.2,5].7
on the chin4; only in one instance does this “typical”
small beard cover the chin (Ibid., p. 57). The figures There are fewer equestrian musicians than standard
are dressed in red-brown caftans extending to the bearers. The elements of their costume and coiffure
knees and folding over slightly in Chinese fashion to are the same in both groups. There are three hanging
the right. The sleeves of the caftan are longer than the straps on each side of their belts. However, the color
arms and, gathered at the wrist, lie in folds. It has two of the headdresses and caftans on the musicians is en-
lapels; along the upper edge sometimes there is a dec- tirely different, the Turks’ sacred blue of the sky god
orative band on which is visible a white lining [Fig. Tengri (cf. in Samarkand; Yatsenko 2004). A pouch is
5.15]. Worn under the caftan is a white shirt with a suspended from the left side of the belt on only one
horizontal collar. On analogous and synchronic terra- figurine, and its caftan is longer than that of the others,
cotta mingqi from the territory of China proper, among covering the trousers. Possibly this individual has a

17
 Fig. 6. The golden personal accessories (1-5), some Byzantine figures—the tight buttoning up of the caftans and in
coins and their imitations (6-8) and the tamga-sign (9) from one instance its brown color) (Yatsenko 2009).
Shoroon Bumbagor (After: Ochir et al. 2013).
Unfortunately, dating the barrow more precisely
within the 7th century presents many difficulties. Of
somewhat different status than do the rest.
little help is the identification of several Byzantine
The burial chamber contained a wooden coffin with gold coins and their imitations [Fig. 6.6-8].9 Most im-
a symbolic arrangement of the accessories of a no lon- portant for any hypothesis here are the Chinese ele-
ger extant cremated body, whose remains were placed ments in the tomb: the Chinese features in the dress of
in a special small box. In the coffin were elements of the Turkic men (in particular the putou headdress, and
the costume of its elite owner—fragments of a caftan the folding of the caftan to the right, elements which
with large gold appliqués which decorated the breast ordinarily were borrowed by foreigners of various
[Fig. 6.4], appliqués for the diadem, made of bronze origins temporarily or permanently living in China
and covered in gold foil [Fig 6.1], gold bracelets and [Yatsenko 2012, p. 111]); the presence of figurines of
a signet ring [Fig. 6.2-3], gold parts of a belt, among Chinese officials; the completely Chinese appearance
them appliqués depicting a recumbent bull and styl- of all the women; the employment for the decora-
ized clouds [see for example Fig. 6.5], etc. The diadem tion of the tomb of Chinese painters and potters. The
with bronze decorations seems rather modest, and barrow realistically can be dated only in the period
such obligatory attributes of the Early Turkic rulers as when the Eastern Turks had lost their independence
large earrings and a torque are absent. Buried in this and become part of the Tang Empire (630–682 CE).
tomb was a representative of one of the noble clans In the opinion of Dmitrii Stashenkov (Samara Mu-
of the Eastern Turks. Fortunately, on one of the gold seum), judging from the shape of the horse harness
plaques is his tamga-sign, of a very rare type [Fig. 6.9].8 and belt details, it can be dated after the middle of the
7th century. That is, Shoroon Bumbagar may actual-
In the costume of the early Turkic men in the various
ly date between 650 and 682 CE. However, as is well
depictions of Shoroon Bumbagar we see new elements
known, even Iangar Kemin, the founder of the Eastern
which appeared precisely in the 7th century, after the
Qaghanate, provided an example to his subjects, hav-
collapse of a unified Qaghanate: two lapels on the caf-
ing worn the Chinese putou and the long-sleeved coat
tans, the almost complete disappearance on them of a
since 604 CE (Yatsenko 2009).
decorative selvedge, the appearance of clothing with a
blue color, the predominance in each object of clothing How is one to explain the presence in the burial
of fabric of a single color. In addition, preserved here chamber of depictions of Chinese officials and the
are earlier features which on other depictions of the 7th exclusively Chinese appearance of the women? The
century no longer are present (on the most important most probable explanation seems to be that the in-

18
Fig. 7. Shoroon Dov barrow construction. After: Danilov et al., 2010, Fig. 1.

terred in his lifetime had long been on (military) ser- of the Pugu region whose grandfather began his ca-
vice of the Tang Empire, lived and possibly died in reer in the Imperial Guard back at the time of the birth
China proper, had Chinese wives (and, of course, the of the Tang Dynasty. Here the equestrian musicians
Chinese servants attending them), and his lifestyle have two types of iconography: analogous to those
and tastes were strongly Sinicized. This situation was, described above; and wearing the putou and sporting
it seems, rare. Indicative is the fact that the burial a thick small beard. All that has been preserved of the
mingqi of Turkic individuals from ethnically Chinese wooden figurines of the Chinese officials is busts [Fig.
regions at that time, unlike other ethnic groups de- 8] (Danilov et al. 2010, Fig. 2.1-2.5; Buraev 2013).
picted on such figurines (Yatsenko 2012, pp. 103, 111),
often do not change their external appearance (clearly
wishing to preserve their cultural identity). In many Fig. 8. Clay (1-2, top row) and wooden (bottom) mingqi from Sho-
instances their costume is entirely devoid of any Chi- roon Dov barrow. After: Danilov et al., 2010, Figs. 2.1-2, 5.
nese elements (Yatsenko 2009). Precisely thanks to the
long personal connection of a specific Turkic aristocrat
with China, for his burial in his distant homeland, in
the fastnesses of the steppes of Northern Mongolia, a
complex was created that was unusual for that region.
In the costume (Yatsenko 2013, Figs. 1, 9) and overall
in the culture of the Western Turks in the 7th century,
such obvious manifestations of Sinicization are not to
be found.
The given tomb obviously is not unique in con-
taining a large number of products of Chinese art. In
2009 only a few kilometers from it in the neighboring
Töv Aimag was excavated the Shoroon Dov barrow,
which had an analogous construction [Fig. 7]. This
was a grave, looted in antiquity, containing a symbolic
burial of two coffins, one inside the other, but without
the body, with an array of wooden and clay mingqi.
There were no murals. The Chinese epitaph on granite
commemorates the burial here in 667 CE of I Yaoy-
ue, a third generation hereditary Chinese vicegerent

19
 extend lower than the base of the skull). On her wrists
she wears narrow bracelets. The figure of the baby
is also interesting, dressed only in a very short shirt
with long sleeves. Another example, where the com-
bination of costume elements has no analogue among
the known depictions of peoples of Central Asia, is a
female camel rider (not colored) from a grave dated
625 CE, probably depicting a Turkic girl [Fig. 10]. She
likewise wears a skirt that is fastened up high (here it
is apparent that its length extends slightly below the
knees), a shirt with a slit and long sleeves and boots.
Her hair is combed straight and gathered in a knot on
the crown. In her left hand she holds a large, flat flask
probably for kumys.

Fig. 9. Woman with child mingqi,

Richard Stern Foundation for the Arts
<http://www.pinterest.com/pin/575616396094451565/>.

Of no little interest are the presumed early Turks

among the mingqi of the 7th–8th centuries depicted
in recent auction catalogs and found in a number of
museum and private collections. Many of them have
yet to attract the attention of specialists. Here, to il-
lustrate, I make use of the photo series published in
<http://www.pinterest.com>.
As is well known, few realistic depictions of wom-
en from that period with detailed costume have been
preserved. For the most part these are probably depic-
tions of the Goddess Umai in stone and her analogue,
the wife of the ruler, on the coins of the Tashkent Oasis
(Chach). Other female figures are very rare (Yatsenko
2013, Fig. 9).
Thus a terracotta of a Turkic woman, sitting on a
Fig. 10. Girl mingqi from the grave dated by 625 CE <http://
camel and breastfeeding an infant, in the collection of www.pinterest.com/pin/575616396094451543/>.
the Richard Stern Foundation for the Arts, is of great
interest. To a considerable degree it preserves its col- Among the terracotta equestrian musicians are an
oring [Fig. 9]. The woman, with a generous figure interesting example of the early 8th century from the
and full face, is dressed in a caftan which slides off Metropolitan Museum [Fig. 11, next page], another
the shoulders. Under it she wears a red shirt with a sold in February 2013 in the Giafferi Auction of Asi-
vertically cut collar (?) and rolled up sleeves; fastened atic Arts in Paris [Fig. 12], and several figurines of
under the bodice is a long white skirt. Also she wears young men without moustaches [Fig. 13]. Their belted
wide white trousers, below which are red shoes. On knee-length caftans are red, white or black. Usually
her head is a rather high headdress shaped like half the breasts of the caftans are not distinctly delineated,
an egg. She has short hair (in back the locks do not even when the lower flaps are separated, and the gar-
20
 Fig. 11. Horseman mingqi, Metropolitan Museum <http://www.
pinterest.com/pin/575616396094260568/>.

ments can be interpreted as shirts. On one figurine the

caftan has a small “Chinese” fold to the right and two
narrow lapels [Fig. 13.3]; on anther, the sleeves of the
caftan are rolled up [Fig. 13.1, right]. Trousers, of mid-
dling width, are white; in one case, brown. Sometimes
they are tucked into shoes, in other cases, boots, and
in one case are worn over shoes. Headdresses usually
are the same color as the caftans and vary in shape.
Some are low, in the shape of half an egg or with a
sharp tip and wide projection on the back of the skull
[Figs. 11, 12, 13.2]. Such were widespread among the
Xianbei as early as the 4th–5th centuries in the eastern
steppes and northern China. On others there is a rath-
er high cone with externally folded flaps [Fig. 13.3], on
whose sides are two slits. Also, one finds a gray (felt?)
tight-fitting small cap whose wide ear flaps are tied
under the chin [Fig. 13.1].
Fig. 13. Young horsemen mingqi <http://www.pinterest.com/
pin/575616396094260522/> ; Ibid.: <…573/> and Ibid. <…
604/> (the left horseman).

Fig. 12.Horseman mingqi, Giafferi Auction of Asiatic Arts,

Paris <http://www.pinterest.com/pin/575616396094260570/>.

21
 Fig. 15. Hunter mingqi <http://www.pinterest.com/
pin/575616396094451556/>.
Fig. 14. Camel rider mingqi, Institute for the Arts, Chicago
<http://www.pinterest.com/pin/575616396094451530/>.

A pair of figurines with what are assumed to be Acknowledgements

Turks riding camels is very interesting. One of these
mingqi is in the collection of the Institute for the Arts, I am grateful to Nikolai N. Kradin, Director of the
Chicago [Fig. 14]. There one sees on the man a dark red Center of Political Anthropology of the Far Eastern
short caftan with two large lapels (ending in large but- Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Vladivo-
tons, which are favorite details on depictions of Turks) stok) and Kharjaubai Sarkojauly, the Lev N. Gumilev
and with a green lining. On the head is a closely fitting Professor of the Eurasian National University (Astana,
small white cap. The other figurine [Fig. 15] depicts Kazakhstan), for their kind advice and for supplying a
what one imagines to be a hunter (on the hump of the number of publications. Evgenii Iu. Goncharov from
camel is fastened the skull of some animal). His caf- the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of
tan with two lapels extends below the knee and has Sciences, Moscow, kindly identified a series of Byzan-
a wide selvedge along the bottom hem. His narrow tine and pseudo-Byzantine coins.
trousers are tucked into shoes. He has small mous-
taches and a small thick beard. His unusual headdress About the author
is a hat with a high crown and wide brim. Such hats
are known on petroglyphs of the Early Turks (Yatsen- A specialist on the culture of the ancient Iranian and
ko 2013, Fig. 4.6). Turkic peoples, Sergey Yatsenko is a professor in
As a whole, the mingqi which depict what we assume the Department of Socio-Cultural Studies at the Rus-
are the early Turks display a number of surprises and sian State University for the Humanities in Moscow.
notably help us to determine more precisely their ex- E-mail: <sergey_yatsenko@mail.ru>.
ternal appearance.

22
References in the ‘Hall of Ambassadors’ from Afrasiab as a Historical
Source.” Transoxiana 8 (June 2004) <http://www.transoxi-
Buraev 2013 ana.org/0108/yatsenko-afrasiab_costume.html>.
Aleksei I. Buraev. “Kurgan Shoroon Dov. Skul’pturnye izo-
brazheniia iz dereva” [The Shoroon Dov barrow. Images Yatsenko 2009
sculpted from wood]. Vestnik Buriatskogo gos. universiteta _______. “Early Turks: Male Costume in the Chinese Art.
2013, vyp. 8: 67–74. <http://www.bsu.ru/content/pag- Second half of the 6th – first half of the 8th cc. (Images of ‘Oth-
es2/1073/Vostokovedenie2013.pdf>, accessed 8 October ers’).” Transoxiana 14 (August 2009) <http://www.transoxi-
2014. ana.org/14/yatsenko_turk_costume_chinese_art.html>.
Danilov et al. 2010 Yatsenko 2012
Sergei V. Danilov, Ayudai Ochir et al. “Kurgan Shoroon _______. “Sogdian Costume in Chinese and Sogdian Art of
Dov i ego mesto v obshchei sisteme arkheologicheskikh the 6th–8th centuries”. In: Serica – Da Qin. Studies in Archaeol-
pamiatnikov tiurkskoi epokhi Tsentral’noi Azii” [The Sho- ogy, Philology and History on Sino-Western Relations (Selected
roon Dov barrow and its place in the system of archaeolog- Problems) ed. Gościwit Malinowski, Aleksander Paroń, and
ical monuments of the Turkic Epoch in Central Asia]. In: Bartłomiej Sz. Szmoniewski. Wrocław: Insytut Archeologii i
Drevnie kul’tury Mongolii i Baikal’skoi Sibiri. Ulan-Ude: Izd- Etnologii PAN, 2012: 101–14.
vo. Buriatskogo gos. universiteta, 2010: 254–57.
Yatsenko 2013
Ermolenko and Kurmankulov 2012 _______. “Some Observations on Depictions of Early Turkic
Liubov’ N. Ermolenko; Zholdasbek K. Kurmankulov. Costume.” The Silk Road 11 (2013): 70–81.
“Borodka v ikonografii drevnetiurkskikh izvaianii” [The
small beard in the iconography of Early Turkic statues]. In:
Izobrazitel’nye i tekhnologicheskie traditsii v iskusstve Severnoi i Notes
Tsentral’noi Azii, ed. Olga S. Sovetova. Moskva; Kemerovo:
Kuzbassvuzizdat, 2012: 97–109. 1. The manner of the tying of the ends of this in fact still
distinct kerchief nonetheless varies: on the figures in gray-
Kriukov et al. 1984.
green caftans, the ends drop down from the forehead (and
Vasilii M. Kriukov, Vladimir V. Maliavin, and Mikhail V. the lower part of the kerchief on the forehead of one of them
Sofronov. Kitaiskii etnos v srednie veka (VII–XIII vv.) [The is of a darker cloth) [Fig. 5.11], and on the others, they are in
Chinese ethnos in the Middle Ages (the 7th–13th centuries)]. back at the base of the skull [Fig. 5.10].
Moskva: Nauka, 1984.
Li 1995 2. It is interesting that even in this part of the murals with
the more detailed and realistically depicted small details
Li Xiaobing 李肖冰. Zhongguo Xiyu minzu fushi yanjiu 中国 (the treatment of the eyes, of the details of the earrings etc.)
西域民族服饰研究 [A Study of the Costume of the Nation- nowhere have metal details of the belts (buckles, appliques)
alities in the Western Region of China]. Urumqi: Xinjiang been drawn, even though among early Turkic men these
renmin chubanshe, 1995. were the most important indicators of social rank.
Ochir et al. 2013
3. The artist initially dressed him in an even shorter (knee-
Ayudai Ochir, Lkhagvasüren Erdenebold et al. Ertnii
length) caftan, but then with paint corrected what in the eyes
nüüdelchdiin bunkhant bulshny maltlaga sudalgaa [Excava-
of the patron must have been a very significant mistake.
tion report on an ancient nomadic underground tomb]
Ulaanbaatar: Mongol ülsyn Shinjlekh ukhaany Akademiin
4. Cf. various guesses about the origin and social status in-
Tüükhiin khüreelen, 2013.
dicated by such a type of small beard (Ermolenko and Kur-
Samashev et al., 2010. mankulov 2012).
Zainolla Samashev, Napil Bazylkhan, and Samat Samashev.
Drevnetiurkskie tamgi [Early Turkic tamga-signs]. Almaty: 5. One notes that the type of face (fleshy and round) of this
ABDI Compani, 2010. figure of a «common man” differs from the elongated faces
of aristocrats, just as the less important grooms depicted in
Sartkojauly 2011 the murals are distinguished by their facial types.
Kharjaubai Sartkojauly. «Drevnetiurkskii podzemnyi
mavzolei (provizornoe kratkoe opisanie)” [An Early Tur- 6. On two figurines there is one such strap on each side
kic underground mausoleum (a preliminary brief descrip- (Ochir et al. 2013, pp. 60, 86); on three of them, two to a side
tion)]. In: Materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii “Arkheologiia (Ibid., pp. 57, 58, 126); and in one instance in addition there
Kazakhstana v epokhu nezavisimosti: itogi i perspektivy”, 2, ed. are two small straps which apparently hang down in back
Baurjan Baitanaev. Almaty: Institut arkheologii im. A. Kh. (Ibid., p. 61).
Margulana, 2011: 283–94.
7. The only terracotta standard-bearer which by mistake was
Yatsenko 2004 not included in the complete catalog (Ochir et al. 2013, pp.
Sergey A. Yatsenko. “The Costume of Foreign Embassies 57–127), this is the one with the belt richest in accessories.
and Inhabitants of Samarkand on Wall Painting of the 7th c. An image was provided to me by Kharjaubai Sartkojauly.

23
8. The tamga-sign has a precise analogy only in the same nately, some time elapsed before these coins made their way
central areas of Mongolia—in the early Turkic sanctuary at to the other end of Eurasia, where for the most part they
Bichigt Ulaan Khad (cf.: Samashev et al. 2010, Fig. on pp. 71, were used as medallions and costume decorations. Iurii E.
149). It has no close analogues either among the tamgas of Goncharov has identified three of them: a bracteate imita-
the Eastern Turk ruling clan or in general among their most tion of a solidus of Tiberius II Constantinus (?) (578–582);
politically active clans. and solidi of Phokas (602–610) and Heraclius (the type pro-
duced in 616–625) (Ochir et al. 2013, pl. 54-56) [respectively,
9. Among the no fewer than 40 gold coins, not all of them Fig. 6.8,7,6].
included in the catalog (Ochir et al. 2013, pp. 183-96), are no
fewer than 15 Byzantine ones and their imitations. Unfortu- ― Translated by Daniel C. Waugh

24
Connections between Central Asia and the Northern
Littoral of the Black Sea: the Evidence from Objects
with Tamgas

Sergey V. Voroniatov
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The article by Bella I. Vainberg and Eleonora А. in Buriatiia and Mongolia; Xiongnu archaeology has
Novgorodova (1976) regarding parallels between advanced appreciably. The information in these pub-
Mongol and Sarmatian signs and tamgas has been lications makes it possible to distinguish several cat-
well known and much cited for nearly four decades. egories of objects with tamgas which, in my opinion,
In searching for the original home of the nomads who display convincing analogies with the Alano-Sarma-
participated in the formation of middle Sarmatian cul- tian monuments of the northern Black Sea littoral.
ture and in attempting to resolve the problems of Alan
Vessels
ethnogenesis and Sarmatian-Chinese cultural con-
nections, scholars invariably turn to the conclusions In 2009 I attempted to explain the function of Sarma-
of that work, which are now regarded as a “classic” tian tamgas on vessels from middle Sarmatian culture
(Yatsenko 1993, pp. 63, 64, Fig. 2; 2001, pp. 27, 28, 105; (Voroniatov 2009). This category of objects turned out
Tuallagov 1994, p. 62; Skripkin 2010, p. 165; Simonen- to be sizeable; in the great majority of cases, the tam-
ko 1999, p. 114; 2003, p. 56; Shchukin 2005, p. 67). gas were depicted on the exterior or interior surface
The overwhelming majority of Central Asian par- of the bottoms of ceramic and metal vessels of vari-
allels to the Sarmatian tamgas are to be found in the ous shapes. Among the Xiongnu artefacts discovered
petroglyphs of Mongolia: the cliffs of the Tsagaan to date in Transbaikalia are a number of ceramic and
Gol region, Tevsh uul, Bichikt, Arshan-Khad (Vain- wooden vessels with signs which may somewhat
berg and Novgorodova 1976, p. 69; Yatsenko 1992, boldly be designated as tamgas.
p. 195; 2001, pp. 27, 28, 105; Okladnikov 1980, Tab. 1. In the materials from the Ivolga settlement ( 2nd–1st
95.12, 111.9, 154, 155; 1981, pp. 16, 57, Tab. 107, 108; century BCE) of Tansbaikalia are fragments of the bas-
Batbold 2011, pp. 96–99). The tradition of inscribing es of ceramic vessels on whose exterior are depicted
signs on objects in nature is also well known in the various signs. Except for a single seal with Chinese
territory of Sarmatian culture of the first centuries CE: hieroglyphs (1st century BCE–2nd century CE) all the
the caves of Ak-Kai I and II in the Crimea, the grotto other signs have been interpreted as possible seals of
on Kamennaia mogila hill on the northern littoral of the potters (Davydova 1995, p. 28, Tab. 38.7, 179; Kra-
the Sea of Azov, the cliff of Uitash in Dagestan (Sol- din 2002, pp. 84, 85). Among them is a sign which can
omonik 1959, pp. 113–20; Mikhailov 1994; Markovin be termed a tamga [Fig. 1.1, next page]. On the terri-
1970; 2006, p. 175; Yatsenko 2001, p. 63). That one can tory of the northern Black Sea littoral the given sign is
draw reliable analogies between tamgas and the tradi- a component element of a tamga known on a wood-
tional marking of objects in nature over such widely en harp from a burial of the end of the 1st–beginning
scattered territories goes without saying. But which of the 2nd century CE excavated in 1918 not far from
manufactured objects with tamgas might we now add Olbia (Simonenko 1999, Fig. 7.33; Yatsenko 2001, Fig.
to the already known objects in nature? The list of the 4.95). A closely related sign with an equivalent design
categories of manufactured objects with tamgas from is attested in the collection of tamgas compiled by E.
the territory of Sarmatia is varied and includes horse I. Solomonik (1959, Tab., Nos. 151–154, 160) and V. S.
harness, details of belt decoration, vessels, cauldrons, Drachuk (1975, Tab. IX, Nos. 652–654, 680).
mirrors, whetstones etc. (Solomonik 1959, pp. 49–165; 2. Among the artefacts from the settlement of Nizh-
Yatsenko 2001, pp. 142, 143). In this regard, what do nie Durëny in Transbaikalia is a fragment of the bot-
we find in the territory of Central Asia? This article tom of a vessel with the impression of a potter’s wheel
attempts to answer that question.1 pin [Fig. 1.2] on which is a sign that is very well known
The last two decades have seen many publications on the territory of Mongolia and Sarmatia (Davydova
with the results of excavations of Xiongnu monuments and Miniaev 2003, Tab. 21.5). Since it is on the field of

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 25 – 38 + Color Plate II 25 Copyright © 2014 Sergey V. Voroniatov and, as specified, State Hermitage Museum
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 Fig. 1. Ceramic and wooden vessels from
Mongolia and Buriatia: 1) Ivolga settle-
ment (Davydova 1995, Tab. 179.7); 2)
Nizhnie Durëny settlement (Davydova
and Miniaev 2003, Tab. 21.5); 3) Tsaram
Valley Barrow No. 7 (Miniaev and
Sakharovskaia 2007, Fig. 3.3); 4) Grave
No. 210, Ivolga cemetery (Davydova
1996, p. 74, Tab. 60.8a); 5, 6) Barow No.
20, Noyon uul cemetery (Polos’mak et al.
2011, Figs. 1.3; 2.2).

2007, p. 164, Fig. 3.3) [Fig. 1.3].3 The

sign is fluid and rather complex.
Even though there are many signs
with a central element in the shape of
a circle found on the territory of the
northern Black Sea littoral (Yatsenko
2001, Figs. 4–7), I am unaware of any
precise analogy.
4. The complex of Grave No. 210
in the Ivolga cemetery yielded frag-
ments of a ceramic vessel, on the bot-
tom of which are two signs [Fig. 1.4]
(Davydova 1996, p. 74, Tab. 60.8,8a).
The shape of the signs resembles
certain types of tamgas in the petro-
glyphs of Tevsh uul in the Gobi Altai
(Okladnikov 1980, p. 44, Tab. 95.12)
and in the corpus of Sarmatian tam-
gas of the northern Black Sea littoral
(Yatsenko 2001, Fig. 6.84a,117; Voro-
niatov 2008, p. 349).
5. Among the rich materials of Bar-
row No. 20 in the Süzhigt Valley of
the Noyon uul cemetery in north-
ern Mongolia is a series of lacquered
wooden vessels (known as ear-cups
the impression made by the pin of the potter’s wheel, or “bei” cups). The year of manufacture (9 BCE) of
it is logical to consider the sign to be the seal of the one of these cups provides a terminus post quem for
craftsman. However, given the absence of a series of the construction of Barrow No. 20 (Chistiakova 2009,
ceramics with a similar seal and the presence of per- p. 65; 2011, p. 88; Miniaev and Elikhina 2010, p. 175).
suasive analogies to that sign in Central Asia and on On the exterior surface of the bottom of these vessels
the northern Black Sea littoral, I would suggest that [Figs. 1.5,6; 2.2], along with a large skewed cross and
this mark is in fact a tamga, depicted on the impres- depictions of a bird, are incised tamgas of a single type
sion made by the wheel pin. A similar tamga in Sarma- (Polos’mak et al. 2011, Figs. 1, 2). Very similar signs are
tia has been reliably connected with the clan of King known among the petroglyphs of Mongolia (Yatsenko
Farzoi (49–70 [?] CE), who minted his own coins in 1993, Fig. 2). On the territory of Sarmatia, the given
Olbia (Karyshkovskii 1982, pp. 66–79; Shchukin 1982, type of tamga is rather widespread: in Barrow No. 48
pp. 35–38; Yatsenko 2001, pp. 48, 49).2 between the Kazanskaia and Tiflisskaia stanitsy in the
Kuban region (Gushina and Zasetskaia 1994, p. 50,
3. Artefacts from the Xiongnu complex of barrow no. Tab. 14.142), on a limestone slab from Pantikapaion
7 at Tsaram in the Kiakhta region of Buriatiia include (Drachuk 1975, Tab. XI, No. 832), etc. But one should
the base of a birchbark box which is of interest for its note that the signs differ some in details. For example,
depiction of a tamga (Miniaev and Sakharovskaia among the tamgas of this type in the northern Black

26
 Fig. 2. Wooden lacquer cups from Mongolia
and Buriatia: 1) Unnumbered barrow, Zu-
ramt Valley, Noyou uul cemetery (Miniaev
and Elikhina 2010, Fig. 3.1); 2) Barrow No.
20, Noyon uul cemetery (Treasures 2011,
No. 262); 3) Süzhigt Valley, Noyon uul cem-
etery (Miniaev; Elikhina 2010, Figs 4, 2.6).

encounters in publications brief and

preliminary information about ves-
sels with signs resembling tamgas
(Konovalov 1976, p. 198; Kovalev et
al. 2011, p. 339).
Even on the basis of the selection
here one can conclude that the Xiong-
nu had a tradition of inscribing tam-
gas on the base of vessels. The same
tradition has been observed among
the Alano-Sarmatians of the 1st and
2nd centuries CE (Voroniatov 2008, p.
348). The comparison extends as well
to specific features which character-
Sea littoral I am unaware of any with lines inside a ize that tradition. A certain number of the vessels with
circular element. tamgas in the territories being compared are found in
6. An analogous lacquer cup with incised tamga on the richest burial complexes of the elite — the Xiongnu
the exterior of the bottom [Fig. 2.1] is among the ar- shanyus and the Alano-Sarmatian chiefs (Kradin et al.
tefacts from the unnumbered barrow in the Zuramt 2004, p. 14). Tamgas were inscribed not only on ordi-
Valley of the Noyon uul cemetery. The terminus post nary ceramics but also on valuable vessels. In Central
quem for the barrow is the date of the manufacture of Asia these were lacquer cups, whose manufacture by
the cup, 2 BCE (Chistiakova 2009, p. 67, Fig. 4; Mini- Chinese artisans was an unbelievably labor-intensive
aev and Elikhina 2010, p. 173, Fig. 3.1; Erööl-Erdene process (Polos’mak et al. 2011, pp. 330–31). On the ter-
2011, p. 185, No. 263). I am unaware of any analogous ritory of Sarmatia, such objects were expensive terra
tamga from the territory of Sarmatia. sigillata [Fig. 3.2] or gold, silver and bronze vessels
7. One more lacquer cup with a tamga incised on the Fig. 3. Gold and ceramic vessels from the Northern Black Sea
exterior of its bottom [Fig. 2.3] comes from Barrow No. littoral: 1) Olbia (Scanlon 1961, Fig. 11.2,3); 2) Chersonesos
23 in the Süzhigt Valley of the Noyon uul cemetery. (Shtaerman 1950, Fig. 1).
The terminus post quem for the barrow in all probability
is the last third of the first century CE (Miniaev and
Elikhina 2010, pp. 174–75, Fig. 4.2,6). The tamga has
very close analogues on the northern Black Sea litto-
ral, in particular on a limestone slab from Pantikapa-
ion (Drachuk 1975, Tab. XI, No. 832). The comparable
signs differ only in the direction of the curls of the up-
per elements.
8. In the looted grave No. 24 of the huge burial com-
plex No. 1 of the Gol Mod 2 cemetery in Mongolia was
the base of a ceramic vessel with a tamga in relief in
the form of a trident (Miller et al. 2008, p. 65, Fig. 5.2).
A design like a trident is a component of a large num-
ber of tamga types in petroglyphs of Central Asia and
among the materials of the northern Black Sea littoral
(Yatsenko 1993, p. 63).
The number of “Xiongu” vessels with tamgas is by
no means exhausted by the enumerated finds. One

27
Fig. 4. Silver and bronze vessels from the
Northern Black Sea littoral and the area be-
tween the Volga and Don rivers: 1) Grave
No. 1 of Barrow No. 2 at the village of Poro-
gi (Simonenko and Lobai 1991, Fig. 16.1,2);
Grave No. 2 of Barrow No. 8 in the Berdiia
cemetery (Sergatskov 1999, Fig. 1); 3) Kur-
gan No. 75 in the Zhutovskii cemetery (Ser-
gatskov 2004, Fig. 4).
[Figs. 3.1 (and Color Plate II), 4.1-3,
4a, 4b] (Shtaerman 1950, p. 113, Fig.
1; Artemenko and Levchenko 1983,
p. 147, Figs. 1.15, 2.8; Puzdrovskii
2007, Fig. 178.4,6; Simonenko and
Lobai 1991, p. 28, Fig. 16; Simonenko
and Raev 2009, pp. 65–69, Figs. 1, 2;
Voroniatov 2009, pp. 92–95, Figs. 2,
3, 4).
Within these traditions are also
some distinctions for which I am un-
able as yet to find an explanation. On
vessels from Xiongnu sites, the tam-
gas, with the exception of one un-
clear instance of the birchbark box,
are always depicted on the exterior
of the bottom [Figs. 1, 2]. The tam-
gas on “Sarmatian” vessels in most
cases are found on that surface [Figs.
3, 4] only when it was difficult to de-
pict them on the interior (Voroniatov
2009, pp. 82, 83).
strengthen it. B. A. Litvinskii (1982, p. 42) has provid-
In a previous publication I proposed that the “Sar-
ed interesting information about the use of cups in rit-
matian” vessels with tamgas most likely were used in
ual practice: “A relic of ancient concepts and customs
rituals of the nomads (Voroniatov 2009, pp. 83–92), a
connected with cups is contemporary Iranian Zoroas-
conclusion that may be extended as well to the “Xiong-
nu” vessels. I would add to this conclusion, present- Figs. 4a, b. Silver mug from a man’s grave (No. 1), Barrow No. 2
ed in my work from 2009, one analogy which could at the village of Porogi, now in the Kraevedcheskii muzei in Vin-
nitsa; detail of the tamga on its bottom. This is the object depicted
in Fig. 4.1. Photographs by the author.

28
 Fig. 5. Astragali. Mongolia: 1) Srednie Durëny settle-
ment (Davydova and Miniaev 2003, Tab. 96.2); 2) Gol
Mod 2 cemetery (Miller et al. 2008, Fig. 5.5). North-
ern Black Sea littoral: 3) Liubomovskoe settlement site
(Bylkova 2007, Fig. 87.2); 4, 6, 7) Tanais (Arsen’eva et
al. 2003, Abb. 12); 5) Artezian settlement (Vinokurov
trians’ use in commemorative observance of a bronze 2007, Fig. 2). Photographs of 5.2 and 5.5 by D. Erdene-
cup inside of which is engraved the name of the de- baatar and N. I. Vinokurov respectively.
ceased friend or relative.” Might it not be that “Xiong- among the numerous finds of astragali with and
nu” and “Sarmatian” vessels with tamgas were used without incised depictions found in the Ivolga settle-
in commemorative rites before they were deposited in ment and its cemetery, in the Xiongnu stratum of the
the burial inventory? Commemorative libations might Durëny settlement, in the burials of Il’movaia pad’,
precede the filling of the grave pit and the construc- and elsewhere5 (Davydovа 1995, p. 30, Tab. 184; 1996,
tion of the barrow. For the performance of the ritual Tab. 13.14, 37.9, 41.2–4,7,8,11; Konovalov 1976, p. 202,
they might incise the tamga of the one being buried on Tab.  XVIII.1–7,9,10; Davydovа and Miniaev 2003,
valuable vessels, and after the commemorative rites p. 37, Tab. 93.6–11, 107.9–15):
could place the vessels in the tomb.4
1. In residence complex No. 5 of the Srednie Durëny
I would add to this comparison an observation by settlement in Buriatiia was an astragalus [Fig. 5.1]
M. B. Shchukin, which also relates to vessels. In study- with a tamga (Davydova and Miniaev 2003, Tab. 96.2),
ing the problem of the early Alans, he compared ce- analogous to one known in petroglyphs in Mongolia
ramic vessels from Barrow No. 13 near the Kazanskaia (Vainberg and Novgorodova 1976, Fig. 7, Tab. II.59;
stanitsa in the Kuban region with materials from the Yatsenko 1993, Fig. 2). Component elements of this
Ivolga settlement in Transbaikalia. While different in tamga are widely represented in designs of a large
size, they are similar in form and ornament (Shchukin number of tamgas of Sarmatia in the first centuries CE.
1992, p. 114, Fig. 2; Yatsenko 1993, p. 63).
2. In the inventory preserved from the looted tomb
Astragali No. 3 of the huge burial complex No. 1 in Gol Mod
This category of objects with tamgas is as yet infre- 2 Cemetery in Mongolia is an unusually large collec-
quently found among Xiongnu antiquities but none- tion of astragali (267 of them). On 36 of them were
theless merits attention. I know of only two instanc- incised various symbols (Miller et al. 2008, p. 65, Fig.
es of astragali with signs that can be termed tamgas 5.5; Erdenebator 2011, p. 205, Fig. 3; Erööl-Erdene

29
2011a, p. 268, No. 397). Of particular interest is an Depictions of animals with a brand and the tradition
astragalus with a sign that can be considered a tam- of branding cattle
ga [Fig. 5.2]. I know of no exact analogy to this sign, The tradition of branding horses among the Inner
but one should note that it recalls tamgas on Sarma- Asian nomads is reliably documented in the section
tian mirrors of the type Khazanov-IX (Drachuk 1975, entitled “Tamgas of the horses of vassal principalities”
Tab. XVI.42,43,49,50; Yatsenko 2001, Fig. 18.14-19; in such Chinese sources as the Tang Huiyao (唐会要)
Khazanov 1963, pp. 65-67). of the 8th–10th centuries. Its information embraces the
The category of astragali with tamgas is well known period from the beginning of the 7th to the beginning
from the northern littoral of the Black Sea. of the 9th century CE and consists of a list with brief
practical characterizations of various tribes’ horses
1. An astragalus with a tamga [Fig. 5.3] (Bylkova
which were imported into China. All the descriptions
2007, pp. 99, 100, Fig. 87.2) was found in the ash layer
conclude with depictions of the tamga with which the
of the Liubimov settlement of the lower Dnieper re-
given tribe branded its horses (Zuev 1960, pp. 93–97).
gion. Scholars associate this find with the final stages
Although the source contains information about Tur-
in the life of the settlement, which burned during a
co-Mongol tribes of the early Middle Ages, it seems
hostile attack in the first centuries CE.
important to note there was a tradition of branding
2. An astragalus with a tamga [Fig. 5.5] was found horses in territories to the west and north of China.
in the burned layer of the first half of the first centu- This practice might have a close connection with the
ry CE in the Bosporan fortress of Artezian. This find, Chinese practice of branding cattle (Zuev 1960, p. 96).
and a fragment of a ceramic vase with tamgas from Given the close interaction with the Xiongnu, one can
the same layer, have been interpreted as cult objects suggest that such a widespread practice amongst the
(Vinokurov 2007, p. 196, Fig. 2). nomads was adopted as well by the Han Chinese.
3. Four astragali, three of them with tamgas [Fig. In the context of the Central Asian custom of
5.4,6,7], come from the complex of house No. 1 of branding cattle, of interest is the recently published
structure No. 7, studied in 2002 in Tanais (Arsen’eva bronze buckle [Fig. 6.1] from a private collection,
et al. 2005, Abb. 12.7,9.10). which, judging from the information provided, came
from Arvaikheer, Övörkhangai aimag, Mongolia
4. Among various beads of the neck decorations of
(Erdenechülüün and Erdenebaatar 2011, No. 378).
the buried woman in Grave No. 1 of Barrow No. 33 in
Framed in the buckle is a skillfully delineated fantastic
the Valovyi-I cemetery on the lower Don were several
beast which the publication identifies as a dragon, al-
gagate, coral and mother-of-pearl beads shaped like
though its exact identity is less important than the fact
astragali (Bespalyi 2000, p. 162; Bespalyi et al. 2007, p.
that it is a so far unique example of a fantastic creature
78, Tab. 88.1o,p). On two of the gagate “astragali” is
with a tamga-brand depicted on the shoulder-blade
a sign shaped like the letter “N” (Bespalyi 2000, Fig.
or shoulder. Such bronze belt plaques and their frag-
3.10; Yatsenko 2001, pp. 142, 143, Fig. 6.30).
ments with similar fantastic predators are well known
The tradition of using astragali in cultic practice and from Xiongnu antiquities (Kiselev 1949, Tab. XXI.18;
in games,6 which scholars believe were organically Devlet 1987, p. 224, Fig. 6.2; Miniaev 1998, p. 97, Tab.
connected in antiquity, is known from the Eneolith- 81.8; Davydova and Miniaev 2008, p. 65, Fig. 60) and
ic period and was widespread in pastoral societies of specifically in materials of Övörkhangai aimag in
various parts of Eurasia over the course of millennia Mongolia (Odbaatar 2011, pp. 130–31, Nos. 163-64).
(Klein 2010, pp. 322–35; Konovalov 1976, p. 203; etc.). Hence there can be little doubt about the chronolog-
Prior to the appearance in the northern Black Sea lit- ical and cultural attribution of this poorly document-
toral of Sarmatian tribes, sheep astragali and their imi- ed object. However, as is usual in such situations, one
tations with inscriptions and marks are known among should not exclude the possibility that it is a modern
the materials of the Greek city colonies and their ne- fabrication. As far as I know, this is the only example
cropolises — Olbia, Chersonesos, Pantikapaion, Myr- of an object from the Xiongnu period with a depiction
mekion, etc. (Rybakova 2007; Kalashnik 2010). As the of a branded animal; so it is as yet premature to con-
complex phenomenon of Sarmatianization of the Bos- sider that there was an entire category of such objects
porus developed beginning at the turn of the Common among the Xiongnu.
Era (Desiatchikov 1974, pp. 18–21), astragali began to In contrast, along the northern Black Sea littoral they
appear on the northern Black Sea littoral. Apparently are numerous. E. I. Solomonik’s study on the brand-
this tradition of depicting specifically Sarmatian tam- ing of cattle there discusses two stone steles of the first
gas arrived in the given territory with a new wave of centuries CE depicting riders on branded horses, a
nomadic tribes during the first century CE. stone slab with a domesticated animal and a terracot-

30
ta model of a bullock with a
brand on its shoulder [Fig. Fig. 6. Depictions of fantastic and real animals in metal, ceramic and
6.4] from a destroyed tomb wood. Mongolia: 1) Arvaikheer, Övörkhangai aimag (Erdenechülüün
and Erdenebaatar 2011, No. 378). Northern Black Sea littoral: 2)
of a child at Glinishcha in
Grave No. 1, Barrow No. 2, Porogi (Simonenko, Lobai 1991, Fig.
Kerch (Ben’kovskii 1904, 16.3); 3) from wooden harp found in burial near village of Kozyrka
pp. 65–67, Tab. VII.a,b; (?) (Simonenko 2004); 4) Grave No. 312, Kerch, in the Glinishcha
Solomonik 1957; 1959, pp. district (Solomonik 1957, Fig. 2). Photograph of 6.2 by author; of 6.4
26–27, 157–59). by Leonard Kheifets, Copyright The State Hermitage Museum, used
with permission.
Starting in the 1950s, the
source base for the study of the branding of cattle has the cheek (Simonenko and Lobai 1991, Fig. 16.1,2;
substantially broadened. One of the Sarmatian burials Simonenko 1991, p. 316, Nos. 154, 157). One should
of the lower Don contained a unique instrument for include here a long-known gold bracelet accidentally
branding an animal (Raev 1979, pp. 207–08, Fig 3.9; discovered on the shore of the Bug estuary. Its ends,
Yatsenko 2001, p. 12, Fig. 1.1). A male burial of the analogous to those of the torque from Porogi, also are
last quarter of the 1st century CE not far from the vil- shaped like horse heads, on one of which is a brand
lage of Porogi near the Dniester yielded a silver cup (Solomonik 1959, pp. 131–32; Voroniatov 2013, Fig.
with a handle in the form of a horse with brands on 1.2). Additional evidence regarding the tradition of
the right shoulder and left flank [Figs. 3.1, 6.2]. In this branding Sarmatian horses may be found in numer-
same complex was a gold torque with ends shaped ous examples of Roman-period ceremonial horse har-
like horse heads. One of the heads has a brand on ness, whose decoration includes Sarmatian tamgas

31
(Voroniatov 2013). S. A. Yatsenko’s idea (2001, p. 13) this complex most likely reflects some religious con-
that details of horse gear can duplicate or imitate a real cepts of the nomads and of the sarmatianized popula-
brand on the body of the horse merits close attention. tion of the Bosporan region.
As unusual as the buckle from Mongolia is the de- The astragalus with a tamga found in the burned lay-
piction of a bear on a wooden harp [Fig. 6.3] from the er of the Bosporan fortress of Artezian [Fig. 5.5] also
interesting complex of the end of the 1st–beginning of has been interpreted as a cult object (Vinokurov 2007).
the 2nd centuries CE not far from Olbia (Simonenko In addition to the astragalus with a tamga, in the same
1999, pp. 111–14, Figs. 2, 3; Simonenko 2004, pp. 209– layer of the Liubimov settlement on the lower Dnieper
21, Abb. 7). In toto there are 32 tamgas on the harp, six [Fig. 5.3] was a whetstone inscribed with three tam-
of which are incised on the figure of the bear. A. V. gas. Scholars have attributed a cultic and magic pur-
Simonenko emphasized (1999, p. 112) that the tamgas pose to unusual whetstones of the Scytho-Sarmatian
are placed in the same locations as the signs on the period and specifically to whetstones with tamgas
figure of a horse which served as the handle for the (Griaznov 1961; Anikeeva and Iablonskii 2012, p. 52;
silver cup from Porogi [Figs. 3.1, 6.2]. Voroniatov 2012).
I would propose that the depiction of a branded wild The important symbolic meaning of objects with
animal (a bear) on Alano-Sarmatian materials is relat- tamgas has recently been noted for Xiongnu antiqui-
ed to the depiction of a fantastic animal with a brand ties as well. The structure of Barrow No. 1 at Khökh
in Xiongnu antiquities. It is possible that the meaning Üzüüriin Dugui II in Mongolia had a so-called ritual
attached to signs specifically on such creatures relates compartment, in which were bronze vessels and a
to something other than the pragmatic tradition of ceramic vessel with impressions of tamga-like signs
branding cattle. This phenomenon, on which I will (Kovalev et al. 2011, p. 339).
not dwell in greater detail, requires special study. I
would merely note that early medieval depictions of The indicated parallels among categories of objects
wild animals and mythical creatures with a brand are with tamgas and especially their proposed ritual
attested in the territory of Inner Asia and Asia Minor subtext enable one to establish a reliable connection
(Boardman 2010, Fig. 19; Samashev and Bazylkhan between the Xiongnu and nomadic tribes which ap-
2010, p. 311). peared on the northern Black Sea littoral in the first
century CE. What contribution these new proofs of
In discussing the tradition of branding cattle along this connection may make to the discussion of Alan
the northern Black Sea littoral, E. I. Solomonik (1957, ethnogenesis and the emergence of middle Sarmatian
pp. 215–17) provides information about this practice culture is a complicated question. However, apparent-
in archaic Greece, a practice which might well also ly in the Alan question one should pay more attention
have existed in the Greek Black Sea colonies. Clear- to the search for a Xiongnu component. Urals schol-
ly horses and cattle, branded with Sarmatian tamgas ars have already convincingly accomplished this task
and, correspondingly, their depictions appear in the for the later Sarmatian period (Botalov and Gutsalov
steppes of the northern Black Sea littoral and in the 2000, pp. 145–84; Botalov 2003).
Bosporan region with the arrival of a new wave of no-
madic tribes in the first century CE. Studies which address the connections of the no-
mads of Central Asia and the northern Black Sea lit-
Conclusions toral contain some problematic assertions. At one
time, S. A. Yatsenko, referring to the work of V. N.
The objects examined here in the three categories
Poltoratskaia, wrote that the tradition of the inscribing
demonstrate not only the similarity of several types
of tamgas on ceremonial dishes was known among
of tamgas of Inner Asia and Sarmatia but also suggest
the Pazyryk people (Yatsenko 1992, p. 195). Howev-
common features of ritual practice among the Xiong-
er, my own study of signs on objects from barrows
nu and the Alano-Sarmatians. All three categories of
of the early nomad period in the Altai failed to find
objects have characteristics which are not merely the
such information. The only examples I could identi-
inherent qualities found in artefacts of daily life.
fy were two vessels of the Karasuk period found at
Along the northern Black Sea littoral are instances in Dyndybai in Central Kazakhstan (Poltoratskaia 1962,
which the indicated categories of objects may be juxta- p. 83; Griaznov 1952, p. 136, Figs. 5.2,5,5a; 6, 7). There
posed in a single complex. For example, the grave in- are doubts as well in the interpretation of numerous
ventory of the child’s burial at Kerch, which has been signs on wooden parts of horse harness from the Al-
mentioned, contained in addition to the terracotta fig- tai barrows (Poltoratskaia 1962). S. A. Yatsenko inter-
urine of a branded bull [Fig. 6.4] fragments of an anal- prets them as tamgas (1993, Fig. 2; 2012, p. 206). This
ogous figurine and vehicle, on which were 21 sheep designation seems questionable, in that the shape of
astragali (Ben’kovskii 1904, pp. 65–66). In my opinion, these signs is significantly different from that of the
32
signs in Mongolia and on the northern Black Sea lit- References
toral. Moreover, since these signs are inscribed on the
reverse sides of wooden plaques, it is more likely that AEAE ― Arkheologiia, etnografiia i antropologiia Evrazii
they are artisans’ marks, as V. N. Poltoratskaia had be- Anikeeva and Iablonskii 2012
lieved (Poltoratskaia 1962, p. 87). Ol’ga V. Anikeeva, Leonid Т. Iablonskii. “Tak nazyvaemye
Of course these two observations do not minimize oselki sarmatskogo vremeni iz mogil’nika Filippovka
the significance of the Pazyryk factor in the discus- 1: estestvennonauchnye issledovaiia” [The so-called
sion of the Alan problem (Raev 1984; 2009, pp. 263–64; whetstones of the Sarmatian period from the Filippovka 1
cemetery: scientific analyses]. In: Kul’tury stepnoi Evrazii i ikh
Yatsenko 1993, p. 66). The important thing here is to
vzaimodeistvie s drevnimi tsivilizatiiami. Ed. V. A. Alekshin.
recognize that the Pazyryk antiquities on which there T. 1. Sankt-Peterburg: Institut istorii material’noi kul’tury
are tamgas are not at all similar to the Xiongnu mate- RAN, 2012: 47–53.
rial. In this I support the observations of A. V. Simo-
nenko (2003, pp. 55–57) and disagree with the opinion Arsen’eva et al. 2003
of S. A. Yatsenko (Yatsenko 2011, p. 206). Tat’jana M. Arsen’eva, Jochen Fornasier, and Michael
Ullrich. “Archäologische Forschungen am Rande der
My views and those of A. V. Simonenko are also griechischen Oikumene.” Eurasia Antiqua 9 (2003): 237–79.
similar regarding the swiftness of the migration of
Artemenko and Levchenko 1983
those nomads who brought to the northern Black Sea
littoral Central Asian elements (Simonenko 2003, p. Ivan I. Artemenko;  Valerii М. Levchenko. “Sarmatskoe
57). However, for a complete picture, it is necessary pogrebenie u sela Bashtechki Cherkasskoi oblasti” [A
Sarmatian burial near the village of Bashtechki in Cherkass
to study material from the regions between Mongolia
oblast’]. SA 1983/2: 144–51.
and Sarmatian territory related to the subject of the
parallels discussed here. For example, one cannot ig- Batbold 2011
nore the depiction of a branded horse on one of the Natsagyn Batbold. “Khünnütiin üeiin khadny zurag/Rock
remarkable Orlat plaques found on the territory of Art of the Xiongnu.” In: Treasures 2011: 96–101.
Uzbekistan (Nikonorov and Khudiakov 1999, p. 147, Ben’kovskii 1904
Fig. 3; Yatsenko 2000, p. 90, Fig. 2.b; Iliasov 2005, pp.
Petr Ben’kovskii. “O terrakotovykh povozochkakh iz
102–03). The Xiongnu designation of the recently dis- Kerchi” [Concerning the small terracotta carts from Kerch].
covered Orlat complex and materials of the Kul’tobe Izvestiia Imperatorskoi arkheologicheskoi komissii 1904. Vyp. 9:
cemetery in southern Kazakhstan appears to be con- 63–72.
vincing (Podushkin 2012, pp. 31–49). Similar materi-
Bespalyi 2000
als from the territory of Central Asia can establish the
path and possible stages of the migrations which we Evgenii I. Bespalyi. “Pozdnesarmatskoe pogrebenie
iz mogil’nika Vysochino V na vodorazdele mezhdu
as yet but poorly understand.
Kagal’nikom i Donom” [A late Sarmatian burial from the
Vysochino V cemetery on the watershed between the
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Аnatolii S. Skripkin. “K voprosu etnicheskoi istorii sarmatov with Sarmatian tamgas]. In: Kul’tury stepnoi Evrazii i ikh
pervykh vekov nashei ery” [On the ethnic history of the vzaimodeistvie s drevnimi tsivilizatsiiami. Ed. V. A. Alekshin.
Sarmatians of the first centuries CE]. In: idem, Sarmaty i T. 1. Sankt-Peterburg, 2012: 54–58.
vostok. Izbrannye Trudy. Volgograd: Izd-vo. VolGU, 2010:. Voroniatov 2013
165–78. _______. “O naznachenii sarmatskikh tamg v
Solomonik 1957 tseremonial’nom konskom snariazhenii” [On the purpose
of Sarmatian tamgas on ceremonial horse harness]. In:
Ella I. Solomonik. “O tavrenii skota v Severnom
Bosporskii fenomen: greki i varvary na Evraziiskom perekrestke.
Prichernomor’e (Po povodu nekotorykh zagadochnykh
Ed. M. Iu. Vakhtina. Sankt-Peterburg: Izd-vo. Gos.
znakov)” [On the branding of cattle along the northern
Ermitazha, 2013: 296–302.
Black Sea littoral (Concerning some mysterious signs)]. In:
Istoriia i arkheologiia drevnego Kryma. Kiev: Izd-vo. Akademii Yatsenko 1992
nauk Ukr. SSR, 1957: 210–18. Sergey А. Yatsenko [Iatsenko]. “Plity-entsikopedii tamg
Solomonik 1959 v Mongolii i Sarmatii” [Slab encyclopedias of tamgas in
Mongolia and Sarmatia]. In: Severnaia Evraziia ot drevnosti
_______. Sarmatskie znaki Severnogo Prichernomor’ia
do srednevekov’ia. Ed. V. M. Masson. Sankt-Peterburg:
[Sarmatian signs of the Northern Black Sea littoral]. Kiev:
Rossiiskaia akademiia nauk, Institut istorii material’noi
Izd-vo. Akademii nauk Ukr. SSR, 1959.
kul’tury, 1992: 195–98.
Treasures 2011
Yatsenko 1993
Khünnügiin öv. Nüüdelchdiin ankhny tör – Khünnü gürnii soël / _______. “Alanskaia problema i tsentral’noaziatskie element
Treasures of the Xiongnu, the First Nomadic Empire in Mongolia. v kul’ture kochevnikov Sarmatii rubezha I–II v. n. e.” [The
Ed. G. Eregzen. Ulaanbaatar: ShÜA-iin Arkheologiin Alan problem and Central Asian elements in the culture of
khüreelen; Mongolyn Ündesnii müzei, 2011. the nomads of Sarmatia at the turn of the 1st–2nd centuries
Tuallagov 1994 CE]. Peterburgskii arkheologicheskii vestnik 1993/3: 60–72.
Аlan А. Tuallagov. “O znakov bosporskikh tsarei” [On Yatsenko 2000
the signs of the Bosphoran kings]. In: Problemy istorii i _______. “Epicheskii siuzhet iranoiazychnykh kochevnikov
kul’tury sarmatov. Volgograd: Izd-vo. Volgogradskogo gos. v drevnostiakh stepnoi Evrazii” [An epic motif of the
universiteta, 1994: 61–62. Iranian-language nomads in the antiquities of steppe
Vainberg and Novgorodova 1976 Eurasia]. Vestnik drevnei istorii 2000/4: 186–204.

Bella I. Vainberg; Eleonora А. Novgorodova. “Zametki Yatsenko 2001

o znakakh i tamgakh Mongolii” [Notes on the signs and _______. Znaki-tamgi iranoiazychnykh narodov drevnosti i
tamgas of Mongolia]. In: Istoriia i kul’tura narodov Srednei rannego srednevekov’ia [Tamga signs of the Iranian-language
Azii (drevnost’ i srednie veka). Moskva: Nauka, 1976: 66–74, nomads of antiquity and the early Middle Ages]. Moskva:
176–79. Izdatel’skaia firma “Vostochnaia literatura,” 2001.
Vinokurov 2007 Yatsenko 2011
Nikolai I. Vinokurov. “Nakhodki kul’tovykh predmetov v _______. “K diskussii ob oformlenii pozdnesarmatskoi
37
etnokul’turnoi obshchnosti 2-i poloviny II–2-i poloviny III 2. Minor losses in the depiction of the sign on the fragment
veka nashei ery” [On the discussion about the formation of of the base of the vessel from Nizhnie Durëny [Fig. 1.2]
the late Sarmatian ethno-cultural community of the second might raise doubts about the accuracy of the comparison of
half of the 2nd–first half of the 3rd century CE]. Nizhnevolzhskii the sign. Nonetheless I am inclined to think that the upper
arkheologicheskii vestnik 2011/12: 197–213. part of the sign is an incomplete but not closed oval.

Zuev 1960 3. It is not clear from the publication whether the tamga is on
Iurii А. Zuev. “’Tamgi loshadei iz vassal’nykh kniazhestv’ the interior or exterior surface.
(Perevod iz kitaiskogo sochineniia VIII–X vv. Tankhuiiao,
T. III, tszuian’ 72, str. 1305–1308)” [“Tamgas of horses 4. Among “Sarmatian” vessels are examples where the tam-
from vassal principalities” (Translation from a Chinese ga was not inscribed on the vessel after its production but
composition of the 8th–10th centuries. Tang Huiyao, T. III, was cast together with the foot (Simonenko and Raev 2009,
Chuan 72, pp. 1305–1308))]. In: Novye materialy po drevnei p. 67, Fig. 2). This could be evidence that it was a ritual ves-
i srednevekovoi istorii Kazakhstana. Trudy Instituta istorii, sel ordered specially from the artisan.
arkheologii i etnografii, T. 8. Alma-Ata: Izd-vo. Akademii
nauk Kazakhskoi SSR, 1960: 93–140. 5. We note that in the materials of the Dyrestui cemetery
of Transbaikalia, only Grave No. 75 contained an astragalus
Notes (Miniaev 1998, p. 60, Tab. 56.2).

1. I know of only one work (Kovalev et al. 2011, p. 339) which 6. However, there are materials which contradict the hy-
notes the necessity of studying Xiongnu tamga-like signs on pothesis about an exclusively game function of astragali
various objects in the context of tamga-signs of Eurasia from (Savinov 1996, p. 27).
the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. — Translated by Daniel C. Waugh

38
 Some Examples of Central Asian Decorative
Elements in Ajanta and Bagh Indian Paintings

Matteo Compareti
University of California, Berkeley

T he pictorial decoration of the 29 Buddhist caves

of Ajanta (Maharashtra) is amongst the most an-
cient Indian painting extant.1 According to Walter
The representations of foreigners are easily recog-
nizable, especially when they can be identified as
Iranians, because of the characteristic garments so un-
Spink (1976/77, 1990, 1991a, 1991b, 1992, 2004, 2005, usual for the Indian climatic conditions and more suit-
2010), the caves should be dated to the second part able for members of the Kushan aristocracy or other
of fifth century CE, most likely between 460 and 480. external invaders. These people were first considered
The paintings were commissioned by members of the Persians by students of Indian art, and in one specific
aristocracy of the Vakataka (c. 255–480), one of the case, it was thought that one famous scene from Cave
most powerful dynasties of Southern India, at the time I had been positively identified as a presentation of
ruled by King Harishena (Weiner 1977: 7–35; Spink the embassy sent by Khusro II Parvez (590–628) to
1990, 1991a, 1992). The paintings in the Buddhist Pulakeshin II Calukya (c. 608–642) which took place
caves at Bagh (south-western Madhya Pradesh) have around 625 [Fig. 1].2 That identification openly con-
in common with the ones at Ajanta both chronology flicts with the chronology of the paintings proposed
and patronage (Spink 1976/77; Zin 2001). by Walter Spink and currently accepted by most
scholars. Moreover, the identification fails to consid-
Several studies have been dedicated to the represen-
er that Pulakeshin was a Hindu sovereign, and so his
tations of foreigners in Indian art and, specifically, in
presence in a Buddhist context is furthermore suspect
the paintings at Ajanta (Dhavalikar 1970, p. 24; Van
(Spink 1992, p. 251).
Lohuizen-De Leeuw 1989). However, there are many
objections to the proposed identifications for these According to Dieter Schlingloff, the scene should be
paintings (Schlingloff 1988, pp. 59–60; Zin, 2003, pp. identified as a story that the Buddha told to Ananda
286–91). Given how numerous are the figures of for- when the latter raised objections to his master’s choice
eigners at Ajanta and Bagh, a brief article would not of Kushinagara as the place to enter nirvana. The Bud-
be enough. For this reason, only few details in Ajanta dha related the story of a pious Kushinagara king
Caves I, II, XVI and XVII and Bagh Caves IV–V will be called Mahasudarshana. His people loved him and
considered in the present paper. wanted to give him precious gifts. Mahasudarshana
was reluctant in the beginning but in the end he
financed a religious building with the money re-
ceived from the gifts. According to Schlingloff, the
Iranian features of some people depicted giving
gifts to the king underlines the exotic character of
the inhabitants of Kushinagara, who very often are
represented in foreign dress (Schlingloff 1988, pp.
59–60; 1996, Cave I, No. 44, p. 1; 2000, n. 44/Cave
I, pp.1, 2).
Foreigners dressed like Kushana or Śaka (that
is to say wearing caftans, trousers, boots and the

Fig. 1. Depiction of the story of a pious Kushinagara king

called Mahasudarshana, Ajanta Cave I. After: Schlingloff
1988, Ch. 4, Fig. 1.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 39 – 48 + Color Plates III and IV 39 Copyright © 2014 Matteo Compareti
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 Fig. 2. Ceiling panel with banquet scenes, Ajanta Cave I. After:
Griffiths 1896/1983, Pl. 94.
so-called “Phrygian” cap) can be seen very often in
Indian art. However, they seem to be used simply as that sometimes appears also in Gupta Vakataka arts
a decorative theme without any specific allusion to (Pal 1978, p. 64). The servants are all women or men,
Iranians.3 Most likely, the models for such representa- and so the person sitting next to the central one can
tions were just merchants, soldiers, or invaders come be a man or a woman, with a finger lifted in a man-
to India from the northwest. In fact, Frantz Grenet ner commonly depicted in Sasanian and Sogdian art,
(1996, p. 72) identified two donors in front of King expressing reverence (Frye 1972; Bromberg 1991). The
Mahasudarshana as Persians because of their beards three scenes have been identified as generic represen-
and bright skin. tations of the Persian court4 or as representations of
Kubera/Vaishravana in his Western Paradise (Grenet
The other important pictorial cycle of cave I is repro-
1996, pp. 79–80, n. 34; Bautze-Picron 2002, pp. 250–51).
duced on the central ceiling [Fig. 2]. Here four panels
However, since the three main figures of every scene
are decorated with banquet scenes, which were great-
are not identical, it is not excluded that they are rep-
ly appreciated in pre-Islamic Persia and Central Asia
resentations of the Lokapala, especially considering
(Silvi Antonini 1996). Unfortunately, one of the panels
the fact that, counting the missing panel, there would
has been completely lost. The sitting central figures of
have been four altogether (Bautze-Picron 2002, pp.
the three that remain are larger in size than the atten-
250–51; Zin, 2003, pp. 287–91).
dants around them. They hold weapons and in one
hand a dish or a cup. Their garments are typical of At least two dancers wearing garments similar to the
the people from Central Asia, and they wear also ex- ones of the foreigners at Ajanta, appear in a painting
otic headgear. In two panels, it is possible to observe on the wall between Caves IV and V at Bagh [Fig. 3].
floating ribbons attached to the shoulders of the larg- The scene is probably the representation of a dance
er figures. This is another characteristic of Iranian art which takes place in the sky close to Indra’s palace
as part of the story of King
Mandhatar (Zin 2001).5
Several people in the
paintings at Ajanta and the
two dancers at Bagh wear
a particular kind of dress
called chamail. This is a pon-
cho-like, multi-pointed jack-
et similar to the one worn
by the joker of the modern
playing cards. According to
James Harle (1987, pp. 571–
72), the chamail is a Central
Asian invention and its

Fig. 3. Painting on wall between

Bagh Caves IV and V. After:
Marg 1972: 11.
40
 modern Afghanistan like Bamyan and Fondukistan,
the chamail can be seen even on Buddha paintings and
statues [Fig. 4; Color Plate III].6 Also some 6th–7th-cen-
tury bronze statuettes of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and
Surya from Kashmir (Pal 1975, Pls. 30a-b, 32, 36; Paul
1986, Pl. 87; Bhan 2010, Fig. 372; Siudmak 2013, Pls.
145-146, 149) and at least two 7th–8th-century stone
statues (Paul, 1986, Pl. 88; Bhan, 2010, Figs. 14-15;
Siudmak 2013, Pls. 152, 189) have the same dress.7 The
chamail was certainly known also in 8th-century Sogdi-
ana, as can be noted in painted programs at Panjikent
identified as epic local stories [Fig. 5]. Here the chamail
seems to be a garment for men and women. In a paint-
ing found in the Temple I at Panjikent a deity accom-
panied by a horse wears the chamail as well [Fig. 6].
But the statues from Afghanistan and Kashmir, and
the Sogdian paintings are all dated to a later period
than the Ajanta and Bagh paintings, while the only
earlier specimens come from Gandharan reliefs rep-
resenting foreign donors. So, it is highly improbable
that the people dressed like Central Asians at Ajanta
and Bagh are Sogdians. Most likely, they are Bactrians
who, in the second half of the 5th century had been con-
quered by the Hephtalites (Grenet 2002, pp. 209–10).8
Fig. 4. Buddha adorned with the chamail. Ghorband Valley, Fon-
dukistan Monastery, Niche D. 7th century CE. Collection of the
Musée Guimet, Inv. no. MG 18960. Photograph Copyright ©
Daniel C. Waugh.

introduction in India would have been dated to the

period of the Śaka and Kushan invasions. The chamail
can be observed in Gandharan reliefs and on the dress
donors around the Buddha over a very long period as
far away as in Xinjiang (Harle 1987, pp. 571–72; Bus-
sagli 1984, p. 25; Kurita 1990, p. 291, Fig. 4; pp. 335,
465, 523). At several 6th–7th-century Buddhist sites of

Fig. 5. Depiction of the girl following the Ruler of the Demons,

mural in Room 50, Sector XXIII, Panjikent. After: Marshak
2002: Fig. 60.

Fig. 6. Deity accompanied by a horse, mural in Temple I, Pan-

jikent. Fig. 6. After: Marshak and Raspopova 1991, Fig. 11.

A 5th–6th-century silver bowl considered to be Bactri-

an (now in the British Museum) is embellished with
roundels containing human heads whose features of-
fer a clear parallel with the Ajanta and Bagh paintings
[Fig. 7, next page].9 The visible portion of their dress
and, above all, their headgear call to mind some fig-
ures at Ajanta. Also the beard is a characteristic typical
of many foreigners represented in Indian paintings.
The ceilings of Caves I and II are divided into sev-
eral squares, in some of which other foreigners can be
recognized. In this case their attitudes are not serious

41
 Fig. 7. Silver gilt bowl. Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan, 6th Horsemen wearing caftans, with particular headgear
century CE.Collection of the British Museum, OA 1963.12-10.2. and floating ribbons, can be seen in some paintings
Photographs Copyright © Daniel C. Waugh. from Caves XVI and XVII. The horses of the strangers
in a scene painted in Cave XVII identified as the Deva-
and their pronounced noses and beards call to mind
vatara jataka (Schlingloff 1996, Cave XVII, No. 86, p.
typical Chinese funerary statuettes (the mingqi) which
53; 2000, p. 486) have a crenellated mane, uncommon
are, however, mostly dated to the 6th–7th centuries.10
in Indian art [Fig. 9, next page]. This is another ele-
In fact, it is not improbable that at both Indian and
ment originally extraneous and definitely introduced
Chinese courts during the fifth century, the most re-
into India from the steppe world during the inva-
quested dancers and musicians were of Iranian ori-
sions that occurred from the northwestern regions.13
gin, possibly just Bactrian. While such a hypothesis is
Those horsemen and one other foreigner sitting next
reasonable, it does not explain the representation of
to the central preaching Buddha are wearing typical
foreigners in more serious contexts both at Ajanta and
6th-century CE Sogdian “Sapao” headdresses (Mar-
Bagh [Figs. 2, 3]. Possibly in Indian art the “paradisi-
shak, 2001). As Sören Stark kindly pointed at me, there
cal” scenes had to evoke exotic lands like Central Asia
is no evidence to exclude that these specific images of
or Persia, and in such a context the people had to be
foreigners could be actually identified with Sogdians.
dressed like strangers.11
A last decoration worth men-
Another peculiarity of the for-
tioning concerns the pictorial or-
eigners at Ajanta is that they hold
nament of four inner octagonal
metal objects. Very interesting
pillars of Cave XVII.14 At the end
metalwork resembling typical Ira-
of 19th century, John Griffiths re-
nian vessels can be observed on
produced the decorative elements
the external ceiling of Cave II and
of these pillars, but his work was
in a painting on the external wall of
almost completely destroyed
Cave XVII where two lovers seem
during a fire (Griffiths 1896/1983,
to be disturbed by a servant wear-
Pls. 143, 147). One pillar in par-
ing a green caftan and a cap who
ticular presents very interesting
holds a metal jar [Fig. 8] (Ghosh
decorative elements composed by
1996, Pl. LVIII, Fig. 15; Okada and
white pearl roundels on every side
Nou 1996, p. 169). Also, in this
of the octagonal support contain-
case there is a clear parallel with
ing single vegetal and animal sub-
some Chinese funerary paintings
jects, such as the bull and the wild
of the Tang period, representing
local or Central Asian attendants Fig. 8. Lovers and a servant, mural on
with imported metal objects in external wall of Cave VIII, Ajanta. After:
their hands.12 After: Ghosh 1996, Fig. 20.

42
 < Fig. 9. The Devavatara jataka, mural in Ajanta Cave
XVII. After: Schlingloff 1996, Cave XVII, No. 86, p. 53.
Fig. 10 (below left). Inner octagonal pillars, Ajanta Cave
XVII. After: Griffiths 1896/1983, Pls. 143, 147.

boar [Fig. 10]. The pearl roundel containing the

wild boar could be compared to similar Sasa-
nian decorations from Damghan (northwest-
ern Iran) where some 6th-century stucco pan-
els present boar heads within pearl roundels
(Kröger 1982: 262; Bromberg 1983). Sasanian
art possibly had some influence on 5th-centu-
ry Indian decorations (Jairazbhoy 1963, pp.
148–62; Meister 1970, pp. 265–66; Kröger 1981,
p 447; Klimburg-Salter 1996, pp. 480–81, 485),
but it is clear that round frames embellished
by pearls along their rims and containing var-
ious subjects spread in India at least since the
first century BCE.15 The entire figure of a white
wild boar is depicted on the column of Cave
XVII, whereas in Persian (at least in Bamiyan) and
Sogdian art (in the motherland and in the colonies in
the Tarim Basin), there is only the head of the animal
[Fig. 11; Color Plate IV] (Compareti 2004a). It is not
clear if this was just a decorative element or a symbol-
ic representation of a deity, nor is it clear whether the
wild boar had a specific meaning. It is worth noticing
that the coinage circulating in the Vakataka kingdom
included also representations of a bull, a conch, a vase
and other objects that call to mind the elements in-
cluded within the roundels painted on the column in
Cave XVII (Raven 2004).

Fig. 11. Fragment of mural from Bamiyan, depicting a boar’s head

in a “pearl roundel.” Collection of the Musée Guimet, Inv. no.:
MG 17972 or 17973. Photograph Copyright © Daniel C. Waugh.

43
 Pearl roundel decorations have been among the fa- He graduated at the department of Oriental languages
vorite textile embellishments in Central Asia since the and literatures at Venice University “Ca’ Foscari” and
sixth century and were spread in the ancient world defended his PhD at the University of Naples “L’Ori-
most likely by the Sogdian merchants active along entale”. His main interests focus on the representation
the so-called “Silk Road” from China to the Byzan- of Zoroastrian divinities in Sasanian art and pre-Is-
tine Empire (Compareti 2000; 2004a, 2006a). Howev- lamic Sogdian paintings. In 2013-2014 he was Visiting
er, the pearl roundels observed in India, especially as Research Scholar at the Institute for the Studies of the
architectonic decorations, seem to be a local creation: Ancient World, New York University.
they appear isolated, inside there is usually a flower
or vegetal motif, and it is only at Ajanta that different
subjects are represented.16 The textile decorations of References
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ple geometric designs and no pearl roundels at all. Albanese 2004
This observation is further evidence in support of the Marilia Albanese, Antica India, Vercelli; Roma: White Star;
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1991; Deshpande 1991; Khandalavala 1991) were to be i iskusstva Toharistana [Balalyk-Tepe. On the history of the
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Bautze-Picron 2002
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_______. Ajanta. Handbuch der Malereien. 1. Erzählende Wan- Stone 1994
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_______. “The Vakataka’s Flowering and Fall.” In: The Art Vondrovee 2008
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Spink 1991b
_______. “The Archaeology of Ajanta. Overview of Ajanta’s Weiner 1977
Stratigraphy.” Ars Orientalis 21 (1991): 67–93. Sheila L. Weiner. Ajanta: Its Place in Buddhist Art. Berkeley:
Univ. of California Pr., 1977.
Spink 1992
_______. “The Vakataka Caves at Ajanta and Their Succes- Zin 2001
sors.” In: Reappraising Gupta History for S. R. Goyal. Eds. Ba- Monika Zin. “The Identification of the Bagh Painting.” East
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1992: 248–62.
Zin 2003
Spink 2004
_______. Ajanta. Handbuch der Malereien. Devotionale und or-
_______. “The Innocent Evolution of Ajanta’s Technology.” namentale Malereien. Vol. 1. Interpretation. Wiesbaden: Har-
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Hans T. Bakker. Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 2004: 86–105.

Spink 2005 Notes

_______. Ajanta: History and Development. Vol. 1. The End of 1. The monks at Ajanta were followers of the Mulasarvas-
the Golden Age. Handbuch der Orientalistik, Zweite Abtei- tivadin sect which is a form of Hinayana (Weiner 1977:
lung,Indien, Bd. 18. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2005. 32–35).
Spink 2010 2. The hypothesis of identification was advanced few de-
_______. “To Keep One’s Memory Green-Ajanta’s Major cades after the discovery of the Ajanta caves (Fergusson,
Inscriptions.” In: From Turfan to Ajanta. Festschrift for Dieter 1879). See also the summary of this story with commentaries
Schlingloff on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday. Vol. 2. Ed. in Spink, 2005: 181–83.
Eli Franco; Monika Zin. Lumbini: Lumbini International Re- 3. At Ajanta some decorations of the façade of cave XIX are
search Institute, 2010: 955–66. arch-like-niches containing the head of a foreigner, in some

47
cases wearing a Phrygian cap and with long moustaches knotted cloak and headgear can be observed in a painting
(Bautze-Picron 2002, p. 248; Zin, 2003, p. 287). I owe the from Cave XVII at Ajanta identified as the Mahakapi jataka
latter reference to Falk Reitz, whom I wish to thank. Other (Schlingloff 1988, Cave XVII, No. 31, p. 47; 1996, Cave XVII,
ornamental architectonic elements of probable Iranian ori- No. 24.1, p. 30; 2000, p. 144. Decorations of bearded human
gins are the crenellations represented very often at Ajanta heads wearing a cap inside pearl roundels appear on the
(Melikian-Chirvani 1975, pp. 9–10). Crenellations can be ob- garments of a participant at the banquet at Balalyk Tepe, a
served at Bharhut, Sanchi and Bhaja (see for example, Franz site of 6th-7th century Bactriana (Al’baum 1960, Figs. 115–116,
1965, Figs. 31, 53, 64, 91; Huntington and Huntington 1999, 148; Silvi Antonini 1972).
Fig. 5.22); so it is possible that their introduction from Persia
10. Most of the material on this kind of mingqi was collected
or Central Asia in India happened during the Parthian peri-
by Mahler 1959. It is worth remembering that in 6th-7th cen-
od or even before (Goetz 1974, pp. 4–5).
tury China, the Iranians represented in arts are mostly Sog-
4. It is worth noting that in contemporary Sasanian art the dians (Compareti, 2004b; 2006c). There is no specific study
gods have never weapons (Vanden Berghe 1988, p. 1514). on these foreigners in Indian paintings. For a recent mention
Only at Taq-e Bostan does the equestrian statue in the big of foreigners in Ajanta, see Albanese 2004, p. 203.
grotto have a shield and a spear, but it is probable that this
is a representation of the king as a warrior and not a deity 11. Evocative distant lands represent a literary topos in many
as previously thought by this writer (Compareti 2006b, p. cultures and civilizations. For the Muslim Persians, for ex-
167). In any case, Taq-e Bostan is a very late Sasanian mon- ample, China and Khotan played this role. This appears very
ument which could hardly be considered representative for clearly in the famous Shahname by Firdousi. A similar phe-
the whole of Sasanian art. nomenon happened also in Chinese literature where some
characters of entertaining tales were Iranians or Arabs come
5. On the paintings at Bagh, see Marshall 1927 and Marg from very distant lands (Schafer 1951). Curiously enough,
1972. For more recently published studies see Zin 2001 and it is very likely that, for the Sogdians, India represented the
Pande 2002. According to Walter Spink (1976/77; 2004, p. magic land of their tales (Marshak 2002, pp. 27-28). In the
97), the period of inactivity at Ajanta caused by a war that Greco-Roman world too, India was more exotic than any
lasted between 472–474 corresponds to the flourishing pe- other land (Compareti 2012).
riod at Bagh because of the migration of the artists to this
latter site. 12. Again, the metalwork in Chinese paintings reflects most
likely a Sogdian production. See, e.g., the 8th-century Tang
6. Tarzi 1977; Klimburg-Salter 1989. On the problem of the funerary paintings found in the Shaanxi Province with at-
so-called “Buddha paré” see Rowland 1961. tendants bringing in their hands metal objects (Qi 1999, pp.
7. Some garments worn by Indian deities seem to be typical 420–27). Some of these exotic objects include also the rhyton.
of Kashmir only. A typical dress for the so-called “moth- This is a horn usually in the shape of animals used to drink.
er-goddesses” also has a pointed ending in the lower part It appears sometimes in Indian reliefs representing foreign-
and a pearl border (Bhan 2010, Figs. 207–208, 213, 221; Siud- ers such as on a relief on a pillar from Nagarjunakonda,
mak 2013, Pls. 85–88, 196). Site 37 at present kept in the National Museum, New Delhi
(Stone 1994, Fig. 281).
8. It is now clear that the Hephtalites were not part of those
Huns who conquered the land south of the Hindu-Kush and 13. For a general discussion on this element see Lucidi 1969.
Sind as well in the early 6th century. In fact, this latter Hun- 14. One of the main studies on Indian columns is still Stern
nic group was the one commonly known as Alkhon because 1972. The pearl roundels on the pillar under examination in
of the inscriptions on their coins (Vondrovec, 2008). The Cave XVII at Ajanta can be seen in Nakamura 1968, p. 35,
Hephtalites in Central Asia and the Alkhon in north-west- Tab. 21, and Taddei 1976, Fig. 57.
ern India had probably some connections (Errington and
Curtis 2007, pp. 85–88). 15. Pearl roundels can be observed on the reliefs at Sanchi
and Bharhut (2nd–1st century BCE) (Bénisti 1952). On pearl
9. The bowl is part of the so-called “Oxus Treasure,” at pres-
roundels in Indian painting see also Eastman 1943.
ent in the British Museum (Dalton 1964, Pl. 205). There are
at least other three metal vessels like this. Two were recov- 16. There were probably some direct influences of Sogdian
ered at Datong, China, while the third one was found in the art into Northern India and especially in Kashmir, but there
Molotov Region (Russia) and is now part of the Hermitage is no evidence about such an exchange before the 7th century
collection (Fajans 1957, p. 56, Figs. 3-4; Qi 1999, part 2, p. (Compareti 2000, pp. 338–39).
257, Figs. 124, 125; p. 319, Fig. 3-8; Marshak 2004). The same

48
 The Afrasiab Murals:
a Pictorial Narrative Reconsidered

Guitty Azarpay
University of California, Berkeley

T he Sogdian murals discovered in 1965 in a struc-

ture identified as Hall 1, also known as “the Hall
of the Ambassadors,” at Afrasiab, ancient Samarkand,
Hall’s walls are decorated with murals placed above
a continuous wall-bench with a slight projection
on the West wall [Fig. 2, next page].2 Two superim-
have inspired much scholarly exchange and specula- posed friezes of figures were partially preserved up
tion about their date and meaning [Fig. 1].1 The pres- to a height of 1.5 m in murals on the lower half of the
ent paper reviews the events celebrated in the Hall’s walls, the upper parts of which were destroyed when
pictorial narrative within their historical context, and the ceiling collapsed causing the room to be sealed up
explains the reason for the notable absence in that in the tenth century.3 The East wall mural in Hall 1 is
narrative of divine and religious imagery that is else- excluded from this study due to its poor state of pres-
where prevalent in Sogdian art. ervation.

Hall 1 and the Pictorial Narrative of Its Murals The West Wall Mural

Hall 1 is a square room 11 m2, with its only entrance Geopolitical considerations appear to have played a
in the East wall facing the principal West wall. The role in the distribution of the subject matter of Hall 1.
The principal West wall
mural depicts a celebratory
event, generally identified
with the Sogdian Nowrūz,
or New Year’s festival, now
placed around 660 CE.4 But
which Nowrūz festival in
Samarkand is celebrated
around 660 CE in this mural?
Is it the Zoroastrian Nowrūz,
traditionally celebrated in
the Iranian world on the first
day of spring, or does it refer
to Nowrūz as the “opening

Fig.1. The plan of Samarkand

(Afrasiab) with Hall 1, “Hall of
the Ambassadors”, situated in the
city’s third rampart. Originally
drawn in 1885, by the Topograph-
ical Survey of the Russian army,
the plan was redrawn in the 1990’s
during the French Archaeological
Mission in Uzbekistan. I wish to
thank Claude Rapin of MAFOuz
de Sogdiane, for permission to pub-
lish this plan.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 49 – 56 + Color Plate V 49 Copyright © 2014 Guitty Azarpay
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 who are honored in the North and West wall murals.6
The focal composition in the pictorial program in
Hall 1 is that of the West wall mural [Fig. 3]. Here, the
destroyed upper section of the composition was origi-
nally devoted to the towering image of one or possibly
two principal personages. In the preserved lower sec-
tion of this mural, three superimposed files of regional
and foreign gift-bearers converge from left and right
to join a central file of ascending figures below the lost
image in the uppermost center of the wall.7 At the bot-
tom left of the composition, are images of the Sogdian
king, Varkhuman, and other regional gift-bearing
dignitaries [Fig. 4, next page].8 In the bottom right
row are shown foreign dignitaries from Korea, China,
and China’s dependencies. Notable here are images
of long-haired Turks who, instead of native Sogdians,
serve as guards that usher gift-bearers from the low-
ermost friezes towards the central file of ascending
figures.9 Foremost among regional dignitaries is the
ambassador from Chaganian, in Tokharestan, to the
Fig. 2. The Interior of Hall 1 at Afrasiab, showing the South wall south of Sogdiana, in the second frieze of figures, on
mural in situ, in 1968, prior to removal of the murals to the nearby the left [Fig. 3, no. 27]. The latter addresses the Sog-
museum where they remain today. Photograph by author.
dian king, Varkhuman, in a welcoming speech, writ-
day of taxation,” observed in late Sasanian and early ten on the ambassador’s robe, in Sogdian and Bactrian
Islamic Iran? cursive script (Livšic 2006, pp. 59–65). The remaining
fully preserved images in the second and third friez-
The calendrical anomaly in late Sasanian and early
es in this mural represent Turks with long hair, many
Islamic Iran in the seventh century had led to the post-
grouped in camps, where they sit cross-legged with
ponement of Nowrūz from the first day of spring, the
their backs to the viewer, below the destroyed image
time of the vernal equinox, to the ninth month, Ādur,
of the personage above them. The proprietorial presence
the summer solstice, in the Iranian calendar (de Blois
of Turks that circulate in the gift-giving ceremony in
1996, pp. 40, 47, 50, n.14; Abdollahy 2000). A signifi-
this mural is explained by the following historical re-
cant conjunction of the summer solstice at Nowrūz is
alities in Sogdiana of the seventh century.
its coincidence in seventh-century Iran with the offi-
cial date of the “opening day of taxation.” There, the Sogdiana, which had been a subject of the Turks in
observance of Nowrūz in the month of Ādur, after the the sixth century, continued its tributary obligations
harvesting of crops, was the state date for “the open- even after the defeat of the Qaghanate of the West-
ing of taxation” in the Islamic kharājī calendar that was ern Turks by the Tang Emperor, Gaozong (649–83),
presumably based on an earlier Sasanian kharājī calen- in 658–59 CE. The West wall mural, which postdates
dar.5 The coincidence, in seventh-century Iran, of the China’s defeat of the Qaghanate, corresponds to the
Nowrūz festival with the official date of the “opening time of Gaozong’s appointment of Mishe and Buzhen,
day of taxation” would not have been lost on Sogdian earlier Qaghanate leaders, as China’s Protectors-gen-
rulers of the seventh century, nor on their overlords eral. The latter were now charged with the expansion
Fig. 3. Outline drawing of preserved images in the West wall mu- of China’s influence across Central Asia through Tran-
ral, of Hall 1, numbered by Al’baum 1975, tracing by A. Barbet soxiana to the borders of Persia (De la Vaissière 2006,
and drawn by F. Ory, Royal Naurūz 2006, p. 26, Pl. 3. pp. 156–57; Grenet 2006, pp. 52–53; Azarpay 2013, p.

50
Fig. 4. Copy of figures numbered 2, 3 and 4, from the West wall
mural, Hall 1. The name ‘Varkhuman,’ was inscribed on the neck The North Wall Mural
of the figure number 4, on the right, Al’baum 1975, Pl. 6.
The theme of the North wall mural in Hall 1, as estab-
310; Golden 2011, p. 42). In the years between 658 and lished by Compareti and Cristoforetti, is the celebra-
661 the Tang administration established over a hun- tion of the Duanwujie, or the “Dragon-Boat” festival in
dred area commands and prefectures that extended China [Fig. 5] (Compareti and Cristoforetti 2005; Com-
into Central Asia (Pan 1997, p. 196). If the date of the pareti 2006). Like the Sogdian and Persian Nowrūz,
completion of the Afrasiab murals is placed around the Chinese Duanwujie also coincided with the sum-
660 CE when one or both qaghans of the Western mer solstice in the seventh century. In this mural, Chi-
Turks, Mishe and Buzhen, served as China’s Protec- na’s royal couple is shown fully engaged in activities
tors-general in Sogdiana, then the West wall mural related to the celebration of the “Dragon-Boat” festi-
surely honors the Turks, identified with regions to the val in China, on the very day of the Sogdian Nowrūz
West of Sogdiana (De la Vaissière 2006, pp. 156–57; festival. Hence, it is surely not an image of Gaozong,
Azarpay 2013, p. 310; Golden 2011, p. 42). the Chinese Emperor in person, who receives taxes
and gifts in the distant land of the golden peaches, in
Fig. 5. Outline drawing of preserved images on the North wall
the damaged upper section of the West wall mural,
mural based on drawings in Al’baum 1975, with Albaum’s nu-
merical order of figures, reproduced in Royal Naurūz 2006, p. discussed above, but rather his trusted deputy, Chi-
27, Pl. 5. na’s regional Protector-general of Sogdiana.

51
Fig. 6. Outline drawing of preserved images on the South wall
mural, Hall 1, based on drawings in Al’baum 1975, with Al- a trained horse and two pairs of white geese [Figs. 8,
baum’s numerical order of figures, reproduced in Royal Naurūz 9, next page] (Azarpay 2013, pp. 314–16). The figures
2006, p. 26, Pl. 4. move from the viewer’s right towards a small, guard-
ed structure, their ultimate destination, at the extreme
The South Wall Mural left of the procession [Fig. 6]. At the rear of the proces-
The South wall mural, perhaps the most striking sion, to the viewer’s right, an outsized image of the
among the wall paintings from Hall 1, is distinguished Sogdian king, Varkhuman, on horseback, followed
by its brilliant colors, rich ornamental details, and ex- by his equestrian troops, welcomes the neighboring
traordinary subject matter.10 Here the complex per- Chaganian emissaries after their long journey from
spective effects of the West and North walls murals territories to the south of Sogdiana and escorts them
are replaced by a horizontal flow of figures from left to to Samarkand’s South Gate [Fig. 6].12
right, reminiscent of compositions of pictorial narra-
tives in other Sogdian murals, such as the Rustam cy- The Avoidance of Divine Imagery in the Afrasiab Murals
cle from Panjikent (Azarpay et al. 1981, passim). The The Hall 1 murals at Afrasiab are exceptional in
South wall mural depicts an extraordinary caravan of Sogdian painting for their avoidance of divine, de-
gift-bearers, in two superimposed files, against an in- moniac, and supernatural symbols and images. It is
tense lapis lazuli-colored background [Figs. 6, 7].11 The only as decorative and repetitive textile patterns that
procession is led by riders on a small white elephant, mythical motifs are encountered in these murals.
followed by four richly dressed women on horseback,
two male Chaganian dignitaries, shown riding side- Fig. 7. The central section of the procession of figures depicted in
saddle as they prepare to descend from their camels, the South wall mural, Hall 1. Photograph of the original mural in
and a pair of male and a female pedestrians who lead its present state of preservation courtesy Étienne De la Vaissière.

52
 Fig. 8. The head of a Chaganian emissary,
before the degradation of its colors, from the
South wall mural, Hall 1. Photograph by
author, 1968.

senmurv-patterned royal garments

of Sasanian kings.14 As noted by
Vladimir Livšic, despite Manichae-
an, Christian, and Buddhist mis-
sionary activities in seventh century
Sogdiana, native Sogdians largely
retained their Zoroastrian faith
(Livšic 2006, p. 62). Hence they were
doubtless fully cognizant of the as-
sociation of the senmurv motif with
the Zoroastrian Dēn, or religion, in
Persian art. The colossal, equestrian
statue of Khusro II, in the large grotto at Taq-i-Bustan,
Notable among them is the ‘dog-bird’ or senmurv, portrays the helmeted ruler in protective chain-mail
which is repeated on the garment of the Sogdian rul- armor worn above senmurv-patterned trousers [Fig.
er, Varkhuman, whose name is inscribed on his neck 11, next page]. Here, with shield and a raised spear,
[Fig. 10; Color Plate V].13 The use of the senmurv motif the king postures as a quintessential champion of his
on Varkhuman’s courtly robe is seemingly a wishful realm, fortified by impenetrable armor and his Dēn,
statement of the wearer’s rank and prestige, modeled the Zoroastrian religion.15
after Sasanian prototypes, attested in depictions of
Fig. 10. The senmurv motif used as a textile pattern on the robe
Fig. 9. Outline drawing of a caparisoned, trained horse, from a of the Sogdian king, Varkhuman, in the North wall mural, Hall 1.
detail of the South wall mural, Hall 1, Al’baum 1975, Fig. 12. Recently photographed detail, courtesy Matteo Compareti.

53
 Fig. 11. The senmurv motif on the coat and trousers of the colos- sealstones and a collection of Middle Persian docu-
sal, equestrian image of the late Sasanian king, Khusro II, in the ments now in the University of California’s Bancroft
lower level of the large grotto at Taq-i Bustan, Iran. Photographs
Library. E-mail: <azarpay@comcast.net>.
courtesy Daniel C. Waugh.

Finally, the avoidance of divine imagery in the Afra- References

siab murals may be attributed to the secular function Al’baum 1975
of the Nowrūz festival portrayed in the West wall mu- Lazar’ I. Al’baum. Zhivopis’ Afrasiaba. Tashkent: FAN, 1975.
ral at Afrasiab. Nowrūz, which in the years around
660 CE coincided with the official date of the “opening Abdollahy 2000
day of taxation” in Iran, would have served as an op- Reza Abdollahy. “Calendars II. Islamic Period.” Encyclopae-
erable model for the collection of revenue by super- dia Iranica. Vol. IV/6-7. New York, 2000, pp. 669–70, online at
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Arab conquest of the Persian Empire a generation ear- (accessed 27 October 2014).
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iana, Sogdiana’s hope for survival lay in its alliance Guitty Azarpay. “Imagery of the Sogdian dēn.” In: “Maître
with China and its surrogates, a hope that is vividly pour l’éternité”: Florilège offert à Philippe Gignoux pour son 80e
and eloquently expressed in the pictorial narrative of anniversaire. Eds. Rika Gyselen; Christelle Jullien. Studia
the murals from the Hall of the Ambassadors. Iranica, Cahier 43. Paris: Association pour l’avancement des
études iraniennes, 2011: 53–85.

About the author Azarpay 2013

_______. “The Afrasiab Murals, a Reassessment.” In: Com-
Guitty Azarpay is Professor Emeritus of Near East- mentationes Iranicae. Sbornik statei k 90-letiiu Vladimira
ern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Aronovicha Livshitsa [Commentationes Iranicae. Festschrift
A specialist on the art and archaeology of the ancient in honor of Vladimir Aronovich Livshits on the occasion of
Near East and Central Asia, she was the principal his 90th birthday]. Ed. Sergei R. Tokhtas’ev; Pavel B. Lur’e.
Sankt’Peterburg: Nestor-Istoriia, 2013: 308–17.
author of the pioneering book in English on Sog-
dian painting published in 1981. In recent years she Azarpay et al.1981
has been working on electronic catalogs of Sasanian Guitty Azarpay, with contributions by A. M. Belenitskii, B. I.
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Marshak and Mark J. Dresden. Sogdian Painting, the Pictorial Jeroussalimskaja 1993
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of California Pr., 1981. Sassanides: L’empire perse entre Rome et la Chine [224-642], 12
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Guitty Azarpay et al. “New Information on the Date and
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Barbet 2006
Alix Barbet. “Techniques d’exécution des peintures murals Livšic 2006
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213–27. of Afrasiab.” In: Royal Naurūz 2006: 59–74.
Compareti 2006 Mode 2006
Matteo Compareti, “A Reading of the Royal Hunt at Afra- Markus Mode. “Reading the Afrasiab Murals: Some Com-
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Compareti 2009 Ory 2006

_______. Samarcanda Centro del Mondo. Proposte di lettura del François Ory. “Essai de restitution des parties manquantes
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Compareti and Cristoforetti 2005 Pan 1997

Matteo Compareti; Simone Cristoforetti. “Proposal for a Yihong Pan. Son of Heaven and Heavenly Qaghan: Sui-Tang
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menidov do Timuridov: arkheologiia, istoriia,etnologiia, kul’tu- Royal Naurūz 2006
ra. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii, posviashchennoi
100-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia Aleksandra Markovicha Belenitsko- Royal Naurūz in Samarkand: Proceedings of the Conference Held
go, Sankt-Peterburg, 2-5 noiabria 2004 goda [Central Asia from in Venice on the Pre-Islamic Paintings at Afrasiab. Eds. Mat-
the Achaemenids to the Timurids: Archeology, History, teo Compareti; Étienne de la Vaissière. Rivista degli Studi
Ethnology, Culture. Materials of an International Scientific Orientali, Nuova serie LXXVIII, Supplemento No. 1. Pisa/
Conference Dedicated to the Centenary of Aleksandr Mar- Roma: Academia Editoriale, 2006.
kovich Belenitsky, St. Petersburg, November 2–5, 2004]. Silvi Antonini 1989:
Sankt-Petersburg: Inst. istorii material’noi kul’tury RAN,
Chiara Silvi Antonini. “The Paintings in the Palace of Afra-
2005: 215–20.
siab (Samarkand).” Rivista degli Studi Orientali 63 (1989):
de Blois 1996 109–44.
François de Blois. “The Persian Calendar.” Iran. Journal of the Weber 2013
British Institute of Persian Studies 34 (1996): 39–54. Dieter Weber, “Taxation in Pahlavi Documents from Ear-
De la Vaissière 2006 ly Islamic Times (late 7th Century CE).” In: Commentationes
Iranicae. Sbornik statei k 90-letiiu Vladimira Aronovicha Livshit-
Étienne De la Vaissière. “Les Turcs, rois du monde à Samar-
sa [Commentationes Iranicae. Festschrift in honor of Vladi-
cande.” In: Royal Naurūz 2006: 147–62.
mir Aronovich Livshits on the occasion of his 90th birthday].
Fukai and Horiuchi 1969, 1971 Ed. Sergei R. Tokhtas’ev; Pavel B. Lur’e. Sankt’Peterburg:
Nestor-Istoriia, 2013: 171–81.
Fukai Shinji; Horiuchi Kioharu, Taq-i-Bustan. The Tokyo
University Iraq-Iran Archaeological Expedition Report 10. Yatsenko 2004
Vols. 1–2. Tokyo: Yamakawa, 1969–1971. Sergey A. Yatsenko, “The Costume of Foreign Embassies
Golden 2011 and Inhabitants of Samarkand,” Transoxiana 8 (2004)
<http://www.transoxiana.org/0108/yatsenko-afrasiab_
Peter B. Golden. Central Asia in World History. Oxford: Ox-
costume.html>.
ford Univ. Pr., 2011.
Grenet 2006 Notes
Frantz Grenet, “What Was the Afrasiab Painting About?”
In: Royal Naurūz 2006: 43–58. 1. I wish to thank Frantz Grenet for information on the
source of the plan of Afrasiab, published here as Fig. 1. The
Grenet and Azarnouche 2012 plan of Afrasiab was originally drawn in 1885 by the Topo-
Frantz Grenet; Samra Azarnouche. “Where Are the Sogdian graphical Survey of the Russian army, and redrawn in the
Magi?” Bulletin of the Asia Institute, N. S., 21 (2007) [2012]: 1990s by two draftsmen from the French Archaeological
159–77. Mission in Uzbekistan, the MAFOuz de Sogdiane. Claude
55
Rapin, of the MAFOuz de Sogdiane, the source of the plan, The perspective strategy used in this composition, perhaps
has kindly provided me with the following information and a Chinese import, is unusual for Sogdian painting. For the
has permitted me to publish his revised version of the plan modular layout of the West wall composition, compared by
in the present article. According to Claude Rapin, this plan Markus Mode to a unit of measure, the ‘bu’, in Tang Chi-
shows the reduced limits of the town (2nd and 3rd ramparts) na, see Mode 2006, pp. 117–18. On Chinese artistic elements
on the eve of the Arab invasion. However, several buildings, in the North wall mural from Afrasiab, see Kageyama 2006
such as those to the east and west of the citadel date to the and Compareti 2009.
early Islamic period. The external boundary of the site coin-
8. Varkhuman’s name was written in Sogdian cursive on the
cides with the city limits datable to the Achaemenid period.
neck of this figure by a visitor to the hall sometime after the
The urban area, shown in the plan, was reduced in Late An-
original dwellers had vacated the building (Livšic 2006, pp.
tiquity and the early Middle Ages, but reached its maximum
60, 71).
dimensions in the Islamic era. Whereas the location of the
South Gate of the Early Medieval city is certain, the precise 9. The role of ushers, played here by Turks, is aptly com-
locations of the North and East Gates remain conjectural. pared by De la Vaissière (2006, p. 149) to that of Persians and
Based on recent publications of archaeological explorations Medes who, as host and ushers, direct gift-bearing foreign
in this area, Claude Rapin has added to his plan the loca- delegations into the presence of the enthroned king, depict-
tions of Hall 1, “Hall of the Ambassadors,” (Area 23), but ed on reliefs of the Apadana at Persepolis a millennium ear-
has omitted details of area 29/6 where excavations are in lier.
progress.
10. For a detailed and accurate description of ornaments and
2. For the plan of Hall 1, by François Ory, see Royal Naurūz realia in the Afrasiab murals, see Yatsenko 2004.
in Samarkand 2006, p. 25, Fig. 2. Hall 1, also referred to as Pal-
11. On techniques of execution and pigments used in the
ace 23, is situated within the third and last fortification wall
Afrasiab murals, see Barbet 2006. Of the upper register
that surrounded the city before the Arab conquest of Samar-
of figures in the South wall mural, only multiple horses’
kand. Hall 1 was situated far from the citadel within the first
hooves and fragmentary details of stirrups have been pre-
rampart and was separated from the residential area within
served (Royal Naurūz 2006, p. 27, Pl. 5).
the second rampant. Construction of Hall 1 evidently began
before the building of the third rampart that surrounds it. I 12. According to Chinese sources that date to 650 and 658,
wish to thank Claude Rapin for the foregoing information. Varkhuman, mentioned twice in inscriptions written on the
In light of the conclusions reached in the present paper, it West wall murals at Afrasiab, had been king of Samarkand,
may be proposed that Hall 1 was not a royal palace but rath- and was appointed by the Chinese as governor of Sogdiana
er a functionary’s residence and reception area, reserved for in 658, shortly before completion of the mural at Afrasiab
special occasions such as that depicted in the mural of the around 660 (De la Vaissière 2006, p. 155). In support of this
hall’s West wall. date, see Azarpay 2013, pp. 310–11; against it, Mode 2006,
pp. 112–13.
3. For a clear distinction between original and reconstructed
images in the Afrasiab murals, see Al’baum 1975; Ory 2006, 13. Livšic 2006, pp. 66, 71. This Sogdian inscription was
pp. 87–90, Figs. 1–3, 5b, 8; De la Vaissière 2006, pp. 24–25. evidently written by a visitor after the building’s original
dwellers had left the site, and thus belongs to a second se-
4. De la Vaissière 2006, pp. 156–57. See below for arguments
ries of Sogdian labels written on the murals. The earliest in-
in support of the date of the West wall mural. See below
scriptions, written in Sogdian and Bactrian cursive, served
for arguments in support of this date proposed for the West
as explanatory comments written on the murals upon their
wall mural. For the earliest identification the Nowrūz festi-
completion, see Livšic 2006, pp. 59, 65–66.
val as the theme of the Afrasiab murals, see Silvi Antonini
1989. 14. The use of the senmurv pattern is notable in Sasanian
rock sculpture and reliefs at Taq-e Bostan where it decorates
5. The earlier Sasanian kharājī calendar began in the year 611
the garment of the colossal equestrian image of Khusro II,
CE, during the reign of the Sasanian king Khusro II (591–629
carved in three-quarters view, inside the large grotto, see
CE) (Azarpay et al. 2007, pp. 20–21; Weber 2013, p. 172).
Fukai and Horiuchi 1969-1971,Vol. 2, Pls. 34, 44–48. The sen-
6. Although Compareti and Cristoforetti refer to the Muslim murv motif is repeated on the coat and trousers of images of
practice of starting the fiscal year with the summer solstice, the hunter king in reliefs on the left wall of the same grotto
they fail to connect this event with the “gift-giving” proces- (Fukai and Horiuchi, Vol. 1, Pls. 60–64). For other examples
sion depicted in the West wall mural at Afrasiab (Compareti of senmurv-patterned textile, see Jeroussalimskaja 1993.
and Cristoforetti 2005, p. 217; Compareti 2009).
15. On the symbolism of the senmurv motif as a reference to
7. For differing speculations on the identity of the person- the supernatural pair of winged dogs that accompany the
age depicted in the destroyed upper section of this mural, Dēn at the Činwad Bridge and guard the perilous passage of
see Grenet 2006, pp. 48–49, and Royal Naurūz 2006, passim. the soul across that bridge, see Azarpay 2011, p. 60.

56
 The Performance of Pain and Remembrance
in Late Ancient Iran

Touraj Daryaee
Soodabeh Malekzadeh
University of California, Irvine

T he ancient Iranian world, influenced by Zoroas-

trianism, is notorious for its obsession with the
well-being of the body and the soul. However, it is
or self-mutilation during mourning ceremonies, es-
pecially those held in honor of a god-like hero or a
blameless youth. This essay focuses on communal
peculiar that one encounters acts of self-laceration death commemorations held in remembrance of the
undeserved killing of Siavash, the Kayanid Prince,
and Hussain the third Shia Imam who both suffered
a tragic and undeserved and untimely death at the
hands of super-villains.1 Their deaths are commem-
orated by ceremonies that include acts of self-harm,
self-mutilation, and performances of lamentation,
staged in remembrance of the deceased hero’s pain.
This paper attempts to explain the background and
the history of self-laceration and self-wounding pre-
formed as a symbol of deep grievance.
The Kayanid prince Siavash, a mythological persona
who has enjoyed much popularity in the Persianate
world, is one whose killing has been mourned by not
only his kin but also by many generations of Iranians.
Ceremonies held in his remembrance are unique in
the sense that mourners indulged in acts of wailing
and self-injury. The story of Siavash revolves around a
young prince characterized by his high morality, heav-
enly looks, and chivalry. The protagonist is caught in
the midst of the feud between his father (Kavus, the
king of Iran) and his father-in-law (Afrasiyab, the king
of Turan), who ironically is also the arch-enemy of
Iran. After a dramatic series of events, Siavash is bru-
tally and unjustly killed at the hands of Afrasiyab [Fig.
1; Color Plate VI]. Eventually, his death is avenged by
the Iranian national hero Rostam.
This tragedy of Siavash and its aftermath is narrated
in several Medieval Persian texts. In Tarikh-e Bukhara,
an early tenth century historical account, we encoun-

Fig. 1. The killing of Siavash. Illustration to the Shahnameh, dat-

ed AH 1065/CE 1654-65. Islamic Manuscripts, Garrett no. 57G.
Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special
Collections, Princeton University Library. Copyright © Princeton
University Library, reproduced with permission.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 57 – 64 + Color Plate VI 57 Copyright © 2014 Touraj Daryaee and Soodabeh Malekzadeh
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
ter a detailed depiction of an early Iranian mourning wailing and other acts of grievance which they called
ceremony, where the author records the communal Suvashun. Ironically, the story ends with the death
custom of remembering the untimely death of the of Yousef, Zari’s blameless husband, which reminds
young innocent mythical hero, Siavash. According to the reader of the death of Siavash and Imam Hussain
the text “the people of Bukhara perform/have amaz- (Daneshvar 1969, pp. 290–91)
ing hymns/songs pertaining to the killing of Siavash
Although it is clear that acts of self-laceration were
and minstrels call these hymns/songs, kin-e Siavash
practiced in pre-Islamic Iran (Yarshater 1979, p. 93),
(Avenging Siavash) ... Muhammad-ibn-Jaffar believes
we cannot associate it with Zoroastrian customs and
that it has been three millennia since this incident [the
regulations promoted by the Achaemenids and the
killing of Siayavash]” (Tarikh-e Bukhara 1984, p. 24).
Sasanians. Zoroastrian textual evidence displays a
Furthermore, Tarikh-e Bukhara reports that the burial
very strict abhorrence of any and all kinds of self-in-
place of Siavash is believed to be in the city of Bukha-
jury. Middle Persian Zoroastrian texts produced
ra, and that:
in the Sasanian period indicate very clearly that the
The magi of Bukhara honor this place and find it infliction of any type of emotional or physical harm
dear to their hearts and every year, each person sac- on the self is strictly forbidden. For example, in the
rifices a rooster there. The people of Bukhara also fifth question of Menog i Xrad, a Middle Persian text,
mourn and grieve the death of Siavash on the day it is stated that “the most miserable land ... is that in
of Nowruz, and sing sad hymns in his commemora- which people cry, wail, and pull their hair [as a sign of
tion. [These songs] are famous in all regions and are mourning]” (Minooy-e Kherad 1985, p. 19). Another Zo-
called Gristan-e Moghan or ‘the weeping of Magi’ by roastrian Middle Persian text, the Arda Wiraz Namag,
the minstrels. [Tarikh-e Bukhara 1984, pp. 32–33]. in narrating the events of the afterlife witnessed by
It can be assumed that this remembrance ceremo- Arda-Wiraz during his journey to the other world,
ny was accompanied by both emotional and physical sheds light on the Zoroastrian view of lamenting the
self-harm that is, wailing and pulling one’s own hair, passing of a loved one. Arda-Wiraz states that: “I came
which are both indeed two very unorthodox Zoroas- to a place and I saw a big mighty river...some were
trian practices. What makes these rituals more inter- crossing with great difficulty and some were crossing
esting is that they are not only practiced by common easily”... and the god Adur said: “... those who are not
people but the Zoroastrian magi are present at the able to cross are those for whom after their passing
event. much lamentation, mourning, crying, and mourning
was made...And tell those in the world ‘...do not un-
According to the Shahnameh, the kin of Siavash did lawfully mourn and grieve and cry for the souls of
not handle the news of his passing calmly: “When the your departed shall receive that much harm and diffi-
tragic news reached his kin, the palace trembled with culty’” (Arda Wiraz Namag 1986, p. 200).
screams and cries. His kin and servants pulled their
hair, cut off their locks, and scratched their cheeks” In regard to the aftermath of the death of Siavash
(Ferdowsi 1990, vol. 2. p. 359). While Siavash’s palace a Middle Persian poem entitled, Abar Madan i Wah-
in Turan, the land of Afrasiyab, is filled with echoes of ram i Warzawand (On the Coming of the Miraculous
painful screams, the Shahnameh turns our attention to Wahram), states “then we will bring revenge …, in the
Iran. As the news of the beheading of Siavash reached manner which Rostam brought a hundred revenges
the gates of the palace, the Iranian hero, “Piran fell of Siavash” (Daryaee 2012, pp.10–11). So we can see
from his throne in a faint, ripped his garments, tore that the idea of revenge is promoted as the conclu-
at his hair, and threw heaps of dust over his head” sion to the tragedy, without mention of any sort of
(Ferdowsi 1990, vol 2, p. 361).2 ritualistic mourning in his remembrance, let alone
engaging in physical self-harm. Thus, here in Zoroas-
Grieving for Siavash does not end in the medieval trian orthodoxy, the death of innocent Siavash merits
period and has continued until as early as the twenti- revenge, to equalize the harm done, but no lamenta-
eth century. For example, in an early recording of this tion is mentioned or permitted. Unlike in Zoroastrian
tradition Sadeq Hedayat (1955, p. 56) reports that in Middle Persian texts, the Shahnameh, composed in the
the mourning rituals held in many areas of Iran, such 10th Century CE in Khorasan, describes how Siavash’s
as Kohkiluyeh, “women who recite old ballads and death is lamented and his passing mourned.
solemn songs while they wail call this action Susivosh
(Sug e Siavash).” Also in the novel by Simin Danesh- There is material evidence, especially from the east-
var (1969) entitled Suvashun,3 we encounter the story ern borders of the Persianate world beyond the Oxus,
(pp. 27–274) of how women in the southwestern prov- which suggests that Zoroastrian taboos regarding
ince of Fars observed a funerary ritual, where they physical or emotional self-harm in mourning rituals
would cut their hair and tie it to a tree and perform were not observed. In Sogdiana, a region of what may
58
 Fig. 2. Mourning scene, Panjikent, Object II, wall V,
middle section of composition. After: Zhivopis’ drevne-
go Piandzhikenta (M., 1954), Tab. XIX.

be called “Zoroastrian orthopraxy,” one of the cultur- on the burial couch now housed in the Miho Museum,
al centers was Panjikent, where in many drawings which probably dates from the third quarter of the 6th
the Sogdian Vaghnpat (βγnpt) “Master of a Temple” is century CE, provides us with very interesting clues
depicted as being in charge of the affairs of the temple (Lerner 1995, 2011; Feng 2001, p. 244). At the center of
(Grenet and Azarnouche 2012, p. 160). One of the best the image is a Zoroastrian priest, who can be identi-
known artistic representations of a lamentation cere- fied by his padam or mask, and is tending to the sacred
mony is a mural that displays a youth on his deathbed fire and performing a ritual [Fig. 3]. There is also a dog
and several people gathered around him lacerating present at the feet of the priest is probably depicting
their face and body, probably as a funerary rite [Fig. the Sag-did ceremony.4 In the Zoroastrian tradition, the
2]. A. M. Belenitskii argued that this illustration might “four-eyed dog” is believed to have had the ability to
be a depiction of Siavash’s mourning scene, citing as drive off demons and to decrease the infection of the
part of his evidence the passage from Tarikh-e Bukhara corpse (Boyce 1996, p. 303). In this tomb portrait, the
(Belenitskii 1954, pp, 78–82; Azarpay et al. 1981, p. 130; dog (Sag) is viewing the funeral, as it should do at any
for a different interpretation, Grenet and Azarnouche orthodox Zoroastrian funeral in the pre-modern times.
2012, pp. 162–63). Here women This scene depicts the service for
are wailing, pulling their hair death in Zoroastrianism which is
and lacerating their faces in a rit- called rawanpase “soul-service”,
ualistic form in remembrance of a which is a solemn affair in ortho-
deceased person. dox Zoroastrianism.5 The rest of
the scene includes a noble lady
In recent years, more fascinat-
ing evidence has been found in
Fig. 3. Detail of panel on the Miho Mu-
East Asia. Of particular interest
seum’s Sogdian burial couch depicting
are the elaborate funerary imag- the Zoroastrian rawanpase, “soul-ser-
es carved on the panels of burial vice”. Source: <http://heritageinstitute.
couches in Sogdian Iranian tombs com/zoroastrianism/images/death/sog-
in China (Lerner 2005). A panel dianchinvatdetail.jpg>.

59
 Further to the east, at the import-
ant cross-cultural Silk Road oasis of
Dunhuang, one of the most impres-
sive of the Mogao Caves, No. 158,
dating from 839 CE, is dominated
by a huge statue of the Buddha re-
clining in Parinirvana.8 Around him
on the walls are paintings of the
mourners (and all the other surfaces
of the cave are painted as well with
imagery drawn from Buddhist scrip-
tures). The usual form of mourners
at the time of Buddha’s passing is
the gesture of holding the hand by
the ears to try to remember what the
last words of the Buddha to his disci-
ples were. At the feet of the Buddha
in this care are depictions of foreign
emissaries (from the West), and fol-
lowers of Buddha who are engaged
in lacerating their face, chest, or nose
[Fig. 5]. One of the mourners is even
committing hari-kiri. The suggestion

holding the deceased person’s kusti (sacred girdle). Fig. 5. Mourners depicted on the mural behind the statue of the
Behind her is a group of mourners. This would be an Buddha in Parinirvana, Mogao Cave No. 158, Dunhuang, Gansu
orthodox Zoroastrian funeral, except that four of the Province. After: Dunhuang Mogaoku 1987, Pl. 65.
mourners are lacerating their faces.6
More evidence is found in textual sources from
Greater Khorasan. For instance, a Sogdian Manichae-
an text describes the way Iranian partook in a funerary
ritual: “… and there take place spilling of blood, kill-
ing of horses, laceration of faces, and taking (=cutting
off?) of ears (?). And the Lady Nan(a) accompanied
by her women, walks on to the bridge, they smash the
vessels, loud they call out, they weep, tear (their gar-
ments), pull out (their hairs), and throw themselves
to the ground” (Henning 1944, p. 144; see also Russell
2004, p. 1449). This matches the funerary scene de-
scribed earlier.
Buddhist cave images from along the “Silk Roads”
document what can be interpreted as Central Asian
mourning traditions. The examples here both depict
the death of the Buddha, the Parinirvana, where he is
being mourned by his disciples and others. The earli-
est of these [Fig. 4], dated to the 5th or early 6th centu-
ries CE, is from the Kizil Caves along the “northern
Silk Road” near Kucha.7 Above the flaming bier with
the Buddha’s body is a “balcony” with a row of fig-
ures dramatically displaying their grief. Two of them
are either lacerating their faces or preparing to cut off
their noses. The physiognomies of several of the indi-
viduals suggest they might be of central Asian ethnic-
ity—in any event, different from the “Indian” appear-
ance of the other figures.
60
may be that we are dealing with Iranian or Turkic Slashing one’s back with the zanjir can be done either
emissaries who are witnessing the passing of Buddha lightly or draw blood depending on the region where
and mourning in their own traditional custom. the ritual is observed. For example, parts of the Shi-
Thus, we might cautiously conclude that lacerating ite world such as Afghanistan witness very bloody
one’s body, contrary to both Zoroastrian and Bud- scenes of Zanjir-zani. A third custom, now outlawed
dhist traditions was practiced in Central Asia. While in Iran, is called Qameh-zani where participants, usu-
the Miho couch relief very likely reflects some direct ally male, would stab their foreheads with the tip of a
knowledge of at least “unorthodox” Zoroastrian ritu- dagger (Qameh). This ritual takes place while mourn-
als, as we would expect in a Sogdian milieu, the Bud- ers/participants, clad in black, walk the streets either
dhist paintings may or may not reflect realities familiar weeping or chanting songs of grief.
to the artist — they could be a kind of ethnic stereo- Such practices of self-harm are not new. Customs
typing or caricature, with, from the Buddhist stand- and rituals found among civilizations with an endur-
point, negative connotations.9 At very least though, ing ancient background are usually deeply rooted and
it is clear that these artistic depictions of mourning can be traced further back in history. This especially
rituals originated in regions where there was an eth- pertains to customs dealing with death and the spir-
nically mixed population that included Iranian and itual realm. With regard to the practices of Ashura,
Turkic peoples and whose cultural traditions left their in a study on the performance of Ta‘ziyeh we find
mark in what we think of as “Chinese” culture.10 The amazing drawings from the 19th century CE depicting
period of the Tang Dynasty (618–906) is considered to scenes where men are illustrated lacerating their faces
be one in which the presence of foreigners and a taste as a sign of mourning. More documents can be found
for foreign exotica reached a peak. However, on the in travelogues of Europeans who have visited Persia,
Iranian Plateau, we do not have much information for especially in the seventeenth century, and left vivid
laceration in any performances of pain and memory. descriptions of the performance of Ta‘ziyeh on the
It may be that the documentation is simply not there, day of Ashura (Newman 2008, p. 78). They report en-
or more probably Zoroastrianism did not allow such countering scenes where people lacerated themselves
practices to take place. during this day in an attempt to feel the pain of the
In Islam, the practice self-harm and self-injury as irreproachable hero Hussain.
a mourning ritual remains prevalent among Shiites.
Although many believe that the tradition of self-lac-
Another hero whose annual mourning ceremony in-
eration was promoted by the Safavids (Newman 2008,
volves self-laceration is Hussain ibn Ali, the youngest
p. 36) in the 16th and 17th CE and is limited to the Shiite
grandson of the prophet Muhammad. He rose against
the Ummayad Caliph, Yazid, and was defeated by the history of Persia, it appears that the custom of pun-
latter’s army. Hussain, his sons, and his allies were ishing one’s body as a sign or an act of mourning for
brutally killed on the day of Ashura, the tenth day of the passing of someone dearly loved or someone with
the lunar month of Moharram, in 680 CE. His death a high religious, spiritual or political status has had a
subsequently was avenged by Mokhtar (Zarrinkub longer history in the Iranian world and its neighbor-
1975, pp. 36–37), just as Siavash was avenged by Ros- ing lands. In the 10th Century CE, in a period which
has been dubbed as the Iranian Intermezzo, we see the
tam, and his legacy as a blameless hero who preferred
performance of pain, in what Marshall Hodgson has
to die rather than give in to tyranny and suppression
termed the “Perso-Islamicate world.”
was carried on by Shiite Muslims.
On the day of Ashura, almost everywhere in the Among the various dynasties who ruled at the time,
Shiite world, public mourning ceremonies commemo- only the Buyids (concerning whom, see Minorsky
rate this loss. Among various customs of this day, two 1932) adopted a distinct religious stance vis-à-vis the
specifically pertain to our interest. The first is Ta‘ziyeh Sunni Caliph at Baghdad. The Buyids, from the Cas-
(mourning) (Monchi-Zadeh 1967; Yarshater 1979), a pian region, had “national” interests, from the mint-
staged performance, where the battle of Karbala and ing of coinage in the style of the ancient Persian kings
the slaughter of Hussain and his followers is reenact- (Madelung 1969), to leaving inscriptions at Persepolis
ed, while the audience engage in fits of grievance, hit- and consulting with the Zoroastrian Magi (Frye 1993,
ting or pounding of the chest, and shedding of tears. p. 251). However, their commitment to Shi’ism was
The second ritual is a parade-like event called Zan- also abundantly clear, or it became clear when they
jir-zani, where groups of men walk through the streets became the de facto political power. While the Buy-
in an organized manner while the leader of the event ids began as Zaydis by the time they extended their
chants somber hymns commemorating the suffer- power beyond the Caspian, they had become “twelver
ing of Hussain. Male participants either pound their Shiites,” a tradition that was elevated to official status
chests or slash their own backs with the zanjir (chain). alongside the dominant Sunni tradition of Baghdad.
61
 It is difficult to determine when and how the first for Persian Studies at the University of California, Ir-
Shiite passion-play and acts of self-laceration became vine. His work revolves on the history of Iran and the
part of mourning rituals dedicated Imam Hussain. Persianate World. Some of his books include, Sasanian
One of the earliest attestations is from the Buyid pe- Persia: The Rise and Fall of An Empire, (2009); The Oxford
riod. Mu‘izz al-Dawla was instrumental in promoting Handbook of Iranian Civilization (2012). E-mail: <tdary-
Shiite practices and for the first time on the 10th of Mu- aee@uci.edu>.
harram in 963 CE a public mourning was performed.
“The markets were closed and commerce ceased. References
Women, with loosened hair, blackened faces, and rent
garments, marched in procession, beating (and lacer- Al- Bukhari 1997
ating) their faces in lamentation” (Kraemer 1992, p. Al- Bukhari. The Translation of the Meanings of Sahīh Al-
42). Historians categorize this type of mourning ritual Bukhāri: Arabic-English. Tr. Muhammad M. Khan. Vols. 1-8.
as a Caspian region/Daylamite tradition, the region Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam, 1997.
being closely connected to Khorasan both geographi- Arda Wiraz Namag 1986
cally and culturally (Ibid., p. 42). Arda Wiraz Namag: The Iranian ‘Divina Comedia’. Tr. and
What is interesting to note is that not only Zoroas- Transliteration, Fereydun Vahman. London: Curzon, 1986.
trianism and Buddhism but also Islam disallow wail- Azarpay et al. 1981
ing and mourning.11 It is in the Shiite tradition that Guitty Azarpay, with contributions by A. M. Belenitskii, B. I.
the mourning ritual gains ground and becomes fully Marshak and Mark J. Dresden. Sogdian Painting, the Pictorial
accepted. Because of their lamentation practices in Epic in Oriental Art. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: Univ.
line with those of the Greater Khorasanian or Central of California Pr., 1981.
Asian world, the Buyids seem to have been respon- Belenitskii 1954
sible for promoting such observances or at least lay-
Aleksandr M. Belenitskii. “Voprosy ideologii i kul’tov Sog-
ing the basis for their broader dissemination. It is also da po materialam pandzhikentskikh khramov” [Questions
interesting that the early Persian text which narrates about the ideology and cults of Sogdiana raised by the ma-
such practices of mourning, the Shahnameh, is contem- terials from the Panjikent temples]. In: Zhivopis’ drevnego
poraneous with the first Ashura performance/cere- Piandzhikenta. Moskva: Izd-vo. Akademii nauk SSSR, 1954:
mony held by the Buyids in Baghdad. Possibly this 25–82.
marks an important step in the transmission of a ritual Boyce 1996
from Greater Khorasan across the entire Iranian pla-
Mary Boyce. A History of Zoroastrianism: The early period. Vol.
teau. Were not the Daylamite Buyids interjecting into
1. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996.
the minds of their subjects their own rituals and those
of the east as performance of pain in commemoration Compareti 2011
of blameless heroes whose life was taken unjustly? In Matteo Compareti. “The Painted Vase of Merv in the Con-
this way the death of Siavash in Khorasan and Imam text of Central Asian Pre-Islamic Funerary tradition.” The
Hussain in Iraq came to be remembered in a similar Silk Road 9 (2011): 26–41.
fashion and their mourning rituals came together and Daneshvar 1969
intertwined in the larger Iranian world. Simin Daneshvar. Suvashun, Tehran: Kharazmi, 1969.

About the authors Daryaee 2012

Touraj Daryaee. “On the Coming of a Zoroastrian Messiah:
Soodabeh Malekzadeh is a Ph.D. student in the De-
A Middle Persian Poem on History and Apocalyptism in
partment of History at UC Irvine. Her research focuses Early Medieval Islamic Iran.” In: Converging Zones: Persian
on the Sasanian era, but also includes ancient Iranian Literary Tradition and the Writing of History: Studies in Honor
languages, ancient religion and culture. She is a mem- of Amin Banani. Ed. Wali Ahmadi, Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda,
ber of the Sasanika Project and has published scholar- 2012: 5–14.
ly articles including “A Historiographical Study of the
Dunhuang Mogaoku 1987
Life and Reign of Bahram V.,” e-Sasanika Graduate
Paper, 2013. She has also co-authored the forthcoming Dunhuang Wenwu Yanjiusuobian 敦煌 文物 研究所 编.
Dunhuang Mogaoku 敦煌 莫高窟, Vol. 4. Beijing: Wenwu
article “Falcons and Falconry in Pre-Modern Persia”
Chubanshe, 1987.
with Professor Daryaee, which will appear in Pre-mod-
ern Falconry and Bird Symbolism, Ed. O. Grimm and U. Feng 2001
Schmolcke. Luo Feng. “Sogdians in Northwest China”. In: Juliano and
Lerner 2001: 239–45.
Touraj Daryaee is the Howard C. Baskerville Profes-
sor in the History of Iran and the Persianate World Ferdowsi 1990
and the Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center Abolqasem Ferdowsi. Shahnameh. Vol. II, ed. Djalal
62
Khaleghi-Motlagh. California: The Persian Heritage Foun- Known from the Sino-Sogdian Tombs in China.” The Silk
dation, under the imprint of Bibliotheca Persica, and in as- Road 9 (2011): 18–25.
sociation with Mazda Publishers, 1990.
Lerner 2013
Frye 1993 _______. “Yidu: A Sino-Sogdian Tomb?” In: Sogdiitsy, ikh
Richard Frye. The Golden Age of Persia: The Arabs in the East. predshestvenniki, sovremenniki i nasledniki. Na osnove materia-
New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1993. lov konferentsii “Sogdiitsy doma in a chuzhbine”, posviashchen-
noi pamiati Borisa Il’icha Marshaka (1933–2006) [Sogdians,
Grenet and Azarnouche 2012
their Precursors, Contemporaries and Heirs. Based on pro-
Frantz Grenet; Samra Azarnouche. “Where Are the Sogdian ceedings of conference “Sogdians at Home and Abroad”
Magi?” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 21 (2012): 159–77. held in memory of Boris Il’ich Marshak (1933–2006)]. Trudy
Grünwedel 1912 Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha LXII. Sankt- Peterburg: Izd-
vo. Gos. Ermitazha, 2013: 129–46.
Albert Grünwedel. Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chine-
sisch-Turkestan: Bericht über archäologische Arbeiten von 1906 Madelung 1969
bis 1907 bei Kuča, Qarašahr und in der Oase Turfan. Berlin: Wilfred Madelung. “The Assumption of the Title Shāhān-
Georg Reimer, 1912. shāh by the Būyids and ‘The Reign of the Daylam (Dawlat
Hasouri 2005 Al-Daylam)’.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 28/2 (1969): 84-
108; 28/3 (1969): 168–83.
Ali Hasouri. Siavashan. Tehran: Cheshmeh, 2005.
Minooy-e Kherad 1985
Hedayat 1955
Minooy-e Kherad. Persian tr. by Ahmad Tafazzoli. Tehran:
Sadeq Hedayat. Neveshtehay-e Parakandeh. Ed. Hasan
Tous, 1985.
Ghaemian. Tehran: Amir Kabir, 1955.
Minorsky1932
Henning 1994
Vladimir F. Minorsky, La domination des Dailamites. Paris: E.
Walter. B. Henning. “The Murder of the Magi.” Journal of the
Leroux, 1932.
Royal Asiatic Society 76 (1944): 133–44.
Meskoob 1971
Juliano 2001
Shahrokh Meskoob. Sug e Siavash. Tehran: Kharazmi, 1971.
Annette L. Juliano. “Buddhist Art in Northwest China.” In:
Juliano and Lerner 2001: 118–43. Monchi-Zadeh 1967
Juliano and Lerner 2001 Davoud Monchi-Zadeh. Ta’ziya: das Persisches Passionsspiel.
Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner. Monks and Mer- Skrifter utgivna av K. Humanistiska vetenskapssamfundet i
chants. Silk Road Treasures from Northwest China. Gansu and Uppsala, 44:4. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1967.
Ningxia 4th–7th Century. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Newman 2008
with The Asia Society, 2001.
Andrew J. Newman. Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire.
Kezi’er shiku 1997 London: I. B. Tauris: 2008.
Xinjiang weiwu’er zizhiqu wenwu guan liwi yuanhui 新疆 Russell 2004
维吾尔自治区文物管理委員会 et al. Kezi’er shiku 克孜尔石
窟 [The Kizil Grottoes]. Vol. 3. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, James R. Russell. “Zoroastrianism and the Northern Qi
1997. Panels.” In: Armenian and Iranian studies. Harvard Armenian
texts and studies, Vol. 9. [Cambridge, MA:] Department of
Kraemer 1992 Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard Univ.;
Joel L. Kraemer. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The [Belmont, MA:] Armenian Heritage Pr., 2004: 1449–50.
Cultural Revival during the Buyid Age. 2nd rev. ed. Leiden;
Schafer 1963
New York: E. J. Brill: 1992.
Edward H. Schafer. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: a Study
Lerner 1995 of Tʻang Exotics. Berkeley: Univ. of California Pr.: 1963.
Judith Lerner. “Central Asians in Sixth-Century China: A
Zoroastrian Funerary Rite.” Iranica Antiqua (1995): 179–90. Ṭabarī 1990
Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī. The History of al-Ṭabarī. Vol.
Lerner 2005 19. The Caliphate of Yazīd b. Mu‘āwiyah AD 680–683/AH 60–64.
_______. Aspects of Assimilation: The Funerary Practices and Ed. and tr. I. K. A. Howard, Albany, NY: State University of
Furnishings of Central Asians in China. Sino-Platonic Papers, New York Pr., 1990.
No. 168. Philadelphia,PA: University of Pennsylvania De-
partment of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2005. Tarikh-e Bukhara 1984
<http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp168_sog- Tarikh-e Bukhara. Ed. Mohammad T. Modarres-Razavi. Teh-
dian_funerary_practices.pdf> ran: Tous, 1984.
Lerner 2011 Whitfield 1995
_______. “Zoroastrian Funerary Beliefs and Practices Roderick Whitfield. Dunhuang. Caves of the Singing Sands:
63
Buddhist Art from the Silk Road. 2 Vols. London: Textile & Art 6. A vase from Merv depicts a possibly Sogdian funerary
Publications, 1995. scene with mourners, who may be weeping but are not lac-
erating their faces. See Compareti 2011.
Yarshater 1979
Ehsan Yarshater. “Ta’ziyeh and Pre-Islamic Mourning Rites 7. The painting, in the so-called “Maya Cave” was removed
in Iran.” In: Ta‘ziyeh: Ritual Drama in Islam. Ed. Peter J. Chel- by the German Turfan expeditions of the early 20th century,
kowski. New York: New York Univ. Pr., 1979: 88–95. a process which, unfortunately, destroyed a good portion
of the imagery of greatest interest here. What remains may
Zarrinkub 1975 be seen in the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, MIK III 8861,
Abdolhossein Zarrinkub. “The Arab Conquest of Iran and which indicates it has been carbon-dated 416-526 CE. See on-
its Aftermath.” In: The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4. Ed. line <http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/
Richard N. Frye. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr.: 1975: mia/im71e.jpg>; for a sharper, good color reproduction,
1–56. Kezi’er shiku 1997, Pl. 224. The mourners are in a “balcony”
above the bier on which the body of the Buddha was being
Notes cremated. As the caption to Grünwedel’s drawing indicates
(1912, Fig. 415, p. 180), the figures were painted in a single
1. On the death of Siavash, see Meskoob 1971; Hasouri row, which he has divided into two.
2005. For more details on the death of Hussain and his allies
during the battle of Karbala, see Ṭabarī 1990, pp. 92–178. 8. For a description of the cave, see Whitfield 1995, Vol. 2,
pp. 323–325; there are some color plates in his Vol. 1, pp.
2. It is interesting to note here that still in some areas of Iran, 103–104. More generally on a number of the most important
funerary ceremonies, especially those held in honor of a Buddhist cave sites in the region, see Juliano 2001.
popular person, are accompanied by participants covering
their head or their whole body in dust or mud as a sign of 9. On the possibility of caricature in the Chinese depiction of
mourning. foreigners, note Lerner 2013, p. 138.

3. The term is most probably a shortened version of Sug e 10. There is a huge literature relating to this subject. Good
Siavashan. introductions can be found in Juliano and Lerner 2001 and
the classic book on Tang exotica by Schafer 1963.
4. For other representations of Sag-did in Sogdian funerary
art, see Lerner 2013, p. 137. 11. For the hadith that prohibit pulling of hair, scratching
of cheeks, and wailing over the deceased in Islam see Al-
5. Henning believes that the significance of the term “soul Bukhari 1997, pp. 216–28.
service” is not clear, but that “it might refer to a religious
service for the souls of the departed” (Henning 1944, p. 143,
n. 6).

64
 Russo-Polovtsian Dynastic Contacts as Reflected in
Genealogy and Onomastics

Anna Litvina
Fjodor Uspenskij
National Research University,
Higher School of Economics, Moscow

T he description of Polovtsian-Russian contacts ―

embodied not only in constant lesser and greater
military conflicts but also in peace treaties, military-po-
to set off to Vladimir Monomakh. Likewise, a tale ac-
cording to which the guard assigned to the captive
Igor’ Sviatoslavich in the Polovtsian camp carried out
litical alliances, inter-dynastic marriages, family ties, its orders and released the prince to participate in a
and finally, simply in personal relations ― occupies in falcon hunt. In most such cases, all our suppositions
the oldest Russian chronicles devoted to the pre-Mon- about the organization of the Polovetsian part of the
gol period a significant place. The breadth of coverage court of the Russian prince, who was married to a
is barely less than that devoted to the history of the Polovtsian, about the language spoken between two
Riurikid clan itself. cousins — one of whom was a nomad heir, the other
a Riurikid — are impossible to support with any di-
However, the modern reader of the Russian chron-
rect evidence from the sources. There is definitely a
icle, having become interested in the history of Rus-
lack of information suited to our modern perception
so-Polovtsian interactions, comes up against two part-
concerning the daily aspects of the Russo-Polovtsian
ly discouraging, partly disorienting circumstances.
interactions; neither is the distinctive cyclical nature,
On the one hand, this history, for all its eventfulness,
the almost pathological stability of the contacts with
gives the impression of something monotonic and
the nomads, entirely illusory.
undifferentiated: over the course of a century and a
half Polovtsian invasions and answering campaigns Nonetheless, the onomastic material and history of
of the Russian princes are recorded in the sources so Russo-Polovtsian marriages offer a possible, if partial
frequently that it is difficult to detect any indication of path to escaping some of these limitations. The study
intensification or weakening of military conflict. One of the Russian names of Polovtsian rulers recorded in
is struck by the similarity of those events which fall at the chronicles along with the genealogical connections
the boundary between the 11th and 12th centuries and of the two dynasties gives rise to a series of observa-
those which occur a bit more than a century later. In tions, some entirely expected and in a certain sense
the first as in the second of the indicated periods, we superficial, but others by no means obvious and re-
learn about the alternating success of Russians and quiring multi-layered commentary. The history of the
Polovtsians in battles not far from Pereiaslavl’, about appearance of these anthroponyms, juxtaposed with
the capture of Russian princes by the nomads, about the history of inter-dynastic marriages, of itself sug-
the fact that another prince marries his son to a Polov- gests a tentative, if somewhat vague but distinctive
tsian woman, about flight—successful or unsuccessful periodization of Russo-Polovtsian contacts.
— of yet another Riurikid to the Polovtsy… We note, for example, that, unlike modern scholars,
On the other hand, in the chronicle accounts, one the first chroniclers never call the Polovtsian rulers
can but infrequently locate some information about “khans,” but rather call them princes (kniaz’ia) just
everyday practice which made up the substance of as they do their own dynasts. While by this measure
these contacts. It is rare to encounter a reference as to from the Russian perspective the Polovtsy seem to
how on the eve of the murder of the Polovtsian prince have been treated identically with, for example, the
Itlar’ he was invited to change his footwear in a warm Pechenegs, at the same time there is a fundamental
hut and breakfast with a certain Ratibor, in order then difference. In fact, the Riurikids married only Polov-

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 65 - 75 65 Copyright © 2014 Anna Litvina and Fjodor Uspenskij
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
tsian princesses among all the numerous nomads with oppose the Polovtsy when they immediately attempt-
whom they dealt. Even the people called the Chernye ed to make use of the “atomic energy” of nomad clans
Klobuki, who from a certain period settle in Rus’ and in their own internal family conflicts. To do so could
play a very important role both in the struggle with be dangerous, especially at the beginning. One of
external enemies and in the civil strife of the princes the Russian princes, Roman Sviatoslavich, perished,
themselves, were not granted such an honor.1 Thus, it killed by his own Polovtsian allies after a military fail-
was only the Polovtsy whom the Russian princes con- ure (PSRL, I, col. 204; II, col. 195–96; II, 18). Yet this is
sidered in a specific sense to be equal partners with the first and last instance: thereafter it was only for the
them: all the rest of the steppe world was suited for Riurikids to kill Polovtsian princes who had entered
negotiations and treaties, but not for sealing those into peaceful negotiations of alliance with them.
treaties with marriages.
How then did the princes attempt to control or reg-
Lacking their own written tradition, the Polovtsy in ulate this new and threatening force? They turned to
a certain sense were fortunate in the Russian histor- the universal dynastic means for taking control of the
ical narrative: they appeared in Rus’ not long before world. Starting at the end of the 11th century, the Riurik-
the compilation of those redactions of the Povest’ vre- ids began to enter into marriages with the Polovtsian
mennykh let which have come down to us in chronicle princesses. The first one to do so apparently was Oleg
compilations.2 Thus the Polovtsian invasions affected Sviatoslavich of Chernigov,3 the brother of the mur-
directly the authors of the chronicles but at the same dered Roman, thereby laying the foundation for the
time never were treated by them as an inescapable reputation of “cumanophiles” which his heirs, the
and unknown evil. This was a new threat, which was Ol’govichi, enjoyed in Rus’ over a century and a half.
necessary physically to endure, internalize and situate
in a picture of the world, in world history. Thus it was In general, the end of the 11th and first decades of the
no accident that the Polovtsy appear in the chronolog- 12th centuries — the era of the grandsons of Iaroslav
ical framework of the annals with a significant degree the Wise — marked a new era in Russo-Polovtsian re-
of anticipation long before Rus’ had to confront them lations. The Riurikids finally learned how to defeat the
in reality. For example, in recounting the creation of Polovtsy and actively began to establish family ties
Slavic writing—that is, an event from the 9th century— with them and enter into marriages. Vladimir Mono-
the compiler of the Povest’ vremennykh let introduces makh, who above all was known for his battles with
the Polovtsy as an ideal type to illustrate precisely the pagans, on separate occasions arranged for two of
what a nomadic people is and how the migration of his sons, Iurii Dolgorukii (PSRL, I, cols. 282–83) and
peoples generally occurs: “The Ugry passed by Kiev Andrei Dobryi (PSRL, II, col. 285), to marry Polovtsian
over the hill which is now called the Ugrian hill, and women.
on arriving at the Dnieper, they pitched camp, for they In the marriage strategy of the Riurikids with re-
were nomads like the Polovtsians. The Ugry had come spect to the nomads, already at that time the most im-
from the East and struggled across the great moun- portant principle of checks and balances was put in
tains (which were called the Ugrian mountains) and place — each branch of the princely family thus tried
began to set upon those who lived there” (PSRL, I, col. to secure for itself the military support of the nomads.
25; II, col. 18). Looking ahead, we can say that this principle gave a
As far as events are concerned in which the Polovt- definite rhythm to the marriages, and to depart from
sy figure directly, the first stage of their interaction that rhythm, to refuse to marry steppe princesses, in
with Rus’ begins with entirely peaceful negotiations, a certain sense amounted to rejecting pretensions to
but quickly gives way to a series of destructive de- clan seniority. When Monomakh married his son Iurii
feats which the nomads inflict on the Russian princes. Dolgorukii to a Polovtsian woman (one who was still
When Sviatoslav Iaroslavich succeeds in gaining a vic- a minor, it seems), this marriage was part of a signif-
tory over them at Snovsk (PSRL, I, col. 172; II, col. 161; icant peace treaty. On the Riurikid side participated
II, pp. 189–90), the chronicler embroiders on the event three cousins (Vladimir, Oleg and David), and on the
itself with a whole series of characteristics which ele- Polovtsian side several princes who were leaders of
vate its significance, such as a speech by the prince to different clans. Moreover, Vladimir married his son
his soldiers. It is no accident that this speech echoes a to one Polovtsian princess at the same time that his
fragment of a speech by the ancestor and namesake cousin and constant opponent, Oleg Sviatoslavich,
of this prince, Sviatoslav Igorevich, prior to his vic- hastened to organize an analogous marriage with a
torious battle against the Byzantines (Litvina and Polovtsian woman for one of his own sons who was
Uspenskii 2006, pp. 436–37). not yet of age (PSRL, I, cols. 282–83).4
On the whole one can say that in the 60s and 70s of In this period the attention of the chronicler (and,
the 11th century the Riurikids had but learned how to it goes without saying, the Riurikids themselves)
66
was drawn to Polovtsian names
and, even more interestingly, Iaroslav the Wise
to Polovtsian genealogies. As
is well known, one of the char-
acteristic features of Russian
naming practices for people is
patronymics. In other contexts, Tugorkan Iziaslav Vsevolod
the old Russian hagiographer or
preacher was capable of provid-
ing patronymics even for Biblical
personages, whose genealogy
N. (son?) N. (daughter) Sviatopolk Vladimir
understandably was considered
Monomakh
to be of primary importance:
for example, the designation of
Jesus, son of Sirach as Iisus Sir- N. Andrei
akhovich in the “Chronicle” of (granddaughter) Dobryi
Geogios Harmatolos (Istrin 1920,
I, p. 204; see B. A. Uspenskii 2002, pp. 51–52; on old Russian princes, they were baptized. At the same
Russian patronymics, see also F. B. Uspenskii 2002, time, the “Russian side” apparently very carefully cal-
pp. 65–110). As far as the chronicle itself goes, in the culated the degree of consanguinity with these new
frequency of the use of patronymics the Polovtsy un- brides and their relatives, thereby attempting not to
questionably are “silver medalists.” Of course the violate canonical rules forbidding marriages between
princes themselves are more frequently named with close relations. Sviatopolk Iziaslavich and Andrei
their patronymics, but the Polovtsian rulers in that Dobryi married an aunt and niece (respectively, the
regard are only slightly behind the Riurikids. This daughter and granddaughter of the Polovtsian prince
indicates that the chronicler ― mentioning, for exam- Tugorkan) (PSRL, I, cols. 231–32; II, cols 216, 285), but
ple, Kozel Sotanovich, Kodechi and Kaban Urusovich, the degree of consanguinity between these princes
Begbars Akochaevich, Kobiak Kardyuevich, K[o]za themselves was sufficiently distant that the ban on
Burnovich, Kotian Sutoevich ― knew perfectly well marriages with brides who were too closely related
the immediate genealogy of the steppe peoples and it was not in this case violated.
was for him not merely an item of current interest. It A century later Vladimir Igorevich of
was important for him to indicate precisely who was Novgorod-Seversk and Iaroslav, son of Vsevolod
involved in the next invasion of Rus’ and who was “Large Nest,” were married to an aunt and her niece,
responsible for the next victory or defeat of the Riurik- but again the degree of consanguinity between these
ids. The Russian princes themselves apparently were Riurikids was absolutely acceptable for such a mar-
even better informed; and in any event, the text of the riage. If the Russian princes themselves were rela-
famous “Testament” of Vladimir Monomakh is satu- tively closely related, then it was necessary to empha-
rated with information about patronymics. size that their Polovtsian wives were not related. In
It is necessary to stress that the patronymic form in part precisely for this reason it was important for the
–ich/-ovich does not always reflect directly the name of chronicler to indicate not only who was the father, but
the father. From the philological standpoint, it is pre- also who was the grandfather of each of the Polovtsian
cisely the onomastic characterizations of the Polovtsy, women: “In the same year and month, Vladimir and
supplementing the Slavic material itself, which make David and Oleg went to Aepa and to the other Aepa
it possible to discern that universality of morphologi- and concluded a peace, and Vladimir took as a bride
cal devices that create a distinctive linguistic continu- for Iurii, Aepa’s daughter, Osen’s granddaughter, and
um including patronyms (i.e., specification with refer- Oleg took as a bride for his son Aepa’s daughter, Gir-
ence to the father), clan names, indications of a specific gen’s granddaughter” (PSRL, I, cols. 282–83). The au-
ethnos or geographical location. Moreover, the draw- thor of the text shows that the newly-acquired Polov-
ing of firm boundaries between the component parts tsian brides taken by Oleg and Vladimir Monomakh
of this continuum is not always possible. Be that as it were not sisters and came from different families, al-
may, evidently from the standpoint of genealogy, nei- though the names of their fathers were identical.
ther the Poles, with whom many dynastic marriages Characteristically, however, neither the native or
were concluded, nor even the Byzantines interested baptismal names of the Polovtsian brides themselves
the Rus’ to the degree that the Polovtsy did. are ever specified in the chronicles of the pre-Mongol
Of course, as soon as Polovtsian women married period. No less significant is the fact than in the first,
67
earliest phase of military conflicts with the Polovtsy in this period there is a growing frequency in the
the Russian chronicle indicates the names of these no- chronicles of the term sestrichich (i.e.., “the son of a
madic leaders but not their patronymics. One might sister, nephew from a sister”), which is used to char-
tentatively suggest that at the moment the Riurikids acterize internal clan relations of the Russian princes
began to marry Polovtsian women, the text begins to themselves (cf., for example, PSRL, I, col. 315; II, cols.
record genealogical information about the nomads, 327, 367, 471). Thus, one of the representatives of the
although obviously the meaning and import of this house of Chernigov, Sviatoslav Ol’govich, constantly
information is by no means limited to the matrimonial turns for support to his maternal uncles, the Polov-
sphere. tsian leaders related to him through his mother, at the
The next stage in the relations of the Russian dy- same time that another prince, Sviatoslav Vsevolod-
nasty with the Polovtsian elite begins when individ- ich, successively allies either to stryi, his paternal Rus-
uals of mixed blood appear—Polovtsian grandsons sian uncles, or to his ui, maternal Russian uncles who
and nephews—in the paternal line belonging to the are ready to support him as their sestrichich.
Riurikid clan. The marriages concluded earlier bore On the whole, it is as though the Russian princes
their natural fruits. Such individuals of mixed blood work out with the help of the Polovtsy several strate-
included, as is well known, Andrei Bogoliubskii and gic models which in the future would be used in their
Sviatoslav Ol’govich of Chernigov, and many other internal and external affairs. Among them, for exam-
princes. In the sequence of civil conflicts of the 1140s ple, is the model of synchronic contracting of several
and 1150s which broke out in Rus’, the majority of dynastic marriages which can create triple unions of
them eagerly availed themselves of their maternal the fathers of the newlyweds and simultaneously op-
uncles (“wild uncles”, dikie ui), and these with equal erate on the principle of checks and balances, immedi-
eagerness provided support. Simply stated, the Polov- ately leveling the matrimonial advantages of several
tsy loved their Russian grandsons and nephews more dynastic lines. As mentioned already, the marriage of
than their newly-made sons-in-law—one can fight the young Iurii Dolgorukii with a Polovtsian woman
with a son-in-law, but one must support nephews, took place simultaneously with the wedding of his
grandsons and granddaughters. More precisely, one third cousin, the son of Oleg of Tmutorokan’. In his
can note that the Polovtsy held in rather high regard turn, having attained his majority, Iurii simultaneous-
their blood relations, established through the female ly marries off two of his daughters to junior members
line, viewing the children of sisters and daughters to a of two powerful Russian princely families, those of
significant degree as members of their own clan. Chernigov and Galich, so to speak to a degree repli-
cating the actions of his father and father-in-law on
Most importantly, thanks to the Polovtsy the value
Russian soil (PSRL, II, col. 394).
of such connections also increased for the internal
dynastic politics of the Russian princes themselves. One can even more broadly suggest that such a
As a dynasty that was increasingly androcentric, model of dynastic marriage involving Polovtsians
the Riurikids ruled for more than six centuries on the was approved when relations were established be-
basis of succession in a single patrilineal blood line. tween the parents of the bride and groom. These
Power could pass from brother to brother, from father brides and grooms were not necessarily minors, but
to son, from uncle to nephew (but only if the latter was at the moment of the wedding, they are not the main
the son of a brother, not of a sister!). Various branch- parties involved in negotiating the contract. A similar
es of the clan descending from a common ancestor model can be designated as the negotiation by the fa-
could succeed one another on the most prestigious ther of the bride directly with the father of the groom
princely seats. Marriages frequently were concluded (svat↔svat), which in itself is universal for dynastic
between distant relatives, representatives of one and practice (Litvina and Uspenskii 2013a, pp. 308–25),
the same dynasty. However no ruling privileges could but in Russian practice becomes fully operative only
be inherited through women in the 11th and 12th centu- from the time of the Polovtsian marriages.
ries. It was not impossible that under the influence of This third stage of Russo-Polovtsian contacts, when
Polovtsian examples, the Riurikids to a certain degree among the Riurikids Polovtsian sons-in-law, Polovt-
were able to emphasize connections via the female sian grandsons and Polovtsian nephews all act simul-
line. A tradition developed within which young Rus- taneously, has yet one more characteristic feature:
sian princes began to enlist the help of the brothers of the Russian princes can temporarily or permanently
their Russian mother who was born a Riurikid prin- flee to the Polovtsian camp, to the nomads, without
cess, this process similar to the way that representa- thereby severing their connection with their own dy-
tives of the clan enlisted the support of brothers and nasty. At the end of the 1140s Rostislav Iaroslavich
other relatives of their Polovtsian mother. flees to the Polovtsy from the throne of Riazan’ in the
It is noteworthy that in describing princely conflicts face of a military threat from his relatives, the sons
68
of Dolgorukii. Moreover, he has a specific target of in the preceding era of Monomakh, serve as interme-
his flight—he going to a certain Eltuk, which allows diaries between two ever more closely interconnected
one to suppose that he was related to that Polovtsian worlds, the Russian and the Polovtsian. These medi-
chieftain either by blood or marriage (PSRL, II, cols. ating functions become from that moment something
338–39). It is no surprise that somewhat earlier the very significant and in constant demand in Russian
people of Chernigov suspected their prince Vsevolod dynastic life.
Ol’govich of having similar intentions, since he was
The foregoing may seem to suggest that toward
half Polov-tsian (PSRL, II, col. 301).
the second half of the 12th century the boundary be-
In the 1150s there was a completely indecent epi- tween the Russian and Polovtsian dynasties was final-
sode of dynastic history when the widowed princess ly erased, that Rus’ and the nomads had fused to the
Riurikovna not only fled to the Polovtsy but did so point of being indistinguishable. Of course this was
in order to marry there the Polovtsian prince Bash- not the case. As before, one world was separated from
kord (PSRL, II, cols. 500–01). On the whole the mar- the other by several barriers, and the highest of them
riage strategy of the Rurikids toward the Polovtsy was undoubtedly was the confessional one. Throughout
very one-sided: the princes eagerly married Polov- the entire pre-Mongol period, for the Old Russian
tsian women but never, insofar as one can determine bookman the Polovtsy remained accursed, pagan and
from the sources, gave their daughters in marriage to godless, and, everything considered, the explanation
Polovtsy. On the other hand, the position of princely for this is the fact that they were just that, unbaptized.
widows in Rus’ was rigidly ordained—they could not Having accumulated already no little experience of
plan on a second marriage in their homeland. As far marriages with Polovtsian women, of life among the
as our fugitive is concerned, through the power of her Polovtsy, of peace treaties and exchanges of hostag-
new Polovtsian husband she was able to help not only es with them, the Russian princes for their part ap-
her son from the first marriage, the Russian princeling parently treated treaties with the steppe peoples in a
who remained in Rus’, but also the brother of her late somewhat different way than they did treaties with
husband. One can but speculate that the princess fled Christians. In the time of Vladimir Monomakh, it was
to the Polovtsy with the connivance of that clan of her possible to kill a Polovtsian prince who came to the
Russian husband — an entirely unheard of situation court, one with whom Vladimir was bound by a rota,
for Rus’. an oath of peace—thus perished Itlar’ and Kitan (PSRL
Be that as it may, of course the departures of Russian I, cols. 227–29). In spite of the evident closening of ties
princes to the Steppe (at the same time that other princ- with the Polovtsy, even long afterwards it was still
es living among the Polovtsy had occasion to return to possible to kill a captive steppe prince who had but re-
their hereditary seats), created along with, so to speak, cently been a military ally. Apparently, in the middle
“normal” dynastic marriages, an extremely close-knit of the 1180s this was how the famous prince Kobiak
milieu of cultural exchange on the highest level. That perished. By all accounts, it was marriage which was
is when the written sources mention for the first time supposed to provide a guarantee against princely vio-
possessors of Russian names connected in one way or lation of oaths. Yet even that guarantee was not abso-
another with the Polovtsian world. Perhaps the best lute, as we have seen in the fate of Tugorkan, who set
known of them was a certain Vasilii Polovchin, who off on a campaign against his son-in-law and perished
figures in the account of the Hypatian Chronicle about in battle with him (PSRL, I, col. 232; II, col. 222).
the collaboration of Prince Sviatoslav Ol’govich with One might note that in spite of all disagreements and
his Polovtsian relatives and allies (PSRL, II, cols. 341– conflicts which shook the extremely prolific clan of
42). It is not always possible to determine from this Russian princes in that century, generally in the con-
early example whether we are dealing with Polovtsy frontations amongst the Riurikids themselves there
per se, whether they are in the nomadic milieu or at was, so to speak, a definite limit or inviolable bound-
the court of Russian princes, and even more problem- ary, in no way explicitly delineated but consciously
atically, whether one of them is a Polovtsian prince of recognized by the princely clan. Of course, as with all
equal status with his Rurikid partners. inviolable boundaries of dynastic custom, from time
So it is entirely justified to ask whether our Vasilii to time there were violations, ones which, however,
Polovchin was a Polovtsian or whether we are deal- each time were understood to be something extraordi-
ing with a nickname, derived from a universal model, nary, scandalous, almost beyond the bounds of what
according to which a Russian craftsman who studied was imaginable. In contrast, in relations with the no-
in Greece would be called a Greek or a Norwegian mads, there seems to have been a distinct a priori as-
merchant who traded in Rus’ would be nicknamed sumption that obligations could be violated, be they
“Russian.” Nonetheless, it is evident that such bearers ones established by treaty, matrimonial ties or close
of Russian names, who more likely than not emerged personal ties.
69
 The fourth and for us the most interesting stage in the friend and ally of his father, was baptized as Iurii
Russo-Polovtsian relations begins with the next up- (Georgii) (PSRL, II, col. 422). Assuredly such a coinci-
surge in the intensity of the military confrontation dence cannot be called accidental—it is clear that Kon-
between Rus’ and the nomads. It is precisely then, in chak’s son was called Georgii (Iurii) precisely because
our view, that a whole group of heirs of the Polovtsian Georgii was Igor’-Georgii of Novgorod-Seversk. Most
elite who have Russian names make their first appear- likely, the Polovtsian Iurii was born in the 1170s and
ance: Iurii Konchakovich, Daniil Kobiakovich, Roman his naming was one of the first pledges securing the
Kzich, Gleb Tirievich, Iaropolk Tomzakovich… The given Russo-Polovtsian friendship.
number of such individuals is so noticeable that it al- “Russian” names of a similar kind have not been
lows one to speak about a distinctive “anthroponym- the subject of special study, but modern scholars are
ic mode” of such a naming practice among the most inclined without further discussion to consider that
powerful of the Polovtsian rulers. all who bore those names are Christians (Popov 1949,
The history of these anthroponyms is one way to p.104; Pletneva 2010, pp. 153–54; Golden 1990, p. 283;
raise the curtain on a whole array of multi-layered Golden 1998; Tolochko 2003, p. 129, Osipian 2005, p.
combinations in the interrelations among the Rus- 10, Pylypchuk 2013a, p. 91). We should qualify this
so-Polovtsian elite of the last third of the 12th and immediately by noting that the scholars of the 19th and
first decades of the 13th century. Especially telling in first half of the 20th centuries refrained from such cate-
this regard is the history of the contacts of Russian gorical assertions and proposed, in our opinion entire-
prince Igor’ Sviatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversk and ly correctly, that such names could appear among the
the Polovtsian prince Konchak, which is inscribed in Polovtsy not only as a result of baptism but in the pro-
texts of entirely different genres—in the chronicle and cess of a kind of cultural interaction with Russians (cf.
in the epic “Tale of the Host of Igor’.” We know that Golubovskii 1884, p. 225; Hrushevs’kyi, II, pp. 537-38).
Igor’, as a result of an unsuccessful campaign, found We would suggest that whenever the subject is the
himself in Polovtsian captivity in very advantageous sons of Polovtsian rulers who over time inherited the
and honorable conditions (PSRL, II, col. 649). We also property and power of their fathers, in no case is the
know that at some point Konchak, the father of his fu- appellation with a “Russian” name accompanied by
ture daughter-in-law, vouched for him, which indicat- the change of faith. What we have here is the operation
ed that Prince Konchak and Prince Igor’ had agreed to of completely different cultural and political mech-
marry their children some time prior to the campaign. anisms. In fact, from the standpoint of confessional
The marriage took place, despite the military cam- identity of “Russian” names among the Polovtsian
paign of Igor’ against the Polovtsy, his captivity and elite, the name Iaropolk stands out. In no way could it
flight from captivity (PSRL, II, col. 659). Even more have been given at baptism, in that right down to the
significant is another circumstance, which attracts less 19th century it was not Christian. Yet it was a dynastic
attention: apparently the friendship of Igor’ and Kon- name of the Riurikid princes. If we look closely at the
chak at the beginning of this unsuccessful campaign entire “Russian” micro-onomasticon of our nomads,
had already lasted more than a decade from the first it turns out that all the rest of the names—Vasilii,
half of the 1170s. At a certain moment, for example, Gleb, Davyd (?), Daniil, Roman, Iurii (Georgii)—are
the Polovtsian chiefs, Konchak and Kobiak, made a not simply Christian names, widespread in Rus’, but
point of asking that prince to campaign with them. the favorite Riurikid dynastic names, often the only
When the campaign ended in a defeat, Igor’ and Kon- names borne by Russian princes in the pre-Mongol
chak fled in the same boat from the field of battle and period.5
Konchak, apparently, was forced to hide for a time
somewhere in the Chernigov lands, at the same time In other words, among the Polovtsian elite there was
that his own brother was killed and sons taken into a widespread fashion not only for Russian or Chris-
captivity (PSRL, II, col. 623). It is conceivable that the tian names, but for princely, dynastic names, and,
Russian prince and Polovtsian prince were something judging from all the evidence, behind each instance
like sworn brothers. of such naming stood a treaty between the Russian
ruler and the Polovtsian ruler. A treaty of that kind
What, however, is the onomastic substance of this could sometimes be sealed by an inter-dynastic mar-
situation? riage, sometimes by the naming of the Polovtsian
As is known for certain from various sources, Kon- heir with a “Russian” princely name, and sometimes
chak had a son named Iurii. Much later, in the 13th cen- both of them together as occurred with Igor’-Iurii of
tury, he was, according to the note of the chronicler, Novgorod-Seversk and Konchak, when their children
“the most important of all the Polovtsians” (boliishe married and the Polovtsian princeling received a Rus-
vsikh Polovets) (PSRL, II, col. 740) and died at the hands sian dynastic name. At the same time we call attention
of the Tatar-Mongols. Furthermore, our Prince Igor’, to the fact that the Novgorod-Seversk prince himself
70
had a traditional name Igor’, of Scandinavian origin. how a Polovtsian chief adopted Christianity, and it
indeed provides us with an excellent possibility to
Why then did he decide to share with the Polovtsian understand when and why that might happen. The
heir his other name, Iurii? In a certain sense, he could Polovtsian prince Basty was baptized on the eve of
not do otherwise. Traditional princely names were, so the battle on the Kalka, when the Polovtsy, whom the
to speak, the inalienable property of the Riurikid dy- Tatars had crushed, in the face of mortal danger were
nasty. Even in Rus’, among the clans close to the princ- compelled to flee to Rus’ seeking Riurikid aid (PSRL,
es, there could be no Mstislavs, no Vsevolods, no Igors I, col. 505; II, col. 741). It is obvious that such extreme
or Olegs, at the same time that there were Christian circumstances were capable of moving them to such
names, which, we might suggest, united princes with extreme measures. According to the chronicle narra-
their subjects: rather early we meet Glebs, Daniils and tive, the Polovtsy at that time understood better than
Vasiliis, who are definitely not of princely origin. Fur- the Russian princes that this was the beginning of the
thermore, far from every Christian name was appro- collapse of the entire system of relations between Rus’
priate for a prince as a dynastic name. It is noteworthy and the nomad world. Therefore, in their pleas for
that the Polovtsy acquired precisely such anthrop- help they brought to bear everything—reminders of
onyms — ones very prestigious from the Polovtsian kinship, unheard of gifts, and for some even baptism.
standpoint and in Russian eyes permissible to adopt
beyond the bounds of the dynasty. Thus we can be Does this mean we are saying that until the 1220s no
sure that Christian names could be adopted by Polov- Polovtsy who interacted with Rus’ converted at all?
tsian heirs irrespective of whether they converted. Of course not. There was apparently an entire social
circle of mediators—merchants, negotiators, former
However, what exactly compels us to deny even the captives, slaves from the Polovtsian milieu itself or
possibility that such sons of Polovtsian princes as Ro- children from mixed marriages—who for one or an-
man Kzich, for example, were baptized? It is necessary other reason adopted Christianity, as usually happens
to remember that at the end of the 12th and beginning when there are close contacts of a pagan people with
of the 13th centuries the inter-confessional confronta- Christians. We wish merely to emphasize that in the
tion of the two worlds, Russian and Polovtsian, like pre-Mongol period, things had not yet reached the
the military confrontation itself, hardly diminished. point of the baptism of the upper elite, and the mod-
The Russian chronicle of that period is full of extend- el of the “baptized ruler of an unbaptized people”
ed invective against the godless Polovtsians. More- right up to the era of the extraordinary dislocation of
over, the early Russian author in his anti-pagan incli- the Tatar-Mongol invasion, did not become a reality
nation in no way singled out from among the other for Polovtsy who interacted with Russians. The bor-
Polovtsian chiefs those possessing “Russian” names. rowing of primarily Christian anthroponyms by the
Gleb Tirievich, Daniil Kobiakovich and Iurii Koncha- Polovtsian princes was determined by the cultural
kovich were equally termed accursed, godless and and functional status of such names among the Rus-
pagan, as were the bearers of indigenous Polovtsian sian princes with whom the Polovtsy had to reach an
names. The fathers of the Polovtsian princelings with understanding. Their use (in contrast with the major-
Russian names were among the most powerful of all ity of secular princely names) was not the exclusive
the chiefs who fought Rus’ and whose godlessness es- prerogative of the Riurikid clan, and therefore in their
pecially often and regularly was stressed in the chron- eyes was an entirely permissible instrument for regu-
icle. It is difficult to imagine that, having remained lating contacts with the nomads.
pagan, they permitted the conversion of their eldest Russian princely names appeared among the sons of
sons who attained the most powerful position in the those Polovtsian rulers who supported alliances with
clan after their deaths. Moreover, there was no weak- each other and dealt most closely, in peace and in war,
ening of confessional confrontation between Rus’ and with the Riurikids. In other words, the appearance of
the nomad world in that period when Iurii Kon- Russian names often expresses on the one hand the
chakovich and Daniil Kobiakovich succeeded their presence of more or less long-term alliances of the
fathers in power among their clansmen. Polovtsian princes with Russians, and, on the other
In addition, the early Russian chroniclers say abso- hand, the presence, however paradoxical that may
lutely nothing about the conversion of any of those seem, of entirely long-term alliances of steppe rulers
who possessed Christian names. If in the oldest chron- amongst themselves.
icles there is no mention at all of the conversion of It is an extremely interesting task to determine in
Polovtsian princes, might one consider that for some whose honor were named other Polovtsian owners of
unknown reasons this subject escaped the attention these anthroponyms, not only Iurii Konchakovich. Be-
of the chronicler (which of itself would, however, hind the naming of Roman Kzich can clearly be seen
be rather strange)? However, we do have evidence the figure of Roman Rostislavich, whose brother Riu-
71
rik was married to a Polvtisan, the daugther of Beluk, was not stable, and the advantages which might be
an ally of Kza. The naming of Gleb Tirievich most like- gained from it unreliable unless the settlement took
ly is to be connected with Gleb Iur’evich, the Prince the form of a marriage between representatives of
of Pereiaslavl’ and Kiev, son of Iurii Dolgorukii. It is the recently warring clans. In similar fashion, treaty
not impossible that two Glebs influenced the selection relations could be established in the 13th century as
of the name Gleb for the Polovtsian—relatives of the well. Just as Vladimir Monomakh, having conclud-
princes who had fled to Bashkord, and/or Gleb Ros- ed peace with the Polovtsians, married his minor son
tislavich, son of Rostislav Iaroslavich, who also fled to Iurii to the daughter of Aepa Osenev, a century later
a Polovtsian encampment in the middle of his prince- his grandson Vsevolod Large Nest, after a successful
ly career. anti-Polovtsian campaign, arranged for his adolescent
son a marriage with a steppe princess, the daughter
Daniil, son of Kobiak, possibly was named in honor
of Iurii Konchakovich. However, the Russian dynas-
of one of the princes of Novgorod-Seversk, the brother
tic semantics of these two matrimonial acts coincides
of Igor-Georgii Sviatoslavich. If that latter reconstruc-
only partially. Vladimir Monomakh acted simulta-
tion is accurate, then the following picture emerges:
neously with his cousin and rival Oleg Sviatoslavich
there are two Polovtsian prince-allies who in their re-
and tried to balance his own Polovtsian ties with the
lations with Rus’ frequently acted together, Konchak
analogous ties of the heirs of Sviatoslav Iaroslavich.
and Kobiak, and there are two Rurikid brothers—
However, his grandson had to take into account the
Igor’-Georgii and Vsevolod-Daniil, who together both
accumulated legacy of Russo-Polovtsian relations, in
warred and made peace with the Steppe. One of the
which the majority of powerful princely houses had
Polvtsian chiefs called his heir Iurii in honor of Igor’,
succeeded in establishing family ties with the steppe
and the other Daniil in honor of Vsevolod (Litvina and
peoples. Therefore, in fighting and allying with each
Uspenskii 2013, pp. 126–46).
other, by no means all of them found occasion to enlist
The determination of such anthroponymic donors on their side one or another group of nomads.
inescapably has a certain hypothetical element; yet the
On the other hand, certainly one should not forget
very process of the sorting of possibilities is entirely
that as earlier, the struggle with the Polovtsy remained
productive. It allows one to see practically the entire
a distinctive mark of the unity of the dynasty, which
network of Russo-Polovtsian interactions, where the
compelled various branches of the Russian princely
internal Russian, internal Polovtsian and international
clan to cooperate. In the telling of the chronicle, that
interests are all closely connected with one another.
tendency can be very distinctly traced. It suffices to
We would emphasize that in the last third of the recall, for example, the fragment of the Novgorod
12th and beginning of the 13th centuries inter-dynastic First Chronicle, devoted to the concluding act of re-
marriages remained an integral component of Rus- lations with the Polovtsy in the period that interests
so-Polovtsian relations. It is important, for example, us, on the threshold of the battle on the Kalka and that
that at that time the chronicler could state not only the battle itself (PSRL, III, 61–63, 264–67). In the eyes of
clan and relationship by marriage of the Polovtsy with the chronicler, the new danger that threatened —the
the Russian princes, not only the relationship of the invasion of an unknown nomadic people—to a con-
Polovtsians among themselves, but also the internal siderable degree paled against the backdrop of the
Polovtsian relationships by marriage. For example, unpleasantness inflicted by the Polovtsy, the usual en-
there appeared such designations as “Turundai, Ko- emy. The death and misfortune of Polovtsian princes,
biak’s father-in-law”(PSRL, I, col. 395–96), which, of with many of whom Russian princes had managed to
course, speaks of the growth of inter-dynastic ties. establish family ties, is seen as punishment they de-
Marriage and the bestowing of names, undertaken served for their godlessness and the bloodshed which
either separately or together, were the active means they had inflicted on the Russian land. The predation
of strengthening developing coalitions. Furthermore, of the Polovtsian allies is represented as an evil deed
the rhythm of Russo-Polovtsian marriages, which hardly more oppressive than the perfidious murder
gradually developed from the start of the century, of many captive princes by the new conquerors, the
increasingly is integrated into a certain rhythm of Mongols. In the eyes of the chronicler the very idea of
inter-dynastic relations among the Riurikids them- alliance with the Polovtsy against this enemy which
selves. Indeed, not only in the middle but also at the had previously not touched Rus’ directly, was any-
start of the 12th century we observe how the marriage thing but a foregone conclusion.
of a Russian princeling with a Polovtsian became Turning to the perspective from the Polovtsian side,
a distinct instrument for rapid tactical reaction. The which has left us none of its own written monuments,
princes had just fought with the nomads; now a peace it is also necessary to remember, for example, that we
was concluded with them, but that peace of itself cannot talk about the mass penetration of Russian
72
princely anthroponyms in the naming practices of the medieval negotiating practice, also assumed a varied
Polovtsian elite. The corpus of such names among the and multi-layered character, which contains features
Polovtsy always remained very limited, and there was of the mutual interpenetration of two cultures. Ap-
no total russification of the onomasticon. Their “own” parently, this was a development as yet unknown in
names remained the more commonly used, however the era of Vladimir Monomakh, even though, as we
suitable Russian names might have been in other cir- know, more than once he had occasion to present
cumstances. peace-making gifts to his nomad neighbors. At the
end of the century, his heirs were no less diligent in
Although we emphasize the height of the barrier
using these ceremonial practices than their longstand-
which existed between the two traditions, we cannot
ing opponents the Ol’govichi, just as the one and the
but note again and again the evident intensification of
other could be distinctive donors of Russian princely
cultural contacts between them in the indicated peri-
names for the Polovtsy.
od. To put it more precisely, the last decades of the 12th
century and first decades of the 13th witnessed with Russo-Polovtsian contacts as such did not disappear
particular clarity the appearance of an agglomeration without trace after the Tatar-Mongol invasion. While
of mutually worked out practices, ceremonies and it is hardly possible to trace any kind of strict chrono-
terms, which had accumulated over the long years of logical development, changes of no little consequence
interaction. We cannot always say what created that can be seen in the relations of the two elites. For the
clarity—the growing closeness of the contacts them- first time we learn from the chronicle of the baptism
selves or the growing attention to them in the written of a Polovtsian prince, clearly undertaken in order to
texts. In all likelihood, one naturally drew the other strengthen ties with Russian allies. On the other hand,
with it. marriage as a form of inter-dynastic interaction van-
ishes suddenly. Matrimonial practice in the given in-
Here it suffices to take even a cursory look at those
stance is a reliable indicator of the significance of the
ceremonial aspects of international life which tra-
given contacts or, more precisely, the legal power of
ditionally interest students of the Middle Ages. For
the contracting sides. The final (after a long interval)
example, very telling is the precision of the spatial
indirect mention of such a union between a Riurikid
ordering of the sides during negotiations of a newly
and a Polovtsian woman is in the entry of the Gali-
enthroned Russian prince with the Polovtsy. Who, in
cian-Volynian Chronicle under the year 6761 (1252/3),
what direction, and in what order should one move—
which relates how Prince Daniil Romanovich had a
this was clearly subjected to a kind of strict regimen-
Polovtsian in-law named Tegak who participated with
tation, to rules almost like chess, where any departure
him in a military campaign (PSRL, II, col. 818). At the
from them was significant and could lead to frequent
end of the 1220s the young Daniil of Galich had occa-
diplomatic failures or the breaking off of the whole
sion to remind the Polovtsian prince Kotian about the
process of negotiation. Diplomacy here might very
relationship they had by marriage (Daniil was married
quickly turn into military actions. Juxtaposition of the
to his granddaughter, the daughter of Mstislav Mstislav-
chronicle account with the text of the “Tale of the Host
ich), in order to use that connection in a multi-sided
of Igor’” enables one to follow by what complicated
conflict involving not only the Riurikids but yet an-
ceremonial the stay of the captive Russian princes
other group of their relatives and in-laws—the Polish
among the Polovtsians was circumscribed, to what
and Hungarian dynasts (PSRL, II, col. 753).
degree the norms of etiquette were significant in anal-
ogous situations, and how close was the day-to-day However, for all the weight of the Polovtsian mar-
contact between the “guests” and the receiving side. riage connection in this final episode, one must not
forget that it was the consequence of a matrimonial
The practices of etiquette of an analogous kind orig-
union concluded several decades prior to the events
inated most likely long before the end of the 12th cen-
described. Almost a half century elapsed between the
tury. Unfortunately, the sources do not always allow
previously mentioned information about the mar-
us to trace the process of their formation, but none-
riage of Iaroslav, son of Vsevolod Large Nest to
theless we have some fragmentary data from which
a Polovtsian woman and the information about the
to extract, for example, individual details about the
Polovtsian marriage connection of Daniil Romanovich
successful scenario for the stay of a Polovtsian as the
(which was, apparently, not especially long-lasting).
guest of a Russian prince. However, characteristically,
Later instances of Riurikid marriages with daugh-
even in such cases there was the constant possibility of
ters of the chieftains of this people are unknown. In
a sudden devaluation of all these ceremonially shaped
other words, one can tentatively characterize the era
procedures and the treacherous murder of a captive
beginning with the battle on the Kalka and ending
or guest.
toward the middle of the 1250s as a period of con-
The exchange of gifts, that most important part of scious dampening of the wave of Russo-Polovtsian
73
matrimonial treaties and the gradual weakening of Golden 1998
Russo-Polovtsian interconnections as a whole. In that _______.“Religion among the Qipchaqs of Medieval Eur-
time span, after the death of Iurii Konchakovich and asia.”Central Asiatic Journal 42/2 (1998): 180–237.
Daniil Kobiakovich, the chroniclers cease to mention Golubovskii 1884
any Russian names of Polovtsian chiefs. For reasons
Petr [V.] Golubovskii. Pechengi, torki i polovtsy do nashestvi-
independent of both sides, the relations of Russians
ia tatar. Istoriia iuzhnorusskikh stepei IX–XIII vv.[Pechenegs,
with the Polovtsy ceased to be dynastic ones. Torks and Polovtsy prior to the Tatar invasion. The histo-
ry of the southern Russian steppes in the 9th–13th centuries].
Acknowledgements Kiev, 1884.
This work presents results of the project “Eastern and West- Gurkin 1999
ern Europe in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period:
Sergei V. Gurkin. “K voprosu o russko-polovetskikh matri-
historical and cultural commonalities, regional peculiarities
monial’nykh sviaziakh” [On the question of Russo-Polovt-
and the dynamics of interaction,” carried out within the
sian matrimonial ties] [ch. 1] Donskaia arkheologiia 1999/2:
framework of The Basic Research Program of the Nation-
40–50.
al Research University Higher School of Economics (Mos-
cow) in 2014. Many conclusions of this article have been Hrushevs’kyi 1904-1922
explained in greater detail in the monograph Litvina and Mikhailo Hrushevs’kyi. Istoriia Ukrainy-Rusy The History
Uspenskii 2013. of Ukraine–Rus’] 11 v. in 12. L’viv-Kyiv, 1904–1922 (repr.,
Kiev, 1992–1994).
About the authors
Istrin 1920
A philologist, Anna Feliksovna Litvina is a senior scholar in Vasilii M. Istrin. Knigy vremennyia i obraznyia Georgiia
the Laboratory of Linguo-semiotic Research at the Nation- Mnikha: Khronika Georgiia Armatola v drevnem slavianorusskom
al Research University, Higher School of Economics. She perevode (Tekst, issledovanie, slovar’) [Knigi vremennye i obra-
has published several books in Russian, co-authored with znye Georgiia Mnikha: The Chronicle of Georgios Harmato-
Fjodor Uspenskij; in addition to the two listed below, The los in its early Slavic translation (text, study and glossary)].
Trajectories of Tradition: Chapters from the History of the Dynas- T. 1. Tekst. Petrograd: Rossiiskaia gos. akademicheskaia
ty and Church in Rus’ of the End of the 11th- Beginning of the 13th tipografiia, 1920.
Century (in Russian, M., 2010). E-mail <annalitvina@gmail.
com>. Litvina and Uspenskii 2006
Fëdor Borisovich Uspenskii directs the Center of Slav- Anna F. Litvina; Fedor B. Uspenskii. Vybor imeni u russkikh
ic-German Research in the Institute of Slavic Studies of kniazei v X–XVI vv. Dinasticheskaia istoriia skvoz’ prizmu antro-
the Russian Academy of Sciences, is a senior scholar in the ponimiki [The choice of names among the Russian princes in
Laboratory of Medieval Research at the National Research the 10th–16th centuries. Dynastic history through the prism of
University, Higher School of Economics, and is the lead anthroponymics]. Moskva: Indrik, 2006.
scholar at the E. M. Meletinskii Institute for Higher Human- Litvina and Uspenskii 2013
ities Research in the Russian State Humanities University.
His interests encompass the history of Russian literature, _______. Russkie imena polovetskikh kniazei: Mezhdinastich-
onomastics, early Islandic language and literature, medie- eskie kontakty skvoz’ prizmu antroponimiki [Russian names of
val Scandinavia and early Rus’, historical poetics, genealogy the Polovtsian princes. Inter-dynastic contacts through the
and dynastic ties in the early and high Middle Ages. In addi- prism of anthroponymics]. Moskva: POLYMEDIA, 2013.
tion to his books co-authored with Anna Litvina, he has pub- Litvina and Uspenskii 2013a
lished: Name and Power: the Choice of Names as an Instrument _______. “K izucheniiu semantiki drevnerusskogo ‘svatati-
of Dynastic Struggle in Medieval Scandinavia (in Russian, M., sia’” [Toward the study of the semantics of the Old Russian
2001; in German, Frankfurt am Main, 2004), the monograph word ‘svatatisia’]. Die Welt der Slaven 58/2 (2013): 308–25.
listed below, Scandinavians —Varangians — Rus’, and a new
volume (2014) on the poetics and language of the poet Osip Osipian 2005
Mandel’shtam. E-mail: <fjodor.uspenskij@gmail.com>. Olexander L. Osipian. “Poshirennia khristiianstva sered
In a forthcoming book of essays, Rus’ in the 12 Century. On
th polovtsiv v XI–XIV st.” [The spread of Christianity among
the Crossroads of Culture (Brill), the authors will reassess that the Polovtsy in the 11th–14th centuries] [ch. 1]. Kyivs’ka
era as one of flourishing development rather than a period starovyna 2005/1: 3–28.
of impoverishment and decay as it has often been consid- Pylypchuk 2013
ered.
Iaroslav V. Pylypchuk. Etnopolitychnyi rozvytok Dasht-i
Kypchak u IX–XIII st.[The ethno-political development of the
References Dasht-i Kypchak in the 9th–13th centuries]. Kyiv: Instytut
skhodoznavstva im. A. Iu. Krymsʹkoho, 2013.
Golden 1990
Peter B. Golden. “The peoples of the south Russian steppes.” Pletneva 2010
Ch. 10 in: The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia. Ed. Denis Svetlana [A.] Pletneva. Polovtsy [The Polovtsy]. Moskva: Lo-
Sinor. Cambridge, etc.: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1990: 256–84. monosov, 2010.
74
Popov 1949 to one and the same name which assumed various forms
Aleksei I. Popov. “Kypchaki i Rus’” [Kypchaks and Rus’]. at the hand of the Russian authors and copyists or wheth-
Uchenye zapiski LGU. No. 112. Seriia istoricheskikh nauk. er we have different names belonging to different individ-
Vyp. 14 (1949): 94–119. uals. For example, is Osoluk identical with the Polovtsian
prince Seluk or Oseluk, who, according to the evidence of
PSRL the Hypatian Chronicle, in 6636 (1126/7) helped the sons of
Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei [The Complete Collection Oleg (PSRL, II, col. 291, fn. 1, fn. a; I, col. 296)?
of Russian Chronicles]. Т.  I–XLIII. Sankt-Peterburg/Petro- 4. It is not excluded that somewhat later the third prince
grad/Leningrad; Moskva, 1841–2009. (Unless otherwise in- who participated in the negotiations, David Sviatoslavich,
dicated, we always refer to the most recent edition.) arranged a marriage for his son Iziaslav with a Polovtsian
Tolochko 2003 woman. Supporting such a supposition is is a whole series
of details in Iziaslav’s biography. On more than one occasion
Petro P. Tolochko. Kochevye narody stepei i Kievskaia Rus’ [No-
he used Polovtsian support in his struggle for the princely
madic peoples of the steppes and Kievan Rus’]. Sankt-Peter-
throne, and after one of the battles even was able to free from
burg: Aleteiia, 2003.
Polovtsian captivity his recent opponents, Prince Sviatoslav
B. A. Uspenskii 2002. Vsevolodich and many members of his Russian retinue,
Boris A. Uspenskii. Istoriia russkogo literaturnogo iazyka XI– while not surrendering to the Polovtsy those who had man-
XVII vv.[History of the Russian literary language of the 11th– aged to escape from them. The chronicle emphasizes that he
17th centuries]. Izd. 3-e, ispr. i dop. Moskva: Aspekt Press, acted together with his wife—a specific statement that of it-
2002. self was somewhat unusual for our source: «Изѧславъ же съ
женою своею . въıручиста Ст҃ослава в Половець . и инѣхъ
F. B. Uspenskii 2002 Рускои дружинъı . многъıх въıручиста . и многъıм добро
Fedor B. Uspenskii. Skandinavy — Variagi — Rus’. Istoriko- издаваста . аче кто оу Половець оутечашеть . оу городъ .
filologicheskie ocherki [Scandinavians — Varangians — Rus’. а тѣхъ не въıдавашеть» (PSRL, II, cols. 475–76). Apparently
Historical-philological essays]. Moskva: Iazyki slavianskoi the obligations as an ally which Iziaslav had toward the no-
kul’tury, 2002. mads did not allow him to block the seizure of Russian cap-
tives, but the prince attempted, in part in violation of those
Notes obligations, in part by means of some kind of negotiations
or payment of ransom, to help his blood relatives and coun-
1. Yet it is curious that in the 12th century the Polovtsian trymen.
rulers themselves hardly avoided matrimonial ties with
5. As is known, the dominant model of Russian princely
other nomads who interacted with Rus’. In any event, the
naming practice at that time was to use two names, where-
Polovtsy and Chernye Klobuki are called “in-laws” (svaty)
in the prince had not only a Christian name (the name of
(PSRL II, cols. 652, 674), just as are the Polovtsy and Russian
a certain saint), received at baptism, but a birth name, tra-
princes. This system of matrimonial alliances extending in
ditional and pagan in origin (such as Igor’, Oleg, Mstislav,
two directions made more complicated and unstable what
Vsevolod, Iaropolk, Sviatoslav, Rostislav etc.). The major-
independently of it was a constantly fluctuating equilibrium
ity of Russian princes appear in the chronicle under their
in relations of the Rus’ with the Steppe.
traditional name, which apparently dominated in princely
2. The “Tale of Bygone Years” (Povest’ vremennykh let) is the civil life. In addition, beginning at a certain point, some
name accepted in scholarly tradition for the historical text Christian names — above all David, Roman, Vasilii, Geor-
completed in the second decade of the 12th century and con- gii and Andrei — begin to be adopted in the Russian dy-
taining an account of the earliest history of Rus’. nasty as clan names, since their most illustrious ancestors
3. The fact of this Polovtsian marriage has been taken into previously had received them in baptism (in the capacity of
account by scholars, beginning with Nikolai M. Karamzin. second, added ones). Their heirs, new members of the clan
For a discussion of the various points of view as to wheth- given these names, seem not to have needed yet another dy-
er the Polovtsian woman was the first or second wife of nastic name. One can recall such Russian princes as David
this prince and from which of the wives the children were and Roman Sviatoslavich (grandsons of Iaroslav the Wise),
born, see Gurkin 1999, pp. 43–44. However, the question as Vasil’ko Rostislavich of Terebovl’, Iurii Vladimirovich Dol-
to which Polovtsian princess Oleg married is not as simple gorukii and Andrei Vladimirovich Dobryi (the younger
as it may seem. As is known, in the chronicle there is no sons of Monomakh), Iurii Iaroslavich of Turov, Andrei Bo-
direct information about the Polovtsian marriage of Oleg goliubskii, Roman Mstislavich of Galich and his sons, Daniil
Sviatoslavich, even though it provides the names of the Romanovich and Vasil’ko Romanovich. All these rulers al-
Polovtsian uncles of his sons: «…и Половцемъ дикымъ . ways appear in the chronicle sources exclusively under their
оуемъ своимъ . Тюнрако<ви?> . Ѡсоулокович и брат его Christian names, at the same time that their closest relatives,
Камосѣ» (PSRL II, 334). Consequently, in the literature the we repeat, as previously are remembered by their tradition-
father-in-law of Oleg, with certain qualifications and more al names. Concerning the dual naming of Russian princes,
often with none, is called Osoluk. The matter is complicated see details in Litvina and Uspenskii 2006, pp. 111–75.
also by the fact that the Russian chronicle is full of graphic
variants and distortions of native Polovtsian names, often — Translated by Daniel C. Waugh
making it difficult to establish whether the text is referring

75
 Excavation of Rezvan Tepe in Northeastern Iran, an
Iron Age I-II Cemetery
Mahnaz Sharifi
Abbas Motarjem
Bu–Ali Sina University
Hamedan, Iran

C ompared to the other regions of Iran, its northeast

has not received as much attention by archaeolo-
gists. This may seem somewhat strange, since, given
carella 1974), Haftvan Tepe (Burney 1969) and Guy
Tepe (Burton-Brown 1951). Our focus here is Semnan
Province, 515,985 km2 in size, which is traversed by
its favorable geographical conditions and critical geo- historic routes, including a branch of the famous Silk
political location, it has been home to important hu- Road. Its geographical position and several landscape
man settlement from the prehistoric period until the and climate zones supported a rich and varied histo-
present. Among the regions in northern and north- ry of human settlement. Along the northern borders
eastern Iran which were significant in the Iron Age of Semnan Province lie the highlands of the Alborz
are Amlash, Khaloraz, Marlik, Talesh and Khorvin. Mountains, and on the south it is bordered by the great
This report concerns what was to a degree a salvage Dasht-e Kavir salt desert. It thus encompasses parts
excavation at Tepe Rezvan, one of several Iron-Age of two geological zones, separated by the “Semnan
hill sites in the Kalpoush region of Semnan Province, fault,” that of the east-central Alborz and of Central
located along one of the historic east-west routes of Iran. The northern strip of the province (the route con-
communication. The goal of the study was to establish necting Garmsar, Semnan, Damghan, and Shahrud) is
the structure and history of the site and to excavate in part of the southern slope of the east-central sector of
its Iron Age I-II cemetery. the Alborz.
To understand the context for the discussion below, The larger geographical context here encompasses
it is important to keep in mind the chronology of the the Neishabur plain, which connects Afghanistan to
Iron Age in Iran, where Iron Age cultures emerged Shahrud, and is part of greater Khorasan. Evidence of
in a very short time in the middle of the second mil- wares made from lapis lazuli, alabaster and turquoise
lennium. There are different schemes for the chronol- confirms that exchange along the east-west route
ogy, which in the first instance has been established through Khorasan to Damghan was active at least
with reference to pottery types. Young distinguishes since 4000 BCE and on through the Parthian, Sasani-
old gray pottery (pottery horizon 1), late gray pottery an and Islamic eras (Hiebert and Dyson 2002, p. 116).
(pottery horizon 2), and buff pottery (pottery horizon Eastern Iran encompasses mountain borders and bar-
3). The pottery of Iron Age III is plain and in some cas- riers, misshapen valleys and huge expanses of deserts
es painted, having replaced the gray pottery of Iron (Cambridge History 1968, Vol. 1, p. 15). Khorasan is bor-
Age I and II. Examples have been found in Hassanlu dered on its northwest by the Gorgan and Atrak Riv-
III and Zivieh (Young 1965, pp. 53–58). Dyson (1965) er and on the north and northeast by the Kopet Dag
divides the Iron Age into three periods: Iron Age I mountains and their subsidiary ranges. The Mashhad
(1450–1200 BCE), Iron Age II (1200–800) and Iron Age plain in the northeast is bordered on the north by the
III (800-500). However, relying on carbon-14 data, Kuh-e Hazar Masjid (Kopet Dag) range and on the
Danti (2013) has suggested different dates: Iron south by the Kuh-e Binalud and Kuh-e Shah Jahan
Age I (1250–1050), Iron Age II (1050–800), and Iron mountains. The valleys located between the Koped
Age III (800–550). Dag and the latter ranges are 1000 meters higher than
Generally speaking, the studies on the Iron Age in the regions to the north of the Kopet Dag (Hiebert and
Iran have been based primarily on work in the north- Dyson 2002, p. 115; Eduljee 2007, p. 9).
west, notably in the basin of Lake Urmiya (Kroll Rezvan Tepe is a round hill in the southern part of
2005), Hassanlu (Dyson 1989), Dinkha Tepe (Mus- the green Rezvan valley some 210 km east of Shahrud

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 76 – 81 76 Copyright © 2014 Mahnaz Sharifi and Abbas Motarjem
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 sandy gray temper containing lime
and had been poorly baked. Three
more vessels were then found, two
of them gray pottery bowls, one of
those spouted. In the northwest cor-
ner of the trench was spindle whorl
and another earthenware bowl. To
the north of the assemblage of pots a
human skeleton rested in a depres-
sion [Figs. 4, 5, 6, next page]. This led
us to extend the initial trench, antic-
ipating the dam construction which
will affect the hill to the north.
The skeleton was found at a depth of 1 meter and
had significantly deteriorated due to the moisture of
the soil. The grave pit, which was a simple hole, mea-
sured 140 cm x 50 cm. Traces of ashes could be seen
on the skeleton. The body was laid horizontally in a
compact fetal position on the right side along a north-
west-southeast line, its fully retracted legs and knees
close to each other and the heels drawn up close to the
pelvis [Fig. 7]. The right arm was retracted, with the
hand drawn up to shoulder level. There is evidence of
head injury. Small bumps can be seen on the brow, the
nose was small, but its angle impossible to determine.
The tip of the chin protrudes and is rounded, but the
Fig. 1. Map of northern Iran, showing location of Rezvan Tepe.
mandible is delicate. The no. 3 molar, with slightly di-
Fig. 2. Rezvan Tepe. Photograph by authors. agonal wear, was preserved. The incisors have diag-

city in Semnan Province [Figs. 1, 2]. Its location,

some 500 m north of the Sodaghlan road and 3
km east of Hosseinabad village, is 371 0920 N
and 5546508 E, at an altitude of 1388 m above
sea level. The site, which rises 7.5 m above
the surrounding land, is flanked on north and
south by springs. It is one of several ancient
hilltop sites in the Kalpush/Hosseinabad re-
gion which lie along the historic east-west route
connecting the three provinces of Semnan, Go-
lestan and Khorasan. This was in part a salvage
excavation, anticipating the construction of the
Kalpush dam. A careful topographical plan was
drawn [Fig. 3]. Some test trenches were excavat-
ed to establish the cultural identity of the site
and the stratigraphy. One of them, which un-
covered a burial, will be described here along
with a comparative analysis of its artefacts, the
most important of which were several pottery
vessels.
Test trench A7, eventually measuring 5 x 5
m, was excavated on the southern slope of the
hill, where it is bordered by a dirt road. At a Fig. 3. Topographic
depth of 60 cm agricultural soil was reached, plan of Rezvan Tepe
and an earthenware crock found which had drawn by authors.

77
 Fig. 4. Plan of the excavated grave drawn by authors.
Fig. 5. The excavated grave from the south. Photograph by authors.
Fig. 6 (above). The excavated grave from the east. Photograph by
authors.

The artefacts and comparative evidence for dating

The Kalpush region and Rezvan Tepe are located on
the border of Semnan and Gorgan. The objects found
in this region are similar to those of the Iron Age
found in the Gorgan plain by Bouchalart and Lecomte
(1987). The evidence for dating Rezvan Tepe, its gray
pottery, points to Iron Age I and II. Grey wares dis-
covered in the grave at Rezvan Tepe include a vessel
with a handle, a long neck and spherical body [Fig.
8, next page], a tripod dish [Fig. 9], a spouted vessel
[Fig. 10], a small crock [Fig. 11] and a spindle whorl.
These vessels are wheel-made and fully baked. They
onal wear and are perfectly healthy. The upper edge are simple wares; decoration is confined to some bur-
of the pupil is sharp; fusing of the cranium bones had nishing on the surface. One of the most important
begun. The humeral bones are short and thick, but the aspects of Iron Age pottery technology in Iran is an
ulna and radius bones delicate. The femurs are short unprecedented increase in the quantity of grey wares,
and solid, but somewhat curved. The hip bone is large which have more strength than other types. This may
and the sciatica angle is open. The maximum length of explain their widespread use (Tala’i 2008, p. 94). Bur-
the femur is ca. 420 mm and the tibia 340 mm. We cal- nished decoration was common in the northeastern
culated the person’s height to have been 157 cm. The region of the Iranian plateau in the third millennium
body is that of a female, approximately 25–30 years BCE for both grey and black pottery. The replacement
old. of polished gray pottery by painted wares marked a
new stage in the development of cultural traditions
and the beginning of the late period of the Iron Age
(Tala’i 2004, p. 36).
Narrow-mouthed pitchers [Fig. 8], with or without
handles, are common to all regions during the Iron
Age. They vary in some details of their shapes, but the
ones most similar to the example in Rezvan Tepe were
found in Khorvin and Qeitarieh.
Legged dishes are more widespread in northern Iran
and in the northern part of the Iranian plateau. They

Fig. 7. The skeleton. Photograph by authors.

78
 Fig. 8 (top left). The vessel with long neck
and spherical body.
Fig. 9 (top right). The tripod dish.
Fig. 10 (bottom left). The spouted vessel.
Fig. 11 (borrom right). The small crock.
Photographs and drawings by authors.

tripod dish [Fig. 9] found at Rezvan

Tepe must date to the Iron Age and
is similar to one found on the Gor-
gon plain.
Spouted wares [Fig. 10] and those
with vertical handles are common-
ly found in Khorvin (Vanden Bergh
1964, Pl.VI, Nos. 30-34), Qeitarieh
(Kambakhsh Fard 1991, Fig. 105,
No. 1146), Sialk B with differenc-
es in the details (Ghirshman 1939,
Vol. 2, Pl. XVII; Pl. LXXIII, S926,
S928; Pl. LX, S619; Pl. LXII, S772a,c),
Marlik (Negahban 1996, Vol. 2, Fig.
28, Nos. 610, 614) and Jeiran Tepe
(Majīdʹzādah 2003, Figs. 12, 13). The
spouted vessel is compara-
ble to ones found at Hesar
Tepe (Roustāei 2007-2008,
p. 82).
The small crock [Fig. 11]
began to disintegrate on
exposure to air; its shape is
comparable to that desig-
nated as A from Haftavan
IV (Tala’i 2007, p. 119).
These comparisons then
suggest that the vessels
found at Rezvan Tepe date
to the late second millen-
nium and the early first
millennium BCE, dating
which coincides with that
advanced by Young in his
well-known paper. By his
criteria, most of the pottery
found at Rezvan Tepe falls
into the early and late gray
pottery horizons (Young
1965, Figs. 11, 13). Further-
more, he offers dates based
have been found in Khorvin (Vanden Bergh 1964, Pl. on a comparative typology of pottery for the grave-
XIV, nos.105-119), Qeitarieh (Kambakhsh Fard 1991, yards in Khorvin and Sialk A and B that are in some
Fig. 99, Nos. 907, 921, 220, 296, 409), Sialk A (Ghirsh- ways similar to what has been found at Rezvan Tepe.
man 1939, Vol. 2, Pl. IV, Nos. 4, 6; Pl. XLIII, S523a) and He claims Khorvin started in the 15th century BCE and
Jeiran Tepe (Majīdʹzādah 2003, Figs. 12 and 13). The ended after 1000 BCE. He also suggests that Sialk A

79
started at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 13th cen- While we have some confidence that the Rezvan
tury BCE and ended around 1050 to 1000 BCE (Young Tepe site can be dated to Iron Age I and II, approxi-
1965, pp. 82-83, Fig 14). mately the second half of the second millennium to
the early first millennium BCE, we must emphasize
There are similarities between this grave and others that this conclusion is based on limited evidence. A
found at sites in northern Iran which are also simple great deal more must be learned before we can begin
without any architectural structure. The simple pit to flesh out a picture of the lives of the people who
graves in this area compare with simple oval-shaped lived and died there.
ones in the Kalouraz cemetery (Khalatbary 1992, p.
87). Other examples are a pit grave discovered in About the authors
Jamshid Abad, Gilan (Fallahian 2003, p. 218), graves
Mahnaz Sharifi is an academic member of Iranian Center
at Gohar Tepe, Mazandaran (Mahfrozi 2007), and in for Archaeological Research. She received her M.A. from
Halimehjan and Lame Zaminshahran. Pit graves have the University of Tehran and is preparing to defend her
been discovered in the Iron Age layers of Yanik Tepe Ph.D. She has participated in excavations in various regions
in Azarbaijan (Tala’i 1998, p. 62); others of the Iron of Iran and directed the excavations at Rezvan Tepe. Her
Age III and II strata at Gian Tepe in Nahavand have published articles deal with the prehistoric periods. E-mail:
been reported as simple and oval-shaped. Further an- <mhsharifi588@yahoo.com>.
alogues are the graves of Khorvin in Pishva, Varamin
and Qeitariyeh, Tehran, which have been described Dr. Abbas Motarjem is an academic member of Bu-Ali Sina
University in Hamedan. He received his Ph.D. in Prehistoric
as having the simple from of shallow pit. There are
Archaeology of Iran from the University of Tehran, the sub-
some simple hole-like graves from the Iron Age layer ject which he now teaches. He has conducted excavations in
in Sagzabad located in Qazvin plain; also at Sialk A many parts of Iran, E-mail: <amotarjem@gmail.com>.
and Jeiran Tepe. Finally, we would note the similarity
of this burial to those found at Teimouran Tepe in Fars
References
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ble comparisons are the graves found at Dinkha Tepe, Boucharlat and Lecomte 1987
Godin Tepe, Gian Tepe and Bardbal. Rémy Boucharlat; Olivier Lecomte. Fouilles de Tureng Tepe
I (sous la direction de Jean Deshayes). Vol. 1. Les périodes
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with stone-faced walls, and in Sialk B there are boul- sations, 1987.
ders around or on the graves. Even if the positioning of
Burney 1972
the bodies is similar to what is found in the pit graves,
and individual burial is common, at Sialk B there are Charles Burney. “Excavations at Haftavan Tepe 1969: Sec-
ond Preliminary Report.” Iran 10 (1972): 127-42.
numerous instances of a second or multiple burials in
the same grave. Except at Sialk B, the bodies are usual- Burton-Brown 1951
ly placed in the graves on one side with legs drawn up T. Burton-Brown. Excavation in Azarbaijan, 1948. London:
in a fetal position (Vanden Berghe 1959/2000, pp. 122, Murray, 1951.
133; Kambakhsh Fard 1991, pp. 41–47; Majīdʹzādah Cambridge History 1968
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al. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1968–1991; here, Vol. 1.
The general characteristics of the graves aside, it
is difficult to establish clear groupings of Iron Age Danti 2013
burials in this region, as their features (including to- Michael D. Danti. “The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in
pography, construction, direction and position of the Northwestern Iran,” Ch. 17 in: The Oxford Handbook of An-
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One can, of course differentiate burials according the Hasanlu.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 24 (1965): 193–217.
presumed wealth of the deceased (Kambakhsh Fard
Dyson 1989
1998, p. 14). More study is needed before we can be-
gin to generalize about the religious beliefs possibly Robert H. Dyson, Jr. “The Iron Age Architecture at Hassan-
lu: An Essay.” Expedition 31/2–3 (1989): 107–27.
evidenced in the local burial customs. The location of
the site on a major east-west route (Fahimi 2002, p. 10) Eduljee 2007
makes it likely that what we find here is evidence left K. E. Eduljee. “Zoroastrian Heritage.” On-line at <http://
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Fahimi 2002 The Oldest Civilization of the East]. Tehran: Vizārat-i Far-
hang va Irshād-i Islāmī, 2003
Hamid Fahimi. Farhang-i ʻaṣr-i āhan dar karānahʹhā-yi junūb-i
gharbī-i daryā-yi Khizar: az dīdgāh-i bāstānʹshināsī [The Culture Medvedskaya 1982/2004
of the Iron Age on the Southwest Shores of the Caspian Sea, I. N. Medvedskaya. Iran dar asre Ahan 1. Tr. Ali Akbar, Teh-
from the Standpoint of Archaeology]. Tehran: Samira, 2002 ran: Pajoheshkade bastanshenasi, 2004 [original ed., Iran:
Falahian 2003 Iron Age I. BAR International Series, 126. Oxford, 1982].
Yosef Falahian. “Tajali-ye farhang-e asr Ahan 1 dar gor- Muscarella 1974
estan-e tarikji-ye Jamshidabad Gilan” [Iron Age I Culture in Oscar White Muscarella. “The Iron Age at Dinkha Tepe,
the Ancient Cemetery at Jamshidabad, Gilan]. Gozāreshā-ye Iran.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 9 (1974): 35–90.
Bāstānshenāsi 2003: 217–37.
Negahban 1996
Ghirshman 1938–39
Ezat O. Negahban. Marlik. The Complete Excavation Report. 2
Roman Ghirshman. Fouilles de Sialk, près de Kashan, 1933, vols. University Museum Monograph 87. Philadelphia, PA:
1934, 1937. 2 vols. Paris: Geuthner. 1938–39. Univ. of Pennsylvania Pr., 1996.
Hiebert and Dyson 2002 Overlaet 1997
Fredrik T. Hiebert and Robert H. Dyson Jr. “Prehistoric Bruno Overlaet. “A Report on the 1952 and 195455 Sound-
Nishapur and the Frontier between Central Asia and Iran.” ings at Tall-i Taimuran (Fars), Iran.” Iranica Antiqua 32
Iranica Antiqua 37 (2002): 113–49. (1997): 1–51.
Kambakhsh Fard 1991 Roustāei 2007-2008
Seyf Allah Kambakhsh Fard. Tehran sehezaro devistsale [Teh- Kourosh Roustāei. “Tappe Hesār dar ‘asr-e āhan” [Tepe He-
ran: 3200 Years under Excavation]. Tehran: Nashre Faza, sar during the Iron Age]. Nāme-ye Pajūheshgāh 20–21 (2007-
1991. 2008): 69–88.
Kambakhsh Fard 1998 Tala’i 1997
_______. Gūrʹkhumrahhā-yi Ashkānī [Parthian Pithos-burials Hassan Tala’i. “Pishineye zorof sofalin dar mohaierate ary-
at Germi (Azarbaijan)]. Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Dānish- aeeiha” [History of Pottery in the Migration of Aryans]. Ma-
gāhī, 1998. jale bastanshenasi 17 (1997: 119.
Khalatbary 1992 Tala’i 2004
Mohammad Reza Khalatbary. “Kavosh dar kaloraz, payan- ________. Bastanshenasi va honar Iran dar hezareye aval ghabl
name karshenasie Arshad.” Unpublished MA thesis, Uni- az milad [Archaeology and Art of the First Millennium BCE].
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Stephan Kroll. “The Southern Urmia Basin in the Early Iron _______. “The Iron II (ca. 1200–800 B.C.) Pottery Assemblage
Age.” Iranica Antiqua 40 (2005): 65–85. at Haftavan IV – NW-Iran.” Iranica Antiqua 42 (2007): 105–23.
Lecomte 2005 Tala’i 2008
Olivier Lecomte. “The Iron Age of Northern Hyrcania.” _______. Asre Ahan-e Iran [Iron Age Iran]. Tehran: Entesha-
Iranica Antiqua 40(2005): 461–78. rate samte, 2008.
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Ceramic Assemblages of the Central Western Zagros from Bihnām, Tehran: Dānishgāh-i Tihrān, 2000 (original ed.,
the Middle Neolithic to the Late Third Millennium B.C.” In: Archéologie de l’Irān ancien. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1959).
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préhistorique et l’exploration récente du Djebel Hamrin, Paris: Vanden Berghe 1964
Éd. du CNRS, 1987: 15–53. _______. La nécropole de Khurvin. Istanbul: Nederlands his-
torisch-archaeologisch Instituut in het Nabije Oosten, 1964.
Mahfrozi 2007
Ali Mahfrozi. “Bastanshenasi-ye Shargh-e Mazandaran ba Young 1965
teki-ye bar kavoshha-ye Gohar tepe” [The Archaeology of T. Cuyler Young, Jr. “A Comparative Ceramic Chronology
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7/2 (2007): 347–67.

81
 The Site of Banbhore (Sindh – Pakistan):
a Joint Pakistani-French-Italian Project.
Current Research in Archaeology and History (2010-2014)

Niccolò Manassero
Torino
Valeria Piacentini Fiorani
Milano

T he site of Banbhore rises amidst swamps and

mangroves at the mouth of the Indus deltaic region
on the northern bank of the Gharo creek, midway on
is being given proper attention. The archaeological
value of Banbhore was first recognized by Henry
Cousens, who visited it in 1929, and by Nani Gopal
the route from Karachi to Thatta, and ca. 30 km from Majumdar, who dug some trenches in 1930 (Cousens
the present shoreline [Figs. 1, 2 (next page)]. It consists 1929, pp. 80ff., Majumdar 1934, pp. 18ff.). In 1951,
in a “citadel” encircled by bastions (47 circular Leslie Alcock, at the time an officer in the Department
towers and 8 rectangular bastions), overlooking an of Archaeology of Pakistan, undertook preliminary
artificial lake of sweet water to the northeast of the excavations on the mound commonly called “the
wall, and a vast area of extra moenia ruins – likely citadel.” Soon afterwards, Fazal Ahmad Khan started
harbor structures, still visible at low-tide, and other his campaign which brought to light important
structures: probably urban quarters, suburbs and data. Professor Rafique Mughal added valuable new
slums, warehouses, workshops, artificial barrages. information, and as did Nabi Bux Khan Baloch and, in
There are widely spread scatters of shards, porcelains, 1972, Muhammad Sharif.
beads, clay moulds, coins and other artefacts. A
The excavations carried out by the late Fazal Ahmad
towered wall, questionably called the “Partition Wall”
Khan (1958-1965) revealed important architectural
by previous scholars, runs through the whole citadel,
and archaeological remains of a pre-Islamic and
approximately north-south, bending at middle length
Islamic settlement (Khan 1969). The latter was
in the southeastern direction [Fig. 3]. Altogether, the
represented by a Mosque, a Hindu Temple, houses,
citadel and the surrounding quarters cover a surface
palaces, workshops and warehouses, market and
of ca. 65 hectares.
“industrial” areas. Various kinds of objects such as
Even though its ruins have been target of more than Chinese porcelain and celadon, Indian artefacts, clay
one archaeological expedition since the end of the 19th honey-combed moulds, coins, beads and glassware
century, the site poses many questions and only now were found, witnessing the wealth and importance of
Banbhore in the Islamic age. Skeletons left unburied
Fig. 1. Banbhore seen from the east. inside the houses and on the streets were also found,
All photographs by authors.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 82 – 88 82 Copyright © 2014 Niccolò Manassero and Valeria Piacentini Fiorani
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
Fig. 2. The eastern side of the fortified wall
of the citadel.

which seems to point to a violent,

dramatic end of the town around
the 7th century AH/13th century CE.
Under the Islamic town, two main
cultural layers were uncovered: the
upper one produced archaeological
data connected with the Sasanian
period. It also produced evidence of
a Hindu temple and other cults, thus
giving the image of a mercantile,
cosmopolitan market and harbor-
town. The layer below the Sasanian
yielded a large collection of vessels,
grey and red polished ware, as well
as some Hindo-Parthian and Kushan coins. But no The importance of the site is undoubtedly linked to its
real structures were discovered, nor was the virgin strategic position and the surrounding environment.
soil reached due to heavy water infiltration. Thus, The imposing remains are a clear testimony to the
the information on the early stages of peopling and major role it played in the course of centuries. In various
life of the site of Banbhore remained incomplete, periods of its life it would seem to have been a nerve-
representing a major challenge for future research. junction of the Indus system, the northern terminal of
According to F. A. Khan, the lowest layer reached the monsoon routes, and the center of a prosperous
by his excavations corresponded to the origin of the trade of luxury goods between the Central Asian basin
settlement and could be dated to the Schytho-Parthian and the Iranian plateau, Arabia and the Indian Ocean
period, followed by a Hindo-Sasanian phase. all the way to China in the East and the major markets
Unfortunately, all we have of Khan’s campaign is a in the West. Its location along a branch of the Indus
first map of the “citadel” and its encircling towered River – the Gharo channel – could provide excellent
walls, a booklet (1st edition 1963) and a few articles shelter for all convoys arriving there from North and
in Pakistan Archaeology by the same scholar and his South, loaded with precious merchandise to bargain,
collaborators (Ashfaque 1969, Ghafur 1966, Khan to sell and purchase. The favorable environment, if
1964, Nasir 1969). The chronological layers of the properly irrigated by means of human intervention,
site have been left unstudied and unpublished: could provide agricultural resources which must have
excavation notes, stratigraphic sequences and formed a formidable economic backbone of the city,
drawings have disappeared; nobody seems to know providing passing caravans and convoys with fresh
where they are. Whether they have been dispersed supplies too.
or lost, it is impossible to date the finds (and the
site) with accuracy. Some lingas
and a great amount of ceramics,
properly stored and classified in
the storerooms adjoining the Site
Museum of Banbhore, have never
been analyzed. There has never
been any precise indication of the
trenches and layers where they
were unearthed. Moreover, despite
the wealth of unearthed inscriptions
and coins, no place name has so far
come to light that can be matched
with other historical records to flesh
out the site’s long life and history.

Fig. 3. The so-called “Partition Wall” run-

ning across the citadel, seen from the north.

83
 Various historical sources inform us about a harbor point, the two decided to join efforts, scholarship and
town at the mouth of the Indus delta which, due to the data so far obtained. The incognita of Barbarikon/
its strategic position, played a central role since about Deb/Daybul still stood as a challenge, a void to be
the 3rd century BCE. Scholars have identified it with filled from both the archaeological and historical point
the harbor of Barbarikon –named by the author of the of view. The majestic site of Banbhore still defied all
Periplus Maris Erythraei – and with the Sasanian and efforts. The Pakistani Devolution Law speeded up the
Islamic harbor-town called Deb/Debal/Daybul, first formalization of the project with Pakistani scholars.
mentioned by the preacher Mani and by several later The aim of the following notes is to present the first
sources in Arabic and Persian, which provide a wealth stages in an ambitious project, the Archaeological
of information. Even though such identifications are and Historical Pakistani-French and Italian Joint
strongly debated and there is no general agreement Project at Banbhore (Sindh), which has been going
among scholars, the location and the imposing on since 2011 on the basis of a Licence granted
structures of the fortified citadel on the Gharo channel by the Government of Sindh, Pakistan (prot. So/
make it appealing tentatively to link the site with Secy/Antiquities/2010/2132), extended for three
those ancient towns. further years (License No. So/Secy/Antiquities/III-
Clearly there was a case to be made for renewed field 131/2013). The Pakistani partner operates under the
work, in order to solve one of the major problems of direction of Drs. Lashari and Ibrahim (Museum of the
the historical topography of the Indus deltaic region. State Bank of Pakistan); the French partner operates
Moreover, to give a name and a precise historic life under the direction of Dr. Kervran (University of La
to this impressive site might fill an important gap Sorbonne and CNRS, Paris/France); the Italian partner
in our ability to answer the many queries arising operates under the direction of Prof. Piacentini Fiorani
from the intricacy of land and sea trade-routes and (CRiSSMA Centre – Catholic University of the Sacred
the international network of allegiances, trades and Heart, Milan/Italy). The ongoing archaeological
business over a period of at least fifteen centuries. activities use traditional methods supported by
New evidence and archaeological data are coming geomorphological and geophysical surveys and
to light from excavations carried out in the Indian analyses, pottery-assemblages investigation in
subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula,1 which seem stratigraphic sequence and archaeometric non-
to point to a major harbor located somewhere along destructive analyses in situ conducted by Prof. Mario
the southern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, Piacentini and Dr. Anna Candida Felici (LANDA Lab,
an active and authoritative partner in the international Rome La Sapienza University). Historical “digging”
trade network over a large span of time. This was the in contemporary sources aims at providing new clues
starting point of our project. to the reading and understanding of the material
evidence coming to light. All in all, the first steps
Between 1989 and 1995, the French Archaeological
demonstrate that the site is more complex than was
Mission to Sindh, under the direction of Dr. Monique
thought before. A first systematic “joint report” is
Kervran and with the collaboration of Dr. Asma
underway, and it will be published at the end of the
Ibrahim and Dr. Kaleemullah Lashari, resumed
forthcoming field-season (January-March 2015).
explorations in the Indus deltaic region. This led to
the discovery of important sites, and to systematic As indicated above, by reason of its strategic
excavations at Ratto Kot, Lahori Bandar and Sehwan position along the main north-south and east-west
Sharif (Kervran 1992, 1996 and 2005). At the same sea and land routes, the site of Banbhore certainly
time, an Italian Archaeological and Historical Mission, was an important market and harbor town. With the
under the direction of Prof. Dr. Valeria Piacentini exception of the fortifications and palatial-religious
Fiorani, was carrying out surveys in Southern Makran structures still visible, levels of early periods are buried
and Kharan, with the collaboration of another French deeply under those of middle-early Islamic, Sasanian
archaeologist, Dr. Roland Besenval (Besenval and and Scytho-Parthian occupation, which are to be still
Sanlaville 1990; Piacentini Fiorani 2014). The result adequately explored. The preparatory work in 2010
of this project was to highlight the role played by included an accurate re-reading of the available
the so-called Green Belt in Southern Makran, as a literature and contemporary written sources. Then,
hinge and land route between the Iranian plateau, the most pressing task was to create a new, updated
the Central Asian steppes and the Indus system. The scale-study and contour-lines map of the site, the
two Missions were working on the basis of a Licence indispensable tool to proceed to further investigation
granted by the Federal Government of Pakistan and and excavations. Such a task was accomplished in
under the sponsorship of their respective Ministries the course of the 2011 and 2012 field-seasons through
for Foreign Affairs. Both scholars found a natural a topographic survey and a kite-photo campaign
partner in the other’s experience and learning; at this (Yves Ubelmann, Sophie Reynard, Alessandro Tilia)
84
under the supervision of Monique Kervran. The interval towers. With regard to this latter wall, a
citadel was carefully mapped within the whole circle tower and adjoining quarters have been accurately
of its bastioned walls, the resulting map to serve as excavated during the 2014 field-season by the Italian-
a permanent basis for every further investigation of Pakistani partners (Niccolò Manassero, Kaleemullah
the site [Fig. 4]. Some extra moenia quarters were also Lashari, Asma Ibrahim). Some questions have been
mapped, such as the so called “Industrial quarter” to answered (especially, its date, which is late), but many
the north and northwest, the artificial lake and some other questions remain. Considered within the urban
urban areas to the northeast and east of the walls (A. plan of Banbhore, what does this later wall mean?
Tilia, 2012 and 2013 campaigns). During these field- Why was it built? Was it really made to separate the
seasons, further investigation has been carried out on Muslim community settled inside the eastern portion
the complex walled enclosure – which clearly presents of the citadel from the non-Muslim community settled
various phases of building, re-building, refurbishing in the western areas? Or was it rather built in order to
and restoration – and the city-gates, plus smaller re-shape the citadel at some time of its history, a last
entrances and posterns. Structures and masonry are defense when waves of invasion from the northern
typical of the settlement periods given by F. A. Khan: and northwestern regions menaced the survival of the
Hindo-Parthian / Kushan, Sasanian, early Islamic and town and its activity? And did the western half of the
mediaeval Islamic. Posterns and at least two more citadel have a shorter life than the eastern one, as its
city-gates have been identified and are under study lower elevation seems to suggest?
(to the NE and to the NNW). The so-called Partition
We were still confronted with the question: how
Wall presents structural features that are typical of
ancient is the site? When was it initially settled? Are
the middle-Islamic period, as can be seen at Julfar /
the Scytho-Parthian layers the most ancient ones
Ras al-Khayma: e.g., the lower part in semi-worked
or might we expect the site to have been peopled in
stones surmounted by mudbrick structures, likely
previous epochs? Might Banbhore have been the site
archers’ galleries and sentinels’ posterns; regular
of Barbarikon, the harbor of Scythia reported by the
Fig. 4. The plan of Banbhore, updated at the last campaign Periplus? Might the citadel be the Daybul stormed
(February 2014).

85
after a long siege, in 711–712 CE, by Muhammad ibn opened two soundings in the central area of the citadel,
Qasim al-Thaqafi, which marked the conquest of the south of the Mosque. The French soundings reached
Sindh region by the armies of Islam? May this famous the deepest layers before being hampered by heavy
Debal/Daybul be also identified with Deb, where water infiltration. Notwithstanding, these brought
the apostle Thomas landed and started to preach to light artefacts of pre-Islamic age as far back as the
Christianity through India? When and why did its Kushano-Sasanian period. The Pakistani-Italian team
“Indianization” start? When and why did decline set concentrated on palatial structures, craft workshops,
in, leading to its death? And so on. and a refuse pit. Artefacts from the latter provided
Thus, all in all, the preliminary goal was to “date” the important evidence of ordinary life at Banbhore.
site and get detailed and quantifiable archaeological Niccolò Manassero joined the Italian team for the
evidence for its urban structure and the wide range January-February 2014 campaign, when, once again,
of activities carried out there. At the same time, the the Italian and the Pakistani teams have been working
shifting of the main course of the Indus River through together. The researches focused on the very center
the centuries, and the changes that occurred in the of the site: here, two trenches were cut, across the
deltaic region, have posed other important questions “Partition Wall” and just west of it. The main aim
with regard to the ancient location of the harbor and was to provide new evidence with regard to the
its access from the sea. Was the city built on the very meaning and date of both the wall and the structures
edge of the Kohestan plateau, its substratum being adjoining it [Fig. 5]. The French team, still working in
tertiary rock of sedimentary origin (Kervran 1996), or the western part of the citadel, shifted southwards,
was it built on consolidated sand-dunes? investigating a rectangular structure that revealed a
The field work that is underway involves: (1) a rich array of crafts involving glass, ivory and shells,
geo-morphological survey and accurate studies and and dating from the Islamic as well as the pre-Islamic
analyses of the environment surrounding the site eras [Fig. 6, next page].
(still ongoing); (2) the digging of a number of small Ceramic assemblages, carefully studied by Dr.
trenches in different areas of the citadel, in order to Agnese Fusaro, have provided important data when
collect archaeological evidence which could provide read “in stratigraphic sequence,” documenting the
complementary data and a wide range of information. “international” dimension of the site of Banbhore
In the first proper archaeological campaign, through the centuries, and providing clear evidence
November-December 2012, the French team explored of the process of its “Indianisation.”2 Archaeometric
an area west of the Hindu Temple, by means of a analysis of the recovered artifacts (glassware, ceramic
large sounding and a deep trench. It also cut a small vessel, little objects and beads, metals, coins, clay
trench across one of the towers of the fortified wall moulds etc.) has supported and complemented the
to get clearer insight in its building-structures and investigations. For example, excavation uncovered a
chronology. Meanwhile, the Pakistani-Italian team wealth of “copper coins” – small thin discs 10-20 mm
in diameter, appearing as corroded
copper, which, when analyzed,
turned out to be made of a copper
– lead – tin alloy. Small samples of pre-
islamic ceramics were taken to the
Sapienza University of Rome for
more complete analyses. It seemed
that a few were imported, but
preliminary results of the ongoing
analysis now indicates that all are of
local production (Soncin 2014).
The geomorphological and hydro-
logic survey and sedimentological
investigations and tests carried
out during the 2014 season have
advanced our knowledge of the
changes in the Indus’ course
and helped us achieve a better
Fig. 5. The 2014 Pakistani-Italian
sounding.
86
 Fig. 6. The 2014 French sounding.

understanding of the environment

and the local natural habitat, the
population’s distribution and its
development (Louvre University of
Abu Dhabi, under the direction of
Prof. Eric Fouache).
The re-examination of the written
sources has provided a wealth of
information referring to the late
Sasanian and Islamic periods,
data on military and political
events taking place in Sindh, social
and administrative institutions,
commercial codes and economic
activity, links and interlinks with
the surrounding world (Piacentini
Fiorani and Redaelli 2003; Piacentini
Fiorani 2014).
As a whole, these field seasons have brought to every archaeological expedition encounters. Our
light a considerable amount of new data. To a certain deepest thanks to all the Pakistani, French and Italian
degree, they confirm Khan’s statements on the main collaborators, who are too numerous to list here,
stages of life at Banbhore, at the same time that for their enthusiastic participation in the campaigns
these first campaigns have offered better insight into and contribution to the growth of knowledge on this
some specific issues. The trenches have undoubtedly hugely important site.
provided a clearer understanding of the organization
of space and the combination of building materials, About the Authors
disposal and recycling of materials (either objects or
Niccolò Manassero is an independent archaeologist
construction materials) and the development of the
from the University of Torino, specialising in the art
fortification system which encased the city. Moreover,
and archaeology of pre-Islamic Central Asia. He has
no less valuable data have been collected referring to
published on the use of rhytons and drinking horns
domestic life and the context of the city, such as the
among the ancient Iranians, notably in his monograph
religious communities within it, craftwork and shops,
Rhyta e corni potori dall’Età del Ferro all’epoca sasanide.
market activities, the production of goods both for
Libagioni pure e misticismo tra la Grecia e il mondo
local consumption and for export, and other goods
iranico (BAR International Series 1750, Oxford
imported for a re-distribution market.
2008). Since 2001 he worked for the “Centro Scavi e
These notes have only explored some of the Ricerche Archeologiche di Torino” on the excavations
complexities of the site of Banbhore. Annual at Parthian Nisa, Turkmenistan, and is currently
preliminary reports have been written and deposited preparing the publication of the ivory furniture
with the competent authorities in Pakistan. The joint from the Square House. Since 2014 he is leading the
teams are preparing to publish a thorough report of Pakistani-Italian archaeological team of the Joint
these five years of field-work, including excavations, Expedition at Banbhore. E-mail: <niccolo.manassero@
surveys and observations of the still standing unito.it>.
monuments, their study and analyses.
Valeria Piacentini Fiorani is Full Professor of History
and Institutions of the Islamic World at the Faculty of
Acknowledgments
Political Sciences of the Catholic University, Milan,
We want to express our deepest gratitude to Dr. where she was former Director of the CriSSMA
Monique Kervran, Scientific Director of the French Institute. After graduating at the Sapienza University
team, whose efforts and skills made mounting the of Rome and specialising in Arabian and Persian
expedition possible, and Drs. Asma Ibrahim and civilization and literature, Prof. Piacentini conducted
Kaleemullah Lashari, whose generous collaboration intense activity in the field in Africa, the Middle East
and constant support (in every respect) allow the and Central Asia. E-mail: <valeria.piacentini@unicatt.
expedition to keep proceed despite the challenges it>
87
References Khan 1969
_______. Banbhore, A Preliminary Report on the Recent
Ashfaque 1969
Archaeological Excavations at Banbhore, 3rd ed. Karachi, 1969.
Syed Muhammad Ashfaque. “The Grand Mosque of
Banbhore.” Pakistan Archaeology 6 (1969): 182–209. Majumdar 1934
Nani Gopal Majumdar. Explorations in Sind. Memoirs of the
Besenval and Sanlaville 1990
Archaeological Survey of India 48. Delhi, 1934.
Roland Besenval; Paul Sanlaville. “Cartography of Ancient
Settlements in Centro-Southern Pakistani Makran: New Nasir 1969
Data.” Mesopotamia XXV (1990): 79–146. Pervin T. Nasir. “Coins of the Early Muslim Period from
Banbhore.” Pakistan Archaeology 6 (1969): 117–81.
Cousens 1929
Henry Cousens. The Antiquities of Sind. Archaeological Piacentini Fiorani 2014
Survey of India. New Imperial Series XLVI. Calcutta, 1929. Valeria Piacentini Fiorani. “Behind Ibn Hawqal’s Bahr al-
Fars. 10th–13th Centuries AD: Sindh and the Kij-u-Makran
Fusaro 2014
region, hinge of an international network of religious,
Agnese Fusaro. “Studio del corpus ceramico di età islamica political, institutional and economic affairs.” In: Studies in
dagli scavi italiani a Ghazni, Afghanistan (X–XIII secolo): the Archaeology and History of Baluchistan Volume II. BAR
contributo alla ricostruzione storica del Palazzo Sultaniale International Series No. 2651. Oxford, 2014.
e della ‘Casa dei Lustri’.” Unpublished PhD Thesis, tutor
Prof. Maria Vittoria Fontana, La Sapienza University of Piacentini Fiorani and Redaelli 2003
Rome, November 15, 2014. Valeria Piacentini Fiorani; R. Redaelli (eds.). Baluchistan,
terra incognita: a new methodological approach combining
Ghafur 1966
archaeological, historical, anthropological and architectural
Muhammad Abdul Ghafur. “Fourteen Kufic Inscriptions of studies. Oxford, 2003.
Banbhore, the Site of Daybul.” Pakistan Archaeology 3 (1966):
65–90. Soncin 2014
Silvia Soncin. “Caratterizzazione archeometrica di
Kervran 1992
ceramiche pre-islamiche rinvenute a Banbhore, Pakistan.”
Monique Kervran. “The fortress of Ratto Kot at the mouth of Unpublished MA Thesis, tutors Profs. Mario Piacentini and
the Banbhore River (Indus delta, Sindh, Pakistan).” Pakistan Maria Laura Santarelli, La Sapienza University of Rome,
Archaeology 27 (1992): 143–70. September 25, 2014.
Kervran 1996
_______. “Les ports multiples des bouches de l’Indus: Notes
Barbariké, Deb, Daybul, Lahori Bandar, Diul Sinde.” In: Sites
1. See for example the papers presented at the 2012, 2013
et monuments disparus d’après les témoignages de voyageurs. Res
and 2014 Seminar for Arabian Studies held in London, and
Orientales VIII, ed. by R. Gyselen. Louvain, 1996, pp. 45–92.
published in the Proceedings/BAR International – Oxford,
Kervran 2005 UK.
_______. “Pakistan. Mission Archéologique Française au 2. We should also keep in mind the strong economic and
Sud-Sind.” In: Archéologies. 20 ans de recherches françaises dans cultural links of Sindh with Central Asia; e.g., several early-
le monde [ed. by Ministère des Affaires Etrangères]. Paris, Islamic shards from Banbhore strictly match those found at
2005, pp. 595–98. Ghazni. In this regard, see Fusaro 2014.
Khan 1964
Fazal Ahmad Khan. “Excavations at Banbhore.” Pakistan
Archaeology 1 (1964): 48–55.

88
 Emgentiin Kherem, a Fortress Settlement of the
Khitans in Mongolia

Nikolai N. Kradin, Vladivostok

Aleksandr L. Ivliev, Vladivostok
Ayudai Ochir, Ulaanbaatar
Sergei Vasiutin, Kemerovo
Svetlana Satantseva, Vladivostok
Evgenii V. Kovychev, Chita
Lkhagvasüren Erdenebold, Ulaanbaatar

I nterest in the archaeological investigation of

urbanization in the Mongolian steppes began in the
middle of the 20th century (Kiselev 1967, Perlee 1961).
the Turkic qaghanates. For this reason they undertook
a whole series of measures to obstruct the unification
of the nomads who moved across the territories of the
However in the first decade of the new millennium Mongolian steppes. One of these measures was the
there has been a surge of attention to this topic (Danilov creation of a series of urban centers in the Kerulen and
2004, Rogers et al. 2005, Kyzlasov 2006, Kradin 2008, Tola river basins. For a long time now Mongolian and
Tkachev 2009, Waugh 2010). This interest has been Russian scholars have been studying and excavating
stimulated by new archaeological discoveries as well Khitan settlements in the Tola basin (Ochir et al. 2005;
as the attempt to develop new theoretical paradigms. Kradin et al. 2005, Kradin and Ivliev 2008, 2009; Ochir
et al. 2008, Kradin et al. 2011). A whole series of larger
Among the nomad polities of Inner Asia the Khitan and smaller settlements are located there. In addition,
empire of the Liao (907–1125) occupies an important the Khitans built a wall some 760 km long, which
place. The period of the emergence of the Liao came extends through the territory of Eastern Mongolia,
during a geopolitical crisis in Inner Asia, when in the Russia and China (Lunkov et al. 2011).
interval of several decades, the last steppe empire, the
Uighur qaghanate, perished and the Tang dynasty In 2004-2008 a Russo-Mongolian international
collapsed in China. The Khitans succeeded not expedition carried out excavations on the territory
only in uniting the nomadic chieftains into a strong of the largest town, Chintolgoi Balgas, which was a
confederation but in subduing several states which Khitan administrative center in that territory, the
had been created after the fall of the Tang empire. city of Zhenzhou [Fig. 1, next page]. A substantial
Have conquered agrarian peoples, the Khitans created collection of artefacts of the urban culture of the Liao
a dual system of administration both for the Chinese empire was obtained and results which demonstrated
and for the pastoralists. The northern administration the multi-ethnic composition of the town (Kradin
occupied the higher position; it controlled the nomads and Ivliev 2009; Kradin et al. 2011). In 2010–2012,
and other northern peoples (as the “metropole”). excavations were undertaken in another interesting
The southern administration copied the bureaucratic urban site—Khermen Denzh (Kradin et al. 2012).
system of China, controlling the sedentary agricultural The archaeological materials there differed from the
territories (Wittfogel and Feng 1949). collection made at Chintolgoi Balgas. There were
also many artefacts of an earlier (Uighur) period. We
The Liao government actively promoted urban hypothesized that this archaeological site should be
construction in Manchuria, Northern China and identified with the city of Khedun (Kradin et al. 2013).
Mongolia (Ivliev 1983, Steinhardt 1997, Hu 2009). The In addition, during two field seasons, 2009 and 2013,
Khitans could not forget that over a long period of time the settlement of Emgentiin Kherem was excavated.
they had been subjected to raids and exploitation by The general results of the excavations from five years

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 89 – 97

89 Copyright © 2014 The Authors
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
Fig. 1. Map showing extent of Liao Empire and Bohai state, with the ago have been published. Here we lay out the results of
location of Chintolgoi Balgas. the study of the settlement during the two years of the
excavations and also offer some general conclusions
Fig. 2. Site plan drawn August 2013. concerning the place of the given settlement in the
administrative structure of the
Zhenzhou district.

The fortifications of the

settlement
The Emgentiin kherem settlement
is located in Dashinchilen sum,
Bulgan aimag, approximately
200 km west of Ulaanbaatar.
The settlement is located 25
km north of the settlement of
Chintolgoi Balgas on the other
side of a mountain ridge and
sits in a valley between two
ridges of hills. It is among the
settlements of medium size and
is significantly smaller than four
large Khitan settlements in that
region: Chintolgoi Balgas, Khar
Bukhyn Balgas, Khermen Denzh,
and Ulaan Kherem. This suggests
that its population was of lesser
political significance.
The settlement is close to
rhomboid in shape [Fig. 2]. The
walls are oriented close to the
cardinal points of the compass
with slight deviation: the
deviation of the north-south line
90
 Fig. 3. View to northeast along the western wall.

Excavation of the fortress wall

In 2009 a cut was made across the
wall (Pit No. 1) {Fig. 4], its location
selected on the western wall, which
is the best preserved. The excavation
was 121 m from the southwestern
corner of the settlement and 182 m
from the northeastern corner. The
excavation was perpendicular to
the wall and ditch and the trench
measured 25 x 2 m, its total area thus
50 m2. The trench was oriented along
a NNW-SSE line with a declination
of approximately 19–20° from the
east-west line.
is 19–20°, the east-west line 9–11°. The west wall is 305 As the turf and first 20 cm deep layer were being
m in length, the eastern 312 m, the northern 315 m and removed, the iron tip of an arrow was found along with
the southern 316 m, with the total length of the walls a piece of iron (possibly the fragment of a cauldron).
1248 m. The area of the settlement is 9.6 hectares. The In the interior part of the settlement were encountered
height of the walls is from 0.5–0.7 m on the east and fragments of ceramics and bone, one piece of ceramic
up to 1–1.5 m on the north and west. The width of the with Uighur ornament, and a piece of a corroded cast
wall at the top is 3-4 m and at the base up to 15 m. The iron object. The excavation of the third layer turned
eastern wall is the least well preserved and in places up an iron weight with loops for attaching a cord
has largely crumbled. [Fig. 7, p. 95], possibly a plumb-bob. Also in this layer
were a fragment of a leg for a ceramic pot and several
Along the eastern side in the lower part of the valley other ceramic fragments. The main finds (ceramics
is the bed of a small river (actually streams, which in and animal bones) were concentrated next to the wall
the rainy season become a rapid river). The settlement on its interior. In the subsequent layers also were
is interesting because both the interior and exterior of found ceramic fragments and bones and a very poorly
its wall were faced in stone [Fig. 3]. This is quite similar preserved piece of a basalt millstone.
to the construction principles of the Bohai people, who
were conquered by the Khitans in 926
and some of whom deported to the
territory of Mongolia (Kradin and
Ivliev 2008, 2009). It was precisely
this circumstance which was the
reason for our studies at the site.
Another feature connecting it with
Bohai settlements is the technical
features of the construction of the
gates. There are two gates in the
settlement, respectively on the north
and south sides. The gates have no
supplementary fortification; their
external appearance is simply that of
gaps in the walls. In addition, on the
southern wall near the southwestern
corner is a depression which at first
was interpreted as yet another gate.

Fig. 4. Pit No. 1, cut through the western wall.

View from the southwest.
91
 Fig. 5. Section through the western wall of the Emgentiin Kherem settlement, view from the south.
Key
1 – humus 2 – brown loam 3 – black loam

4 – light brown loam 5 – black loam mixed with brown 6 – brown loam

7 – whitish light brown clay 8 – white clay 9 – light brown clay with a yellowish cast (virgin soil)

10 – dark brown loam 11 – compact whitish gray clay 12 – compact white clay with brown specks

13 – light brown clay 14 – brown clay 15 – whitish light brown clay with small lumps

16 – light brown clay with small lumps 17 – brown clay 18 – dark brown clay (buried turf)

19 – compact gray clay 20A – compact white clay 20B – compact white clay

20C; 20E; 20G; 20I; 20K – gray clay 20D; 20F; 20H – white clay 20J – brown clay

20L – dark gray clay 20M – dark brown clay 21 – brown clay

21A; 21I – gray clay 21B; 21H – light brown clay 21C; 21G – gray clay with gravel

21D; 21K – white clay 21E; 21J – dark brown clay 21F – compact white clay

22 – dark brown clay 23 – lens of gray ashy clay 23A – lens of dark brown clay

24 – light brown loam 25 – light brown loam dotted with gray and reddish color 25A – gray ashy loam

The study of the stratigraphy shows that the wall was an accumulation of stones here, sticking out of
was constructed by the method known as hantu — the ground, which we thought could have been the
that is, of rammed earth layers. In addition, both remains of a kan— a heating system. In the removal of
inside and out the wall was faced with stone [Fig. the turf and excavation of the first layer were found
5]. The technique of hantu was known to the Chinese several small fragments of ceramics and also animal
from ancient times. In Mongolia it was used in the bones. The majority of the stones lay on the old surface
construction of the capital of the Uighur qaghanate, and over time had become covered over with turf. It
Karabalgasun, and the Khitan towns Chintolgoi turned out that this was not a heating system. The
Balgas and Khermen Denzh. This technique also is excavation revealed two pits. One of them extended
encountered in the Jurchen towns of the 12th–14th into the wall of the excavation; a second round pit was
centuries on the territory of the Russian Far East. For approximately in its center with a slight deviation in
Bohai towns on the territory of the Russian Far East the direction of the eastern edge. Its diameter was
different construction techniques were used: a stone approximately 1.8–2 m, and the fill was light brown
facing of unworked rock, stone fill, a stone facing of loam. This pit contained remains of a large bovine:
the interior, exterior and top of an earthen wall, and a its rib section joined to the spinal column in correct
facing of stone blocks. Stone facings have been found anatomical position. While finds in the pit were few,
as well on the walls of the Upper Capital of Bohai in it is interesting that Khitan ceramics were found both
Heilongjiang Province 黑龙江省 (Ivliev et al. 1998; above and below the animal bones.
Kradin and Nikitin 2003). Pit no. 3 was located approximately 20 m southwest
Thus the wall of the Emgentiin Kherem settlement of the northern gate. Initially we supposed that here
somewhat differs from the Far Eastern tradition. Here might have been graves of a somewhat later origin
we have the combination of the hantu method and the than the settlement itself. One of the supposed graves
use of stone for facing the exterior and interior. was a round covering approximately 3 x 4 m in size,
slightly stretched along the north-south line or north-
Other excavation areas west to south-east line. In the center was a guardian
In 2013 our expedition continued excavations at the stone leaning in the northeastern direction, its height
settlement. Three small pits were opened with a total 36 cm and rhomboid section measuring approximately
area of 60 m2. 20 x 16 cm. The top of the stone showed evidence of
having been shaped by chipping.
Pit No. 2, measuring 4 x 6 m, was located 70 m to
the west of the eastern edge of the section through The excavation of a 5 x 4 m pit revealed no traces of a
the wall which was designated as Pit No. 1. There grave under the stone cover. There were some animal
92
bones and one ceramic fragment, and the excavation of wedge-shaped or rectangular incisions (the so-
exposed a cover of rectangular stones, oriented SW- called comb ornament).
NE and measuring 110 x 80–90 cm. The cover was
At the same time, in this settlement among the
filled with stone rubble. Following the removal of
ceramics are some distinct, non-Khitan features.
the stone construction, dark soil was removed and an
These include horizontal corded handles, which are
oval pit opened oriented along the east-west line and
characteristic of Bohai ceramics, and so-called Uighur
measuring about 2 m long, 0.5–1 m wide and 15–20 cm
ornament decorated with rhombs or concentric arcs.
deep. Below the pit was a fragment of a bushing from
The excavations of the Chintolgoi Balgas settlement
the hub of a wheel.
in 2004–2008 showed that such Uighur ornament
The excavation of the rest of this pit revealed a large continued in use there in the Khitan period. Evidence
collection of bones in the northwestern part, ceramics, of this are vessels of Khitan shape with such ornament
and also a partially worked bone object. Underneath and the combination of the Khitan comb stamp with
was a shoulder-blade of some animal, and below it Uighur ornament on one and the same vessel (Kradin
was a layer of ash and ceramic with Khitan decoration. and Ivliev 2009). In the Emgentiin Kherem settlement
Theoretically this could be the remains of a hearth or the excavations likewise uncovered a fragment of a
several hearths of different periods. We can surmise vessel with the combination of the comb and Uighur
that in this part of the site were no surface or dugout ornament.
dwellings. The population lived in yurts, inside of
We can distinguish two groups of vessels according
which were hearths faced with stones.
to the composition of the ceramic fabric. In the first
Pit No. 4 was located in the southern part of the group are vase-shaped vessels, basins and tubs of dark
settlement approximately 8 m north of the southern gray clay with a temper of small pieces of white stone.
gate. The excavation was opened so as to study the The second group is distinguished by a porous black
area in front of the gate and if possible to identify the or brown ceramic with sand temper. Vessels of this
remains of a street and other structures. The trench group include clay kettles and cooking pots which as
measured 2 x 8 m, its long dimension oriented along a rule had undergone heating in the process of being
an east-west line. The cultural layer in this part of the used.
settlement is very thin. The stratigraphy of the pit
Ewers. In the third layer in sector 6 was a fragment
divides in two parts. In the western part is brown loam
of the base of a ewer, a gray shard with a temper of
(a street?); in the central and eastern part light brown
small pieces of white stone. The surface is dark gray.
loam. The third layer (at a depth of 20–30 cm from the
Starting at the bottom, the vessel is covered by 2 cm-
current surface of the ground) yielded a fragment of
wide horizontal bands of comb ornament impressed
the neck of a gray vessel polished on its interior and
by a wheel. While the clay was still wet, at the very
with two horizontal grooves on the exterior.
bottom in the vessel wall was made a 1.6 cm diameter
The artefacts opening of the type found in other such Liao ewers.
A lot of ceramics, clay objects, iron, and faunal Fragments of vase-shaped vessels include their tops
remains were found during the excavations. The and parts of the neck, extending into the shoulder.
ceramics constituted the largest part of the finds, all of One of these pieces from the second layer of sector
the ceramics wheel-turned and the majority made of 8 is a cylindrical neck that curves inward on the
gray fine-textured clay with a temper of small pieces exterior and has a thicker upper edge. Polishing on the
of stone, often white in color. The distinctive feature exterior of the neck has added an ornament shaped
of Khitan ceramics observed here as elsewhere is like a vertical zigzag. The interior fabric of the shard is
the concave base of the vessels and the presence on gray, its surface dark, almost black. The top of a vase-
the walls, primarily in the lower part of the body, of shaped vessel from layer 4 in sector 5 is a rounded
ornament made by a stamp wheel in the form of rows convex cylinder whose upper edge widens above
93
the neck. Its upper part is covered with horizontal horizontal polishing. Below the rim on the exterior
polishing. The diameter of the rim is 15.6 cm. Another walls are wide horizontal bands of comb ornament;
variant of decoration, on the neck of a vase-shaped in one instance there is a horizontal raised band with
vessel found in the 5th–6th layers in sector 1, has several triangular incisions. Unlike the bowls, such containers
polished vertical bands. A large fragment of the neck had no polished ornament on the interior of the walls
and shoulders of a vase-shaped vessel from Pit No. and bottom. The diameters of their rims vary from 22
1 in sector B16 has a cylindrical neck covered with to 44 cm. In fact these are storage vessels. From the
horizontal polishing and with a chain of triangular artefacts of other sites, among them Chintolgoi Balgas,
impressions midway in its height. On the shoulders we know that the Khitans had their own bowls with
directly below the neck is a wide band of comb stamp more gently sloping walls and polished ornament on
made with a wheel. This band is separated from the the interior. Two such fragments with ornament of
next band of comb stamp by a band of horizontal curving polished lines on the interior surface were
polishing 3.8 cm. wide. The fabric of the vessel is dark also found in the excavations at Emgentiin Kherem.
gray, almost black, with tiny inclusions of white stone. Seven fragments of the tops of cooking pots of the
A significant part of the whole mass of ceramics “Khitan type” were found, rather ill-defined vessels
found at the settlement of Emgentiin Kherem consists whose shape varies from pots with a clearly articulated
of fragments of pails or tubs of similar capacity body, neck and mouth, to vessels of an almost tub-like
which have a thick rim and vertical walls but with cylindrical shape. We label them in this way because
marked inward curvature on the lower exterior. they are among the most characteristic types of
The outer surface of the rim is covered entirely with vessels found in Khitan culture. As a rule, all of them
have traces of burning on the walls. The ceramic fabric
of cooking dishes contains a significant amount of
temper of sand and has a black, red or brown color—
evidence of firing in an oxidizing atmosphere. The
tops of such dishes are thicker along the upper edge;
their exterior surface and also the upper border often
are covered with impressions of comb ornament. All
the fragments with one exception come from rather
thick-walled vessels. They differ from ordinary pots of
the “Khitan type” by the absence of clearly delineated
raised bands on the exterior wall below the rim. One
vessel whose rim diameter is approximately 13 cm is
distinguished by walls only 0.35 to 0.55 cm thick. The
raised band on its exterior wall immediately under the
rim was created by applying pressure to the wall, as
evidenced by a groove on the interior.
The most interesting of the ceramic finds are
fragments of clay cauldrons which are copies of
analogous iron wares [Fig. 6]. They have a vertical
mouth, decorated with horizontal grooves. The edge
of the rim is turned in. On the main body of the vessel
is a broad horizontal ring. Pendant legs are attached
to the body. On the interior surface can be seen
traces of its having been worked on a potter’s wheel.
Among the fragments of such cauldrons found in the
excavation are tops, legs and part of a horizontal ring.
Two examples are very well preserved, one found
during the collection of scattered artefacts in the area
of the northern wall of the settlement. The fabric of
this cauldron varies in color from bright red-brown to
black. In the clay is temper of stone grains measuring
1-1.5 mm; some individual pieces of stone are as long
as 5 mm. The surface of the cauldron is brown with

Fig. 6. Fragment of a clay cauldron.

94
traces of soot; the interior surface black. The horizontal textured cream-colored fabric. The transparent shiny
ring which goes around the middle of the body of the glaze was applied over a thin layer of underglaze.
cauldron is 3 cm wide; its diameter is 36.6 cm. Above On the surface of the walls is only a dribble of glaze
the ring, the walls of the vessel have not survived; without the white underglaze. The diameter of the
only one of the three feet has been preserved. ring-shaped base is approximately 9 cm.
A second example of a cauldron has preserved a Stone wares. A fragment of a basalt millstone was
significant part of the body from the rim to the base. found, shaped like a slice from a cone with lightly
The clay fabric of this vessel is analogous to that of marked depressions on the narrow side. The entire
the one described above. Right above the horizontal surface was carefully worked, but the sides are
ring the vessel has angled shoulders which transition chipped; yet there are no traces of abrasion. The
toward the vertical, still somewhat tilted walls of the diameter is 17.8 cm. at the bottom and 21 cm at the top
mouth. The bottom is flat, smoothly transitioning into and the thickness 9.5 cm.
the walls. On the exterior of the walls and to a degree
Among the clay wares in the excavation were a
on the ring is soot and a layer of remains from burning.
spindle whorl and two chips. The spindle-whorl,
On the lower part of the body is a remnant of where
carved from the wall of a vessel, is 7.1 cm in diameter.
one of the three feet was attached. This example of
In the center is a drilled opening 0.7 cm in diameter.
a cauldron differs in its unusual décor in the form of
The chips are round pieces, 4.1 and 4.7 cm in diameter,
wavy incised lines. Two such lines are on the upper
which were used either in table games or ones whose
surface of the horizontal ring and three on the exterior
playing board was laid out on the ground. They are
of the vertical wall of the neck. Furthermore, the
rather crudely formed out of fragments of the walls
corrugation typical for such cauldrons on the surface
of clay vessels. Such chips are common finds at Bohai
of the neck is inscribed in the shape of three horizontal
sites in the Russian Far East. They are also known
grooves above a wave-like ornament at the edge of
from the Khitan settlements at Chintolgoi Balagas and
the lip and along the shoulders. The diameter of the
Khermen Denzh.
cauldron at the ring is 40.4 cm.
The iron and cast iron wares in the excavation included
Glazed ceramics are represented by two fragments.
five objects: a nail, a plumb-bob, an iron plate, the leg
One of them is a fragment of the bottom of a vessel
of a kettle and the bushing of a wheel hub. Of the
with a wide circular base whose ring is 1 cm thick. It
greatest interest was the discovery in Pit No. 1 of a cast
has a fine grained beige fabric with numerous pores
iron round weight with a pointed lower end and a loop
and specks of white stone. The vessel is covered
at the top. It measured 5.5 cm in height and 3.5–3.6 cm
with a transparent, shiny, olive-colored glaze. The
in diameter, the height of the loop being 1.5 cm and
interior surface is uneven on account of its having
the weight approximately 150 g. Its shape recalls that
been stretched out on a potter’s wheel. The exterior
of a steelyard weight, but differs from it on account of
surface of the ring-shaped base and the area inside it
its sharp lower tip [Fig. 7]. In Pit No. 3 was a fragment
are unglazed. A second fragment comes from a thick-
of an iron bushing of the hub of a cart wheel. The wall
walled bottle-shaped vessel, covered with dark olive
of the bushing narrows on one end; its thickness is 0.9-
glaze. The thickness of the walls, which also have an
1.1 cm, and the length of the bushing is 2.9 cm. One
uneven surface, is 2.2cm.
of the teeth on the exterior of the bushing has been
Porcelain. Lying on the ground was a fragment of the preserved. This bushing is typical for the wagons of
bottom of a porcelain cup. The cup is white with a fine- East Asia throughout the first two millennia CE.
Discussion and conclusions

The artefacts from the excavations of

the Emgentiin Kherem settlement
are evidence that the site dates
to the Liao period. The materials
of the excavations here also
demonstrate the presence of Bohai
and Uighur cultural traditions.
Furthermore, one can note some
differences between the materials
of this site and that of Chintolgoi
Fig. 7. The plumb-bob found in Pit
No. 1.

95
Balgas. At Emgentiin kherem they are evident in the Acknowledgements.
unusual décor of the pottery cauldron, in a certain This study was supported by grant of Russian Scientific
distinctness of the shape of the cooking vessels “of the Foundation # 14-18-01165. We are grateful to the Mongolian
Khitan type,” in the predominance among the ceramic students who took part in the excavations in 2009 and 2011.
materials of storage vessels similar to tubs, and also in
the insignificant presence of prestige dishes (only one About the authors
porcelain fragment, found in surface scatters in 2013
near the southern gate). Dr. Nikolay N. Kradin is a Professor at the Institute of
History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Far Eastern
On the whole, the cultural layer in the settlement is Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Head
thin. The quantity of deposits from human activity is of the Department of World History, Archaeology, and
also small. This might attest either to a short period of Anthropology of the Far Eastern Federal University,
habitation at the site or to the fact that the site could Vladivostok. E-mail: <kradin@mail.ru>.
have been a place for the stationing of a separate Dr. Aleksander L. Ivliev is a Senior Research Fellow of
military cavalry unit. One could suppose that the the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the
nomads lived in yurts and did not construct permanent Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
houses, and also possibly that they used the enclosure Vladivostok. E-mail: <ivliev@mail.primorye.ru>.
at the site only in certain seasons and, in the event of Dr. Ayudai Ochir is a Professor at the International Institute
danger, as a refuge (possibly along with their cattle). If of the Study of Nomadic Civilizations, Ulaanbaatar. E-mail:
this was the case, then it is understandable why there <nomciv@magicnet.mn>.
is such a limited cultural layer, compared with that of Dr. Sergey A. Vasiutin Is Head of the Department of the
other Khitan settlements in that region. A task as yet Mediaeval History of the Kemerovo State University,
for the future is to reconstruct the features of the daily Kemerovo. E-mail: <vasutin@history.kemsu.ru>.
lives of Khitan military units and the craftsmen and Dr. Svetlana E. Sarantseva is a Research Fellow of the
agriculturalists from among the Bohai, Jurchens and Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the
Chinese who were assigned to them in Mongolia. Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Vladivostok. E-mail: <sarantceva@mail.ru>.
We know from written sources that in 1004 CE
Dr. Evgenii V. Kovychevis a Professor at the Transbaikal
20,000 Khitan cavalrymen were sent here on military State University, Chita. E-mail: <kovychevevgenyi@mail.
duty, and for the provisioning of them were assigned ru>.
700 Bohai, Jurchen and Han Chinese families, which Dr. Lkhagvasüren Erdenebold is an Associate Professor
were distributed in the district center Zhenzhou and at the Mongolian University of Technology, Ulaanbaatar.
its subordinate towns Fanzhou and Weizhou (Kradin E-mail: <erdene_ethnology@yahoo.com>.
et al 2011, p. 163). In order to bring under their control
the nomads who inhabited the Mongolian steppe, the
Khitans created a network of urban centers in the References
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Kradin 2008 Severnoi Azii: istoricheskie i arkheologicheskie issledovaniia [The
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Bulletin (International Institute for the Study of Nomadic and Evgenii V. Kovychev. “The Frontier Fortification of the
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Kradin et al. 2011 104–21.
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Balgas]. Moskva: Vostochnaia literatura, 2011. Erdenebold. Khar Bukh balgas ba Tuul Golyn sav dakh’
Kradin et al. 2012 Khiatany üeiin khot, suuringuud [Khar Bukh balgas and the
remains of medieval Khitan settlements in the Tuul valley].
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i kul’tura srednevekovykh narodov stepnoi Evrazii. Proceedings al. Arkheologicheskie issledovaniia na gorodishche Chintolgoi
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“Kidanskie goroda kontsa X – nachala XI v. v Tsentral’noi Kh. Perlee. Mongol ard ulsyn ert, dundad üeiin khot suuriny
Mongolii i sotsial’nye protsessy na periferii imperii Liao” tovchoon [A short history of ancient and medieval cities
[Khitan towns of the end of X – beginning of the XI centuries and settlements on the territory of the Mongolian People’s
and social processes on the periphery of tha Liao empire]. Republic]. Ulaanbaatar: Ulsyn khevleliin khereg erkhlekh
Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, ser. Istoriia, khoroo, 1961.
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(2008): 438–45.
Steinhardt 1997
Kradin and Ivliev 2009
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of the Bohai state and the ethnic structure of the Kitan city
of Chintolgoi balgas, Mongolia.” In: Current Archaeological Tkachev 2009
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Conference on “Archaeological Research in Mongolia”. Ed. history of Mongolian architecture]. Moskva: The Association
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97
 The Carpet Index: Rethinking the Oriental Carpet in
Early Renaissance Paintings

Lauren Arnold
Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History
University of San Francisco

S ince the beginning of Carpet Studies as a discipline

in mid-19th–century Germany, specialists have
claimed that eastern carpets ― from their first appear-
marker of worldly honor (since it was made by reli-
gious rivals).2
Yet hundreds of paintings prominently feature the
ance in European paintings in the mid-13th–century oriental carpet within a deeply Christian setting,
to the present day ― must be understood as luxury where it is always depicted squarely under the feet
items of Muslim manufacture. This widely repeated of the Virgin and her saints. We western art histori-
conventional wisdom, often called the Berlin School ans have been taught (and we continue to teach our
of thought, was formulated when Victoria still ruled students) that every one of these Italian and Flem-
the British Empire but unfortunately it has been rare- ish religious paintings contains layer upon layer of
ly questioned since.1 Most modern carpet specialists iconographic meaning; that everything the painter in-
continue to hew to the Muslim-origin theory of the cluded, from the indigo blue pigment for the Virgin’s
founders of the Berlin School, by insisting that if the cloak (indicating her purity, and purchased at great
carpet was to have any iconographical significance at cost, often specified in the contract), to the vase of ros-
all within a painterly Renaissance context, it was as a es or lilies depicted on the carpet in front of her, is
sign of heavenly comfort (since pile carpets were ex- imbued with deep theological meaning [Fig. 1]. Were
pensive and available only to the wealthy), and as a the interpretation of the Berlin School to be right, the
carpet then is the only item within a heavenly setting
without any Christian significance or iconographic
meaning. This hardly seems likely, and art historians
specializing in the Renaissance have rarely addressed
the problem. Most often we ignore the presence of the
carpet altogether, leaving it to the scrutiny of a few
carpet specialists interested in the development of
classical Turkish patterns and motifs.
I became involved with this problem while writing a
book chapter on the Council of Florence of 1439, and
its impact on the art of the early Renaissance period.
This famous Council, attended by prominent Chris-
tians from the entire known world ― among them Lat-
in, Coptic, Jacobite, Maronite, Armenian, and Greek
Orthodox ― sought to reconcile the eastern and west-
ern branches of Christianity in the face of militant Ot-

Fig. 1. Dominico Ghirlandaio, Madonna Enthroned with Saints,

ca. 1480, La Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 98 – 105 98 Copyright © 2014 Lauren Arnold

Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
toman incursions into Asia Minor and the surround- decided to start fresh by compiling and researching a
ing ancestral Christian lands.3 The delegates brought catalogue raisonné, a visual database of all Renaissance
with them rare sacred books written in Aramaic (the paintings that contained oriental carpets. This data-
language of Christ), Greek, Armenian, Coptic, and base, called the Carpet Index, has been online since
Syriac, many of which, given to the Pope, become the 2008.6 While still a work in progress, the Carpet Index
core of the emerging Vatican Library (Grafton 1993, has grown to over 800 images related to oriental car-
Introduction). The Council took place over many pets in Western art from around 1190 to 1800, with
months and involved long theological discussions research essays, source material, and sets and collec-
and very difficult compromises. When it concluded tions of images. The research possibilities from this
with a Decree of Union in July 1439, all of the bells in concentrated gathering of material are vast for orien-
Florence rang out and the Council was thought to be a tal carpet enthusiasts. At the Index’s core is a work-
triumphant success. able collection of about 350 paintings dated between
1250 and 1550. This core has allowed me to re-assess
With historical hindsight, we know that the meet-
conventional wisdom concerning the inclusion of the
ing failed to bring about the much-longed-for univer-
oriental carpet in early Renaissance paintings, and
sal Christian unity, but in 1439 hopes ran high. In my
propose some controversial new conclusions.
chapter, I speculated that this conference with its de-
sire for East-West religious union spawned a whole The examination of hundreds of examples ar-
new genre of religious painting – the sacra conversazi- ranged in chronological order made it clear that the
one or the “sacred conversation” -- where the Virgin is Victorian-era theory as to the purpose of the carpet
surrounded by her gently conversing saints [Fig. 1].4 I in these paintings was seriously flawed. Within this
further proposed that Fra Angelico, a monk resident time frame (ca. 1250–1500), the carpet did not once sig-
at the time in the Florentine convent of San Marco, nify domestic comfort, luxury, or status. Instead, in over
painted the very first Italian sacra conversazione specif- two-thirds of the paintings, it clearly delineated the
ically for his fellow Dominicans there who had hosted Precinct of the Virgin, with the carpet conspicuously
the Council in Florence in 1439 [Fig. 2]. Fra Angelico placed as holy ground beneath Mary’s feet in her role
depicted a heavenly gathering of saints under the be- as Mother Church. The carpet appeared in paintings
nign gaze of the Virgin and, in this ground-breaking large and small, created for public or private devotion,
painting, he prominently included an oriental carpet for guilds or merchants in disparate municipalities
beneath the Virgin’s feet.5 and regions, but invariably it marked holy ground be-
neath the Virgin and her saints.
But the carpet itself gave me pause. Given my own
expectations and academic training, this object ought By extension, the marking of the holy ground of
to have been a luxurious pile carpet signifying status Mother Church is further seen in Renaissance depic-
and wealth. Instead, Fra Angelico featured a
simple flat-weave rug with crude, almost folk-
loric animal motifs. The depicted carpet was
not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination.
How could Fra Angelico have made such a mis-
take ― and why was such a carpet even there?
My puzzlement over the inclusion of this
rustic item in such a significant painting be-
gan an almost decade-long quest to rethink the
role of the oriental carpet within Renaissance
paintings. For an art historian specializing in
east-west artistic exchange, the premise of the
Muslim-made carpet included as a mere sta-
tus symbol and/or a trophy perch for the Vir-
gin quickly became intellectually unsatisfying,
particularly after finding so many instances,
such as the Fra Angelico altarpiece, where the
old Berlin School theory simply did not apply. I

Fig. 2. Fra Angelico, San Marco Altarpiece, ca. 1439,

Museo San Marco, Florence.

99
tions of the rituals surrounding the Seven Sacraments In particular, these new data call attention to one
of the Latin church: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist of the most long-lasting legacies of the Berlin School
(celebrating the Mass), almsgiving (the repentant giv- of thought: its bias against Christian participation in
ing of charity), ordination into holy orders, marriage, the art of carpet weaving, which has hobbled Carpet
and last rites (including Christian burial). A large sub- Studies from the beginning.7 As I was assembling
section of the Carpet Index paintings is devoted to de- the Carpet Index and beginning to conclude that the
picting these rituals, especially the most public sacra- carpets in question were of Christian origin, I came
ments of marriage, the giving of charity, and funeral upon Volkmar Gantzhorn’s pioneering study that
scenes where again, the carpet signifies holy ground. had earlier argued the case for Christian weavers, and
his work has solidified much of
The surprises of the Carpet In- my own.8 The land mass that we
dex data did not stop with the dis- call Asia Minor or Anatolia was
covery of iconographic and sacra- populated by local Christians for
mental meaning. Not only did the almost a millennium before and
eastern carpet mark holy ground, another millennium after the ar-
but within another subsection of rival of the first followers of Mo-
the Index, certain recognizable hammed in the 10th century.9 It
carpets appeared multiple times, is wishful thinking to insist that
often over several centuries. Inter- carpet weaving suddenly arrived
estingly, these repeating carpets and burgeoned on the Anatolian
are among the oldest depicted. plateau only with the arrival of
These were not the sumptuous the late-coming nomadic Muslims
pile carpets of later fame but plain from the east, and that somehow
utilitarian flat-weaves, often with the inclusion of carpets in western
crude animal imagery, very simi- Fig. 3. Fra Bartolomeo, Miraculous Annunciation, Christian paintings before 1500
lar to the San Marco carpet by Fra 1252, Santissima Annunziata, Florence. indicates an oddly benign trade
Angelico of 1439 [Fig. 2 above]. relationship between bitter and
Despite their lack of luxury, the rude carpets were re- antagonistic religious rivals.
peated in paintings large and small, all dedicated to
My work, however, takes us beyond Gantzhorn’s
the Virgin: one distinctive carpet in Florence repeats
initial observations of the possibility of Christian
at least 9 times from 1250 to 1472 [Fig. 3]; an entire-
weavers in Asia Minor: I advocate that we view the
ly different old rug appears over 18 times in Sienese
depictions in European paintings as historical mark-
paintings from 1300 to 1462, where it visibly ages and
ers in themselves. As such, I suggest that many of the
fragments [Fig. 4].
carpets that we observe in early Renaissance paintings
Clearly, there were problems with conventional were actual revered relics brought by small groups of
wisdom. The most glaring gap in conventional carpet Eastern Christians ― Syrians, Greeks, Georgians, but
theory, however, is that specialists simply did not Fig. 4. Sano di Pietro, The Betrothal of the Virgin, ca. 1446,
have ― and never have had ― an adequate explana- Musei Vaticani.
tion for the core problem: what is a Muslim
carpet doing in a Christian painting in the
first place? Indeed, the evidence indicates
that the carpets which entered Europe and
appeared in paintings before 1500 were not
commercial items manufactured by Ana-
tolian Muslims for luxury-loving western
Christians. Instead, the new data in the Car-
pet Index point toward an eastern Christian
origin for these carpets in Asia Minor and
the Greater Armenian Highlands, and indi-
cate that the carpets themselves held deep
religious significance to those who brought
them west. The simplest, most obvious an-
swer in this Renaissance context is the best:
These are Christian carpets that we are see-
ing in Christian paintings.
100
especially Armenians ― fleeing westward in advance 1291. This symbiosis between the Latin mendicant or-
of Mamluk, Mongol, and Ottoman incursions into ders and the Cilician artists, I suggest, is reflected in
their ancestral lands. Thus the aging carpets shown the decoration programs in the newly built churches
over centuries in Florentine and Sienese paintings can in Florence and Siena.15
be seen anew as relics, historical objects of great ven- My primary example for this demographic shift is a
eration brought from the Christian East.10 Their repeti- flat-weave rug with folkloric motifs that first appeared
tion in paintings before 1500 implies that these carpets in the west in a painting around 1300 [Fig. 4]. My re-
were recognizable entities within their new European search indicates that the carpet represents an already
communities and of great importance to the émigrés. revered Christian rug that was spirited away to the
Indeed, fragments of carpets which closely match the west by a family of Cilician Armenians seeking safe-
oldest depicted ones, came onto the art market in the ty when the Holy Land fell to Muslim forces in 1291.
19th century from church treasuries in Italy, apparent- Helped by the Franciscans, the family fled to a new life
ly after being preserved there for centuries.11 in Italy, specifically coming to rest within the pilgrim-
Art historians have been largely blind to indicators age road city of Siena. There the precious relic carpet
of significant colonies of eastern Christians migrating was well-known within the assimilating Armenian
to the west in the early modern period.12 Yet, archival community, reverently depicted in the Sienese contado
documentation and various historical studies confirm over 18 times in large altarpieces, frescoes, and small
that, beginning after the first Crusade (and certain- devotional triptychs. The last time it was painted was
ly by 1100), trade, social relations and intermarriage in 1462 (where it appeared to be in tatters) when the
developed among the Crusaders and various groups Sienese Pope Pius II commissioned its inclusion in a
of eastern Christians who supported the European painting for his new cathedral in the southern Tuscan
venture to return the Holy Land to Christian control town of Pienza [Fig. 5].16
(Runciman 1994, p. 29 and passim).13 Western relations Like the Sienese relic carpet itself, arguably the small
with Byzantium and Greek Orthodoxy were decid- but significant Armenian migrations into the Italian
edly less friendly than most art historians propose, peninsula have been hiding in plain sight for many
and cultural relations were severely strained after the centuries. One intriguing but ignored signal of this
Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. During this demographic shift (and this applies to other eastern
same period, however, Crusader relations remained Christian groups as well) is that, beginning in the 13th
warm with the other eastern Christian groups who century each new wave of refugees brought with it
supported them against the Byzantines: notably the their own patron saints. These saints were then added
Armenians, the Georgians, and the Syrian Christians to locally venerated ones on the Italian peninsula as
who had long chafed under Byzantine domination. the newcomers acclimated to their new surroundings.
Beginning with the first Crusade (1096–99), and cer- In Tuscany specifically, we should look at the emerg-
tainly after the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, ing veneration of Armenian national saints ― Bar-
successive small waves of Armenians and other east- tolomeo, Taddeo, Gregorio, and lesser-known Arme-
ern Christians with family and business ties to the nian martyrs such as S. Miniato, S. Biagio, S. Vittorio
west left to pursue business opportunities on the Ital- ― who began to have established churches from the
ian peninsula along the pilgrimage roads to Rome that 13th century onward. As an example, the Armenian pa-
led directly through Tuscany.
tron saint Bartolomeo was added to the patron saints
During the chaos and uncertainty that followed the of Siena by 1215 (just a decade after the fall of Con-
fall of the Crusader kingdoms at the end of the 13th stantinople), and later the Cilician martyr Vittorio was
century, a new group of Armenian refugees began to added in 1308 (about a decade and a half after the fall
arrive in Italy ― these were artists and craftsmen from of Acre. See Norman 1999, pp. 35–36). The civic pres-
Armenian Cilicia, whose livelihoods were threatened ence of these foreign saints would suggest an influx of
by new aniconic Sunni overlords.14 The artists and merchants and craftsmen from the Greater Armenian
craftsmen were helped by the newly-emergent Fran- Highlands and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.17 In
ciscans and Dominicans, whose missionaries were the same vein, other Eastern Christian populations
also being forced out of the Outremer and who were in Italy would be indicated by churches and chapels
returning home to Tuscany after the fall of Acre in dedicated to Syrian, Greek, and Georgian saints. This
movement of small groups of eastern
Fig. 5. Detail of carpet in painting Christians over several centuries is not
commissioned in 1462 by Pope merely theoretical or based on the visu-
Pius II for the new cathedral in the al evidence of the painted carpets and/
southern Tuscan town of Pienza. or the ethnicity of imported saints: a
DNA study from 2005 found that up to
101
10% of randomly tested Italian men show the unusual pets became proud, familial reminders of their eastern
“G-marker” on their Y-chromosome, which indicates past.
Armenian, Georgian, or other Caucasian background
Marking a demographic shift, the carpet restores a
in their male line.18
forgotten legacy
Conclusions: three new theories
As such, this re-examination of the oriental carpet
Working from a database of over 800 paintings in the opens a whole new window onto life and art in the ear-
Carpet Index, it is now possible to re-assess some of ly Renaissance. By the time of the Reformation, these
the core tenets of the discipline of Carpet Studies. To assimilated groups of Armenians, Greeks, Georgians,
be fair, before the advent of the internet, so much of and Syrians were no longer distinguishable from their
this new information was not readily available to the European co-religionists, and with the Reformation
early Victorian specialists in the field. Yet, intuitive accusing the Latin Church of Mariolatry, the eastern
and brilliant scholars in the early 20th century such as carpet ceased to be an attribute of the Virgin as Moth-
Fredrik R. Martin, and in the 1980s such as John Mills er Church. By 1520 the oriental carpet was well on its
in England and Volkmar Gantzhorn in Germany, way to becoming a coveted commercial good, and the
grasped the potential of a more diversified ethnic and Golden Age of the Muslim carpet mass-produced for
religious approach to this subject and attempted at domestic consumption in Europe truly began.21
that time to balance the record by including the pre- Adding to the pioneering ideas of Volkmar
sumption of Christian weavers in Asia Minor.19 Yet, Gantzhorn, the data collected in the Carpet Index
my own generation of American carpet specialists has supports the role of the Christian carpet in early Re-
been largely content to follow the traditional Mus- naissance paintings. It restores to the Armenians, the
lim-origin view. As a fresh counterpoint to tradition, Greeks, the Syrians and the Georgians an art form that
however, I offer three new theories derived from the they certainly have always shared with non-Chris-
data in the Carpet Index. tians in Asia Minor. Yet modern politics and national
First, the oriental carpets’ presence in European interests have excluded eastern Christians from this
paintings before 1500 indicates that some of them artistic legacy for over 150 years. Dismissed by the
were religious relics brought to the west by eastern discipline of Carpet Studies, and ignored by academ-
Christians fleeing Muslim incursions into their an- ics, nevertheless the vibrant and significant contribu-
cestral lands in Asia Minor. Within this context, their tion by eastern Christians to the art and communal
presence in early Renaissance paintings is not and life of the early Renaissance shines forth in hundreds
never has been an indication of benevolent commerce of paintings, where their luminous carpets mark their
between religious enemies.20 faith, and their life, in their new lands.
Second, I am certain that the carpet in early Renais-
sance paintings has significant Christian symbol- About the Author
ic meaning, marking holy ground beneath Mother Lauren Arnold is an independent art historian and
Church; it has particular additional meaning in imag- Research Associate of the Ricci Institute for Chi-
es related to the Seven Sacraments of the Latin church, nese-Western Cultural History, University of San
particularly in relation to marriage, the giving of alms, Francisco. She is working on a companion volume to
and funerals. We can understand these carpets in her Princely Gifts and Papal Treasures, the new book
paintings as public declarations of fidelity to the Latin tentatively titled When the Buddha Became a Saint: The
church of newly-arrived eastern Christians, indicating Dominican Mission to the Middle East and its Influence on
a willingness to conform to and assimilate within the the Art of the West 1300–1530. E-mail: <laurenarnold@
Latin church. cs.com>.
Third, and possibly most important, carpets in ear-
ly Renaissance paintings can now be understood
References
as visual markers of a demographic shift across the
Mediterranean basin. Westward migrations of small Arnold 1999
communities of eastern Christians occurred over sev- Lauren Arnold. Princely Gifts and Papal Treasures: The Fran-
eral centuries, as families of merchants, painters and ciscan Mission to China and its Influence on the Art of the West
craftsmen from Cilicia and the Armenian Highlands 1250–1350. San Francisco: Desiderata Press, 1999
resettled in the hill towns of Italy along the pilgrimage Atamiam 1984
roads to Rome. They brought their relic carpets with Ani Pauline Atamiam, “The Diocese of Nachivan in the Sev-
them and, over time as they assimilated into the sac- enteenth Century,” Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Columbia
raments of the Latin Church, the paintings with car- University, 1984.

102
Bode 1892 Spallanzani 2007
Wilhelm von Bode, “Ein altpersischer Teppich im Besitz der Marco Spallanzani, Oriental Rugs in Renaissance Florence. Fi-
königlichen Museen zu Berlin. Studien zur Geschichte der renze: S.P.E.S., 2007.
westasiatischen Knüpfteppiche.” Jahrbuch der Königlich Pre- Spuhler 1987
ussische Kunstsammlungen 13/2-3 (1892): 108–37.
Friedrich Spuhler, Oriental Carpets in the Museum of Islamic
Denny 2002 Art, Berlin. Tr. by Robert Pinner. Washington, DC: Smithso-
Walter Denny. The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets. nian Institution Pr., 1987.
Washington, DC: The Textile Museum, 2002. Verde 2010
Erdmann 1970 Tom Verde, “Threads on a Canvas.” Saudi Aramco World,
Kurt Erdmann. Seven Hundred Years of Oriental Carpets. Jan/Feb 2010. On-line at <http://www.saudiaramcoworld.
Translated by May H. Beattie and Hildegard Herzog. Berke- com/issue/201001/threads.on.canvas.htm>, accessed 10
ley and Los Angeles: Univ. of California Pr., 1970. November 2014.

Gantzhorn 1998
Volkmar Gantzhorn. Oriental Carpets: Their Iconology and Ico-
Notes
nography from the Earliest Times to the 18th Century. Translat-
1. The perception that Muslim weavers in Turkey/Anatolia
ed by Charles Madsen. Köln and New York: Taschen, 1998.
and Persia were and always have been the only source of
(Originally published as The Christian Oriental Carpet).
carpets found in European paintings was formulated by the
Grafton 1993 German founders of Carpet Studies in the late 19th century,
Anthony Grafton (ed.) Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library and including Wilhelm von Bode, who largely based their obser-
Renaissance Culture. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, vations on the then-50-year-old Turkish commercial carpet
1993. industry. A prime advocate of Muslim origin theory was the
mid-20th century specialist Kurt Erdmann. For his views on
Islamic Figurative Art 2004-2014 carpet-weaving as a uniquely Muslim craft, see Erdmann
“Islamic Figurative Art and Depictions of Muhammad,” 1970 and the work of his student Friedrich Spuhler, both of
2004–2014. On-line at <http://www.religionfacts.com/is- whom expanded upon the observations of von Bode (see
lam/things/depictions-of-muhammad-in-islamic-art.htm>, Spuhler 1987, Introduction, pp. 9–16).
accessed 10 November 2014.
2. See Mack 2002 and Denny 2002 (also Tom Verde’s 2010
Leonertz 1934 interview with Walter Denny). Spallanzani 2007 is the most
Raymond-Joseph Leonertz, O.P. “Les missions dominic- thorough and interesting of the current traditionalists, as he
aines en Orient et la Société des Frères pérégrinants.” Ar- delves into actual Florentine archival sources and invento-
chivum Fratrum Praedicatorum IV (1934): 1–47. ries for his information, rather than relying on older German
secondary sources.
Mack 2002
3. The Dominicans had considerable contact with the Arme-
Rosamond Mack. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian nian Unitores in the Greater Armenian Highlands, who were
Art 1300–1600. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univ. of Califor- pro-Latin and at odds with the Armenian Orthodox Church.
nia Pr., 2002. For Latin Christians in the Armenian province of Nachivan,
McDonald 2005 see Leonertz 1934 and Oudenrijn 1936. Atamiam 1984, an
unpublished Ph.D. thesis that has contributed greatly to my
J. Douglas McDonald. [Maps of worldwide distribution forthcoming work, is a thorough and illuminating work on
of Y chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups], the later Dominicans in Armenia.
2005, on-line at <http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mcdonald/
WorldHaplogroupsMaps.pdf>, accessed 10 November 2014. 4. I theorize that the bearded saints in Fra Angelico’s paint-
ing very likely represent the delegates of several eastern
Norman 1999 denominations, i.e., Greek Orthodox and Armenian Ortho-
Diana Norman. Siena and the Virgin: Art and Politics in a Late dox, while the clean-shaven saints represent the Latin dele-
Medieval City State. New Haven and London: Yale Univ. Pr., gates, all conversing in new-found harmony around Mother
1999. Church.
Oudenrujn 1936 5. It can be argued that the Flemish artist Jan van Eyck paint-
Marcus Antonius van den Oudenrijn, O.P. “Bishops and ed the very first of this genre in his Madonna and Cannon van
Archbishops of Naxivan.” Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum der Paele, dated 1436, which pre-dated the Council of Flor-
VI (1936): 161–216. ence by several years. The carpet contained in Jan’s work
also repeats itself 5 times over a century in Bruges, last seen
Runciman 1994 in 1526.This Flemish relic carpet is discussed in the series of
Steven Runciman. A History of the Crusades. Vol. 2. The King- online lectures on “Re-Thinking the Oriental Carpet in Ear-
dom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East 1100–1178. London: Fo- ly Renaissance Paintings,” being filmed in the fall of 2014.
lio Society, 1994. Contact the author for more information.

103
6. Between 2008 and 2013, the Carpet Index was accessi- Armenian and Syrian women. For instance, one of the most
ble online to a small group of critics and friends. It was re- famous intermarriages was that of King Baldwin II of Jeru-
leased to the general public in February 2013, at a meeting salem (r. 1118–31), who, when he was Count of Edessa, mar-
sponsored by the Armenian Rugs Society in Laguna Beach, ried a local Armenian princess, Morphia of Melitene (d. ca.
California. The Carpet Index and the essays in Circa 1440 1127), and with her had their daughter Melisende (1105–61),
are found online on flickr at <https://www.flickr.com/pho- who succeeded her father Baldwin as Queen of Jerusalem.
tos/26911776@N06/collections/72157632803028991/>, the See Runciman 1994, p. 29 and passim.
direct link to the images being <http://www.flickr.com/
14. There is no explicit injunction against making images
photos/26911776@N06/sets/72157605221104561/>.
of living creatures in the Koran, but the various Hadith or
7. See Erdmann 1970. Erdmann was adamantly against the sayings of the Prophet contain numerous warnings against
idea of Christian weavers. His explanation of the presence it, including: “Those who paint pictures would be punished
of animal carpets found in early Renaissance paintings is on the Day of Resurrection and it would be said to them:
firmly traditional (pp. 18–19): “After 1500 no such animal Breathe soul into what you have created.” (Hadith, Sahih
carpets seem to have been represented in a European paint- Muslim vol.3, no. 5268); and “Narrated ‘Aisha [wife of the
ing and we may therefore assume that, in the course of the Prophet]: The Prophet entered upon me while there was a
15th c., their production came to an end. The reasons for this curtain having pictures (of animals) in the house. His face got
are not difficult to guess. In this group we are dealing un- red with anger, and then he got hold of the curtain and tore
doubtedly with Anatolian products. In the 13th and 14th cen- it into pieces. The Prophet said, ‘Such people as paint these
turies Anatolia was ruled by the Turkish Seljuks who took pictures will receive the severest punishment on the Day of
kindly to the representation of figures in their art. In the 15th Resurrection.’” (Bukhari vol. 8, book 73, no.130). The Sunni
century, the Ottomans, who were also Turks, became the tradition tends to be more aniconic, or against images, than
rulers and to a great extent dispensed with figures. This was the Shiite tradition embraced by the Persians. See Islamic
certainly on religious grounds because according to strict Figurative Art 2004–2014.
Muslim teaching the representation of men or animals is
15. Over the next few centuries (especially after the fall of
forbidden…”
Acre in 1291) the mendicant orders facilitated the resettle-
8. Volkmar Gantzhorn’s original work from the 1980s, es- ment and employment of the refugee Armenian artists from
tablishing the concept of the Christian carpet, is now over 30 Cilicia (who were renowned in their homeland for the beau-
years old and new research has revealed some flaws in his ty of their manuscript illuminations and gold and silver li-
theories. Nevertheless, his pioneering work on the Christian turgical objects) in decorating their vast new Tuscan church-
carpet has no match in modern Carpet Studies. es. Settled with their extended families and workshops in
towns in Tuscany all along the pilgrimage roads to Rome,
9. Beginning with the arrival of the nomadic Seljuks who
but especially in conservative Siena, their evolving artistic
formed the Sultanate of Rum (Rome) in central Anatolia in
output had a decidedly “Byzantine” flair.
1060. The Seljuks were Oghuz Turks who originated on the
Kazahk steppes of Turkestan north of the Caspian and Aral 16. It is even possible that the tattered relic fragment still
Seas. They converted to Sunni Islam around 985, and in the exists, hidden away within the sealed and consecrated altar
11th century began their migrations west into Asia Minor. that Pius dedicated upon the completion of the church in
the summer of 1462. The altar seal that Pius himself set has
10. It is possible that the Sienese repeating carpet was be- never been broken.
lieved to have been an actual item in the Virgin’s home at
the time of the Annunciation. As such, it might have been 17. When hard documents are lacking, anthropologists and
brought out on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, and sociologists often use “anthroponymic data,” where eth-
displayed during popular re-enactments of the holy event. nic names within a specific historical context often yield
considerable demographic information. For instance, the
11. See von Bode 1892. Wilhelm von Bode, the illustrious popularity in Italy of S. Biagio (St. Blasius or St. Blaise, an
scholar and collector who directed the Berlin Museums be- Armenian bishop martyred in what is now Sivas, Turkey)
fore WWI, collected the famous Dragon Carpet fragment in would indicate a migration of Armenians from what is now
the 1880s that was said to have come on the art market from northern Turkey or the Armenian Highlands. Over 80 Ital-
a church treasury in Umbria, Italy. It is possible that the ian churches are dedicated to S. Biagio, more than half of
Dragon Carpet fragment is the actual relic carpet depicted in them in Tuscany.
Florentine paintings; even if it is not, my research convinces
me of its Armenian origin. 18. McDonald 2005 found that 7 to 11% of randomly tested
Italian men had the distinctive Haplogroup “G” marker on
12. An even earlier wave of eastern Christian migration their Y or male chromosome, which according to Wikipedia,
came to the Italian peninsula in the 8th century, as Byzantine is “most common in the Caucasus, the Iranian plateau, and
iconoclasts forced Armenians and other eastern Christians Anatolia; in Europe mainly in Italy, Greece, northern Spain,
from the same areas to flee west carrying their precious art the Tyrol, as well as Bohemia, Moravia; Britain and Norway
works and relics with them — hence the establishment of at only 2%.” Although the sample of Italian men was small,
S. Gregorio Armeno in Naples, and the various relics of S. the unusually high percentage with this marker indicates
Bartolomeo that arrived in Rome during the same period. some eastern patrilineal descent.
13. Many intermarriages — both high and low — took place 19. The Belgian scholar Fredrik R. Martin, author of A His-
between Crusaders (and their non-soldier followers) and tory of Oriental Carpets before 1800 (Vienna, 1908), concluded

104
that eastern Christian weavers had a place in the history of 21. Although, I contend that it retained much of its sacra-
early Anatolian carpet production. His conclusions were mental significance especially in Dutch Golden Age genre
roundly dismissed by the American scholar Arthur Upham paintings. See my series of online lectures on “Re-Thinking
Pope and other traditionalists, who argued for Muslim ex- the Oriental Carpet in Early Renaissance Paintings,” Seg-
clusivity. ment VI, The Sacramental Carpet,” being filmed in the fall of
20. See Spallanzani 2007, p. 18, for an overview of the me- 2014. Contact the author for more information. For a visual
chanics of the late 15th century carpet trade in Florence. history of this era, and its sumptuous Persian and Turkish
Spallanzani’s archival work is a marvelous gift to carpet carpets, see Onno Ydema’s work Carpets and their Datings in
specialists: see especially documents 67b, 84, 88b, 98, and Netherlandish Paintings, 1540–1700 (Zutphen: Walburg Pers,
127 that mention the merchants involved, some of whom 1991).
(by their names) might have eastern Christian heritage.

105
 Safavid Carpets of the Tahmasp School and the
Tahmasp Shāhnāma

Gholamreza Yazdani
Mina Ranjbar
Masume Azarmdel
Maryam Rezai Banafshe Deraq
Tabriz

O ne can argue that the root of Persian fine art is un-

doubtedly the carpet. The intricate and colorful
designs of carpets give them an allure that transcends
certain, many would agree that the best carpets have
been woven in Iran. Since carpets wear out, their fab-
ric may disintegrate, and thus the preservation of an-
generations. It was captured by miniaturists during cient examples is problematic, documenting the histo-
the Golden Age of Persian painting in the 15th and 16th ry of carpet weaving in Iran prior to the 15th century
centuries. The detailed representations of early carpet is difficult. Nevertheless, the famous Pazyryk carpet,
designs in those miniatures helped shape the material some 2500 years old and long considered the oldest
contexts in which the artists were conveying their un- surviving example of a pile carpet, attests to carpet
derstanding of the immaterial world and expressing manufacture in Achaemenid Iran. In the pre-Islamic
spiritual values. The often precise replication by the Sasanian period, there is evidence regarding Khusro’s
painters of motifs on actual carpets provides import- Biharestan and Zimestan carpets which were adorned
ant documentation for writing the history of Persian with gold, silver, and gems. In the 9th and 10th centu-
carpet making, and it is generally accepted that the ries, carpets woven in Khorasan, Isfahan, and Azer-
painters were involved in carpet design. baijan were sent as a tax to the Abbasid Caliphs. Other
evidence, including some paintings, attests to weav-
To illustrate the close connection between carpet de-
ing carpets with specific designs and colors in the 12th
sign and contemporary painters’ record of it, this ar-
century (Behnam 1965, pp. 4-42).
ticle will focus on Safavid carpets woven in the work-
shops associated with Shah Tahmasp and miniatures Carpets were exported to Europe as early as the 13th
in the Tahmasp Shāhnāma. This period is considered century, ones perhaps similar to the oldest Seljuk car-
by many to represent the epitome of achievement in pet (now in Istanbul), which has geometrical patterns
these branches of the arts in Safavid Persia. The se- (Razavi 2008, p. 160). It is necessary to rely on minia-
lection here includes works where one can see similar tures for evidence about carpet design prior to the 15th
designs and colors. The growing recognition of the century, but several 15th-century miniatures convey
importance of Safavid carpets and miniatures has in- the quality of carpet design at that time. In the Timu-
spired a substantial scholarly literature and been the rid period of the late 14th–15th centuries, there was a
subject of several important conferences. A number of close relationship between carpet weaving and paint-
articles complement the present study but do not deal ing: miniatures depicted carpets and carpet-like pat-
directly with same issues. Daryayi (2006) has written terns, and the painted images in turn might influence
about design features in the carpets; Emami (1995) carpet design (Emami 1995, p. 156)
has studied the possible sources for those designs in Some of the finest carpets kept in world museums
Safavid carpets. A number of articles have discussed date to the Safavid Period. Given the importance Sa-
motifs used in both carpets and miniatures.1 favid rulers attached to this art, carpet weaving flour-
Some Background on the Carpet in Iran ished at this time: it was a Golden Age of carpet weav-
ing in Iran. The unique coincidence of factors such
Iranian carpets are like a mirror reflecting Iranian art as royal patronage, the influence of court designers at
and civilization. While the origin of this craft is un- all levels of artistic production, the wide availability
The Silk Road 12 (2014): 106 – 121 + Color Plates VII, VIII 106 Copyright © 2014 The authors
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
of locally produced raw materials and dyes, and com- ate that evidence first requires we consider the history
mercial acceptance, particularly in foreign markets, all of miniatures as they developed in the Safavid period.
contributed to this peak of excellence (Ibid., p. 75). Such small scale and richly detailed paintings have a
long history in Iran, but really bloomed under the Sa-
Among the Safavid rulers, as artists themselves,
favids.
Shah Ismail (r. 1501–1524) and Shah Tahmasp (r.
1524–1576) were important patrons in all the areas of After establishing Safavid rule, Shah Ismail (1501-
the arts, but especially in the carpet industry. Under 1524) made Tabriz his capital and summoned many
Shah Tahmasp, who had spent time in Herat before artists there. They worked in his library, where there
succeeding his father, there was a revival of interest were ateliers for book production. After his conquest
in and further development of the contributions made of Shiraz in 1504, he transferred some of its artists to
in the Mongol and Timurid periods to Persian culture. Tabriz; he also invited Abd al-Aziz from Isfahan to
The results in miniature painting and carpet design join them. It was probably toward the end of his reign
were outstanding (Pope and Ackerman 1987, p. 206). that Kamal al-Din Bihzad, the greatest miniaturist of
Shah Tahmasp was personally involved in carpet de- the time who had previously been employed by the
sign and commissioned important projects (Behnam Timurids in Herat, came to Tabriz to head the royal
1965, pp. 4–7). In his international diplomacy, he often library (Almasi 2001, pp. 48–49; Ashrafi 2005, p. 35;
donated valuable carpets to neighboring rulers, thus Sims 2001, pp. 60–63; Blair and Bloom 1995, pp. 165,
introducing Persian carpets to the other countries 167). Qasim ‘Ali, Shafi zade, and Aqa Mirak were
(Ferrier 1995, p. 123). miniaturists who accompanied Bihzad to Tabriz. In
this way was created the remarkable Tabriz miniature
Carpets woven at the time of Shah Tahmasp were
school.
technically superb. Their depiction of plants, both
realistically (for example, palm leaf motifs) and with Two important Iranian traditions came together in
stylized imagined flora, combined with a range of Tabriz, one associated with the patronage and art-
new motifs (Ettinghausen and Yarshater 2000, p. 300). ists of the earlier Turkoman rulers there (a “ruder
Among the outstanding examples of the carpets from and more original style”), the other with the Timurid
this period are the “Chelsea” and “Ardabil” carpets painters from Herat (a “refined style”) (Azhand 2005a,
(in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London), the p. 118; Grabar 2000, p. 61).3 The Herat school of min-
“Hunting” carpet (Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan), and iature painting embodied in the work of Bihzad and
the “Anhalt” carpet (Metropolitan Museum of Art, his followers had a significant influence on the work
New York) [Fig. 1a-d].2 that emerged in Tabriz in the early decades of the 16th
Safavid Miniatures Fig. 1. a) The “Chelsea” carpet. b) The “Ardabil” carpet; both Victoria
and Albert Museum, London. c) The “Hunting” carpet; Museo Poldi
Miniatures provide among the best evidence about
Pezzoli, Milan. d) The “Anhalt” carpet; Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the history of carpets, given the way they record pat-
New York. The individual images are not in the same scale (that is, the
terns and motifs (Sūr-e Esrafil 2001, p. 12). To appreci- lengths of the carpets are not identical). For photo sources, see n. 2.

107
century. Most scholars emphasize that their style in- Fig. 2. Detail showing the border of
volved a kind of “realism” in the depiction of architec- the Chelsea carpet.
ture and the drawing of human figures, placing them
in real-life contexts. The people inhabiting the images create a mystical world in
have varied poses and gestures; in Grabar’s words (p. which time and location are
62), “what is new is the life brought to every detail, es- meaningless, even if a pic-
pecially to the human figures, who have for the most ture might include clouds,
part lost their puppet- or marionette-like characteris- the sun or the moon. Loca-
tic.” At the same time, there are distinct influences of tions are strange and unknown, whether landscapes
Sufism in the late 15th-century paintings done in Herat with gardens or plains or houses that are more “vir-
(Sims 2001, p. 60; but cf. Grabar 2000, pp. 64–65). By tual” than earthly. Sometimes, the artists drew plain
the 1530s and 1540s, the painting done in Tabriz adds garments to suggest the puritan nature of dervishes’
an increasing attention to landscape with mountain- clothes. Wool hats without any ornament represent
ous rocks and bright colors: nature really comes alive hats woven by dervishes and Sufis (Hosseini 2008, pp.
(Ashrafi 2005, pp. 48–51). 42–83). The border of the Chelsea carpet has a design
reminiscent of the hat worn by Sufis [Fig. 2]. Insofar as
However, if the emphasis of the Herat school was on the founder of Safavid dynasty, Shah Ismail, was one
materiality and realism, the Tabriz school developed of the Sufis, it is possible to infer that his thoughts im-
a spiritual and mystical emphasis. Most of those in- pressed designers and weavers. Medallions in the Sa-
volved were followers of Sheikh Safi’s mystical school favid carpets represent domes of Emam Reza’s shrine
(Ketāb-e Māh 2011, p. 6). According to Alam Arayie (Miri 2002, pp. 21–22).
Shah Abbasi, Shah Ismail and Shah Tahmasp pro-
moted three principles in establishing national unity. Among the most gorgeous illuminated manuscripts
They were: Shiia, the interdependence Shiia and Su- of the Safavid period is the Tahmasp Shāhnāma, pro-
fism, and the close relationship of Shiia with ancient duced in the royal atelier [see pp. 111–15 below and
Iranian culture. At the time of Shah Tahmasp, these Color Plates VII, VIII]. The project was begun in the roy-
principles not only affected political and social issues al workshop in the last years of Shah Ismail, intended
but also made an impact on art (Emami 1995, p.75). as a gift to his son (Welch, p 17; Sims 2001, pp. 63–64).
Since Iranian art is deeply rooted in religious beliefs It was not completed until around 1537 in Shah Tah-
and insights, the effect of Sufism (taṣawwuf) on the de- masp’s workshop (Hosseini 2008, p: 231; Bahari 1997,
velopment of the Iranian miniature cannot be ignored. p. 191).4 The manuscript is of interest in part for the
It is possible that precisely this impact of Sufism dif- way it documents an important period in the evolu-
ferentiates the Iranian art of this period from that of tion of Persian miniature style. Given that more than
other countries. a dozen artists worked on it, the miniatures vary con-
siderably in both quality and style, some much more
Sufism has long history in Iran and more generally relecting the Turkoman traditions of Tabriz; others the
reached its fullest development in the middle Islamic style of the painters from Herat. In its size, fantastic
centuries. Sheikh Farīd al-Din Aṭṭār Nishaburi (a poet compositions, striking use of color and richness of the
and Sufi in the 13th century) described seven valleys of gilding on the pages, it is the most sumptuous book of
spirituality, which came to be invoked symbolically its time (Āzhand 2005a, pp. 115, 24; Blair and Bloom
in miniatures: 1. Quest, 2. Love, 3. Understanding or 1995, p. 168). A number of these features are truly in-
knowledge, 4. Contentment, 5. Unity, 6. Astonishment novative and can be credited to the artist Sultan Mu-
and bewilderment, 7. Deprivation and Death (Fana) hammad, who inspired subsequent generations of
(Sur-e Esrafil 2001, pp. 9–12). As Malherbe has stated painters, many of whom were his pupils, and some,
(1990, pp. 192–94), according to the Sufis, all existence members of his family. Welch has identified many of
comes from God and God alone is real. The created those who worked on the project under his supervi-
world is but a reflection of the Divine; “the universe sion: Mir Musavvir, Aqa Mirak, Dost Muhammad,
is the Shadow of the Absolute.” The ability to discern Mirza Ali, Muzaffar Ali, Shaykh Muhammad, Mir
God behind the screen of things implies purity of the Sayyid Ali, and Abd al-Samad (Grabar 2000, p. 67).
soul. It is only through an effort to withdraw from the
world that one can approach God: “Man is a mirror Similar features – the carpets depicted in Tahmasp’s
which, when polished, reflects God.” Shāhnāma and those produced in his carpet atelier

One of the characteristics of Sufism is timelessness There are various ways one might explore the connec-
and lack of specificity with regard to place. Its follow- tions between court painting and carpet manufacture.
ers should be independent of the material world. By One might argue that the products in the two media
using certain motifs and colors, miniaturists tried to had similar purposes. By their very nature, miniatures

108
Fig. 3 (above). The Ardabil carpet, as now displayed in the Islamic gallery of
the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Fig. 4. A modern replica of the Ardabil carpet in the Chini Khaneh at the
Ardabil shrine.
Photographs by Daniel C. Waugh.
can be viewed at one time only by very small num-
bers of privileged individuals, even if the lavishness
of their treatment was intended to convey an impres-
sion about the wealth of their patron and their content
convey a political or ideological message. Such man-
uscripts might be intended as gifts to foreign rulers—
whatever its original purpose, Tahmasp’s Shāhnāma
ended up in the treasury of the Ottoman sultans, a gift
to Sultan Selim II. Carpets could have similar purpos-
es, the most expensive ones not necessarily intended
as floor coverings (Ettinghausen 1971). They could
have been used to drape thrones, for example. Tradi-
tion has it that the Ardabil carpet (in fact there was a
pair of them) was made specifically to be given to the
shrine/mausoleum in Ardabil honoring Shaykh Safi,
the eponymous founder of the Safavid line [Figs. 3, 4].5 scale patterns would then have been made by trac-
While it is difficult to document Iranian carpet trade ing and enlarging as guides to the weavers, who
prior to the 16th century, clearly Safavid carpets found would have spent months or even years carrying
their way into foreign collections and were treasured. them out.
It is generally accepted that there was a close inter- Designing and dyeing a carpet are like painting a
connection between painters and carpet makers in miniature. The miniaturist has much greater freedom
the Persianate world of the late 15th century onwards to use colors and incorporate finely drawn motifs on
(Blair and Bloom 1995, p. 171; Masterpieces 2011, p. paper, but the dimension and size of knots in a carpet
258). Many of the decorative motifs found in minia- restricts its designer even if his aim is to produce car-
ture paintings probably were copied as stencils for use pets similar to paintings. In both cases the color pal-
by carpet designers. Stuart Cary Welch (1971, p. 7) ettes are striking, with natural dyes accounting for the
describes a scenario for what may have been involved characteristic Safavid carpet colors of green, yellow
in the creation of the famous Boston Museum hunting and brown set off against background colors of navy
carpet: blue, yellow, and reddish (Malūl 2005, p: 56).
The patron, in all likelihood Shah Tahmasp, the While our concern here is mainly with decorative
second Safavid shah, would have discussed the details, a few comments are in order about overall de-
matter with the director of the royal carpet ate- sign features. The carpets which we have chosen for
lier. Together they would have decided upon a our main examples either have a central medallion
subject. With the help of court painters, designs (e.g., the Milan hunt carpet, the Ardabil and Anhalt
would have been produced, or, conceivably, the carpets), may have two such medallions (the Chelsea
carpet designer would have gone through minia- carpet) or a main field without the medallion that is
ture paintings and drawings in the royal library filled entirely with repetitive design elements (e.g.,
and in the workshops and selected motifs to be several of the other hunting carpets). Cartouches may
enlarged and adapted to his own purposes. Full be added to the main field along with decorative el-
109
ements such as hanging lamps. In most instances of Acknowledgement
these designs, they are symmetrical, though in details
showing animals and hunters, the hunting carpets The editor of The Silk Road, Daniel Waugh, made a
may not have exact symmetry. Interestingly, the de- number of significant additions to the final version of
signer of the Ardabil carpet seems to have taken into this paper.
account the perspective of those who presumably
would have sat around it; so he adjusted the size of the About the authors
lamp images and pendant decorations accordingly.
Gholamreza Yazdani is a conservator and the Direc-
Decorative details included elements that derive tor of Azerbaijan Museum in Tabriz. He has an M.A.
from earlier traditions in the arts of Iran: arabesques, in restoration of historical artifacts from Tehran Uni-
arabesque scrolls (khatayi), vegetal elements including versity, teaches at the university, and does research
lotus and other flowers, palmate leaves and trees. Bird on ceramic tiles and on Safavid artifacts. He has been
motifs (for example, peacocks) are common, as are supervisor and advisor of many theses on handicrafts.
many of the wild animals that either symbolized royal
power or may have been the objects of the royal hunt, Mina Ranjbar, who is on the museum staff, has an
although none of the examples of carpets we have M.A. in English Literature from Tabriz University. She
chosen here from the Shāhnāma include depictions of does research on mythical patterns on the historical
fauna. What we encompass with the general term “ar- artifacts, and for her dissertation has done a compar-
abesque” might include stylized motifs of vegetation ative study of animal images in the poetry of Sylvia
that can be found in arts of Iran as far back as the Ach- Plath and Ted Hughes in the light of mythology. She
aemenid and Sasanian periods when they had associa- has written on goddesses in Sylvia Plath’s Ariel collec-
tions with Mithraism and Zoroastrianism (Malūl 2005, tion, and has a forthcoming book on the stamps and
p. 110). In their transformations over time, they served cylinder seals of the Azerbaijan Museum. Her transla-
as sources for other motifs such as boteh jeghe or what tion and editing projects relating to the collections of
came to be known as paisley designs. It is possible the museum include: East Azerbaijan: Paradise of Iran
to trace how arabesque scrolls in spiral or snakelike (Adine Press, 2011); An Overview of Cultural Heritage
forms, which initially were repeated but not linked, and Tourism of East Azerbaijan (Adine Press, 2005).
then come to be joined and, adorned with flowers and Masume Azarmdel, has a B.A. in Handicrafts; she has
leaves create arabesque scrolls (khatayi) (Malūl 2005, done research Persian miniature painting. She pro-
p. 22; Vazīrī 1961, pp. 7–83, 206). Careful attention was duced most of the drawings of the carpet details.
given to coordinating the designs of the borders and
Maryam Rezai Banafshe Deraq also has a B.A. in
the main field of the carpet (Daryayi 2006, p. 31). Some
Handicrafts and collaborated in drawing the images.
of the design elements were imports, such as Chinese
cloud bands, which can be found in Iranian painting
as early as the 14th century and then became common
throughout the Safavid period.
Where carpets are no longer extant, their depictions
in miniatures may give us an idea of what those car-
pets may have been like, even if in many cases the
painted images may be compositions drawing on the
painter’s design repertoire rather than from seeing the
carpets themselves. In the analytical tables which fol-
low here, we have taken examples from the Tahmasp
Shāhnāma where carpets are illustrated, provided line
drawings of the carpet designs in them, and separated
out the decorative motifs. Then we proceed to com-
parisons between such design elements in actual car-
pets and those found in the miniatures. These tables
thus demonstrate what a systematic comparison of
the designs in the two media can suggest about the
relationship between them.

110
 general shape

interior border

exterior border

arabesque scroll
(khatayi)

arabesque

Kay Khusrau invites Tus.

After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005 , p. 276.

111
 general shape

margin/
border

arabesque
scroll
(khatayi)

background
arabesque

Siavash receives gifts from Afrasyab.

After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005, p. 264.

112
 general shape

margin/border

arabesque scroll
background

background
arabesque

Sindukht and Rudabeh.

After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005, p. 254.

113
 general shape

interior margin/
border

exterior margin/
border

arabesque scroll

arabesque

Snakes growing from Zahhak’s shoulders.

After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005, p. 232.

114
 general shape

border

arabesque scroll
(khatayi)

arabesque

Kava tears Zahhak’s scroll.

After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005, p. 234

115
 shape location of the carpet

inside the enclosure,

outdoors
rosette
(four petals)
inside the enclosure,
on the bench

rosette
on hexagonal bench (five petals)

narcissus
on octagonal bench (daffodil)

flower in shape
of butterfly
Table 1. Shapes of carpets in miniatures.

lotus palmette

filled
arabesque
lotus palmette

hollow
arabesque
leaves

cloud
arabesque
Lancelot palmette

chain
arabesque
blossom

arabesque
sign

Table 3. Floral elements in Arabesque scrolls

(khatayi) in miniatures

Table 2. Arabesque designs in miniatures.

116
Comparing Carpets of the Shah Tahmasp School with Those Depicted
in Miniatures of the Tahmasp Shāhnāma

Details of borders on carpets Details of borders on carpets in miniatures

of the Shah Tahmasp school of the Tahmasp Shāhnāma

Table 4. Comparison of borders.

117
Background details — Tahmasp school Background details — miniatures
carpets

Table 5. Comparison of background details.

118
 Details — Tahmasp school carpets Details — miniatures

Table 6. Additional comparisons of details in carpets

and in the miniatures of the Shāhnāma.

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Almasi 2001 qadim Iran” [The role of fine arts among old Iranians]. Ma-
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shanzdehn milady [A Survey of Persian Miniature Painting man-i ‘Ilmī Īrān [Journal of the Iranian Carpet Association].
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Āzhand 2005a teenth Century.” Boston Museum Bulletin 69 (No. 355/356)
Ya’qūb Āzhand. Maktab-ye nigārʹgarī-ye Tabrīz va Qaz- (1971): 15-20.
vīn-Mashhad [The Tabriz and Qazvin-Mashhad School of Emami 1995
Painting]. Tehran: Farhangistan-i Hunar, 1384 [2005].
Karim Emami. “Bāzʹgasht yak Shāhnāmah nakis” [The re-
Āzhand 2005b turn of an exquisite Shāhnāma]. Faslnāmah-i hunar [Art Quar-
_______. Sīmā-ye Sultān Muhammad Naqqāsh [The Life of Sul- terly] No. 29 (1995).
tan Muhammad the Painter].Tehran: Shadrang, 2005.
Ettinghausen 1971
Bahari 1997 Richard Ettinghausen. “The Boston Hunting Carpet in
Ebadollah Bahari. Bihzad: Master of Persian Painting. Lon- Historical Perspective.” Boston Museum Bulletin 69 (No.
don: I. B. Tauris, 1997. 355/356): 70-81.
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Richard Ettinghausen; Ehsan Yarshater (eds.). Awj’hā-ye dar Heshmat Razavi. Sayr-ye tahūl ve tatūr tārīkh farsh-e bāfi
Khashān-e hunar-i Īrān [Highlights of Persian Art. Tr. Hor- Īrān [A Survey of the evolution and development of carpet
moz Abdolahi; Ruyin Pakbaz. Tehran: Agah, 2000 (Original weaving in Iran]. Tehran: Samt, 2008.
ed., Boulder, CO: Westview, 1979).
Shāhnāma 2013
Ferrier 1995 Shāhnāmah-ye Shāh Tahmāsbī [The Shah Tahmasp Shāhnā-
Ronald W. Ferrier. Hunar’hā-ye Īrān [The arts of Persia]. Tr. ma]. Tehran: Mūzih-i Hunarhā-ye Mu’asir-e Tihrān, 2013.
Parviz Marzban. Tehran. Farzan-e Rooz, 1995.
Sims 2002
Grabar 2000
Eleanor Sims (with Boris I. Marshak and Ernst J. Grube).
Oleg Grabar. Mostly Miniatures: An Introduction to Persian Peerless Images. Persian Painting and Its Sources. New Haven;
Painting. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton Univ. Pr., 2000 (tr. London: Yale Univ. Pr., 2002.
from original ed., La peinture persane: Une introduction, Paris:
Sūr-e Esrafil 2001
Presses Universitaires de France, 1999).
Shirin Sūr-e Esrafil. Trāhān bizrag farsh-e Īrān. Sayr-ye dir
Hosseini 2008
mirahal tahūl trāhi farsh-e Īrān [Great Iranian carpet design-
Habibollah Hosseini et.al. (eds.) Dāyira-ye Al-ma’ārif ers: A Survey of the development of Iranian carpet design].
‘Omūmī-ye Rishtah‘hā-ye Sanayi Dast-ee Īrān [General Ency- Tehran: Peikan, 2001.
clopedia of Iran Handicrafts]. Vol. 1. Tehran: Habib Hossei-
Vazīrī 1961
ni, 2008.
’Alī Naqī Vazīrī. Tārīkh-e ‘umūmī-ye hunar’hā-ye musavvar [A
Ketāb-e Māh 2011 General History Pictorial Art]. Vol.2. Tehran: Dānishgāh-i
[“Cultural - Historical Background of Miniature Designs in Tihrān, 1961.
Iranian Carpets” (Interview with Ayat Allahi, Habib Allah)]. Welch 1971
Ketāb-e Māh. The Arts. Vol. 153, Iran Book House Press, 2011.
Stuart C. Welch, Jr. “Two Shahs, Some Miniatures, and the
Malherbe 1990 Boston Carpet.” Boston Museum Bulletin 69 (No. 355/356):
6–14.
Michel Malherbe. Les Religions de l’Humanité. Paris: Ed.
Critérion, 1990. Welch 1976
_______. Royal Persian Manuscripts. London: Thames and
Malūl 2005 Hudson, 1976.
Ghulām ‘Alī Malūl. Bahāristān: darīchah’ī bih qālī-ye Īrān [Ba-
haristan: A Window into the Iran Carpet]. Tehran: Zarrīn va Notes
Sīmīn, 2005.
1. While her particular example is earlier than the ones we
Masterpieces 2011 are considering here, readers should be aware that Eleanor
Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in the Metropol- Sims (2002, pp. 191–92) has expressed some reservations
itan Museum of Art. Ed. Maryam D. Ekhtiar et al. New York: about the degree to which miniature paintings depicting
Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven & London: Yale carpets can be taken as a faithful representation of actual
Univ. Pr., 2011. carpets. She wonders “whether the aesthetics of one distinc-
tive and sophisticated art form—a woven one—could ever
Miniature Masterpieces 2005
be found truly reproduced in an utterly different, and even
Shāhkār’hā-ye Miniyatur-e Īrān [Miniature Masterpieces of more sophisticated art form, whose purpose was highly for-
Iran]. Tehran: Mūzih-e Hunarhā-ye Mu’asir-e Tihrān. 2005. mal, whose mode was archetypal, and whose practitioners
Miri 2002 did not necessarily choose to reproduce anything—much
less literally so—unless it served the internal aesthetics of
Reza Miri. “Klasism va ʻAsr-e Safavi” [Classicism and the painting.”
Safavid Period]. Faslnāmah-i farhangi hunar-i iqtisādī itti-
hādīyah Sadir Khanandegan Farsh-ye Īrān [Cultural, Artistic, 2. For the Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Chelsea Carpet”
and Economic Magazine of the Iranian Carpet Exporters’ (Museum no. 589-1890) see <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/
Association] No. 20 (2002). item/O85144/the-chelsea-carpet-carpet-unknown/>; for
its “Ardabil Carpet” (Museum no. 272-1893), <http://col-
Pope and Ackerman 1987
lections.vam.ac.uk/item/O54307/the-ardabil-carpet-car-
Arthur Upham Pope; Phyllis Ackerman. Sayr dar hunar-e pet-unknown/>, both web pages including many detailed
Īrān az dawrān-e chish az tārīkh-e tā imrūz [A Survey of Per- photographs. For the Metropolitan Museum’s Anhalt Carpet
sian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present]. Tr. Najaf (accession no. 46.168), see <http://www.metmuseum.org/
Darya Bandari et. al. Tehran: Elmi Farhangi, 1987 (Contains collection/the-collection-online/search/450716?rpp=30&p-
vols. 11, 12, and 13 of the original English ed., New York and g=1&gallerynos=462&rndkey=20141103&ft=*&pos=11>,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1938-39). where there are many close-up details; also Masterpieces

120
2011, pp. 257-58. For the “Hunting Carpet” in the Museo 3. Grabar, whose phrases are quoted here, expresses reser-
Poldi Pezzoli, Inventory No. D.T.1, see <http://www.mu- vations as to whether it is possible to assign artistic styles to
seopoldipezzoli.it/#!/it/scopri/collezioni/1095>, which specific localities in the way that is normally done; he con-
includes a link to the two-minute audio guide description siders that there was a very fluid pattern of artistic exchange
(in Italian) but no close-up photographic details. An analo- and influence not so easily connected with one “school” or
gous animal carpet is that in the Metropolitan Museum (Inv. another.
no. 14.40.721), on which see Masterpieces 2011, pp. 261–63,
4. Various dates have been given for the Shāhnāma project:
and <http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collec-
it may have started only in the year of Shah Ismailo’s death,
tion-online/search/446642?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=animal+car-
1524; its completion could have been around 1540.
pet&pos=1>; other famous examples are in Boston and Vi-
enna. In his analysis of all these hunting carpets in a special
5. This tradition apparently is not supported by explicit doc-
volume of the Boston Museum Bulletin devoted to the one
umentation. See the skepticism of Blair and Bloom, 1995,
in its collection, Dimand (1971, esp. p. 16) argues that the
p. 171. It is not clear that the two carpets could have fitted
Milan carpet must be dated 1522–23, given its distinct sty-
into the antechamber to Sheykh Safi’s tomb. A replica of
listic differences from the Boston and Vienna examples of
the Ardabil carpet, presumably full size, is currently in the
hunting carpets and from the Ardabil carpet, all of which
Chīnī-khāna, built in the early 17th century and the repository
were produced later, in Shah Tahmasp’s reign. If he is right,
for Shah Abbas I’s collection of Chinese porcelain. Howev-
then the inscription in the central medallion which indi-
er, that carpet is too long for the space.
cates a date of the early 1540s must be a later addition. That
number of the Boston Museum’s Bulletin contains detailed
photographs from these several carpets, which allow one to
compare their decorative elements.

121
 Huang Wenbi:
Pioneer of Chinese Archaeology in Xinjiang

Justin M. Jacobs
American University

W henever one thinks of the history of the Silk

Road and of the explorers and archaeologists
who first unearthed its myriads of ancient treasures,
Nikolai Petrovskii, Otani Kozui, Tachibana Zuicho,
George Macartney, Clarmont Skrine, Gustav Manner-
heim, and perhaps even Ellsworth Huntington. One
a select group of names readily comes to mind: Sven name that is rarely included within such lists, howev-
Hedin, Aurel Stein, Albert von Le Coq, and Paul Pel- er, is Huang Wenbi (1893–1966) [Fig. 1], the first Chi-
liot, to name just a few of the most famous (or infa- nese archaeologist to undertake excavations in Xinji-
mous, depending on your perspective). For those ang. An international symposium dedicated entirely
scholars who are somewhat more familiar with the to Huang’s life and career, held in Urumqi in October
history of the expeditions themselves, other explor- 2013 and sponsored by Xinjiang Normal University 新
ers and influential personages are just as well known: 疆师范大学 and the newly established Huang Wenbi
Institute 黄文弼中心, constitutes the first significant
attempt to reassess his legacy.
The conference, in which scholars from China, Ja-
pan, Europe, and America all participated, was held
in tandem with the publication of three substantial
collections of articles likely to be of interest to anyone
who studies some aspect of the history of the Silk Road
in northwestern China. For historians and linguists of
the pre-modern era, the most useful volume is likely
to be Collected Papers on the Documents Discovered by
Huang Wenbi in the Western Regions 黄文弼所获西域文
献论集 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2013), edited by the
noted Dunhuang scholar Rong Xinjiang. In his pref-
ace, Rong observes that scholars have long referred
to repositories of manuscripts and artifacts in London
or Paris as “the Stein collection” or “the Pelliot collec-
tion,” but that no one ever refers to “the Huang Wenbi
collection,” despite its comparable size. As Rong him-
self also notes, however, this is a natural result of the
historical inaccessibility of the collection, a situation
akin to similar collections held in the former Soviet
Union. Now that materials from all such previously
restricted holdings are rapidly being made available
through facsimile reproductions and electronic repos-
itories, Rong hopes that more scholars will be able to

Fig. 1. Huang Wenbi. After: 黄文弼研究论集 2013, frontispiece.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 122 – 131 122 Copyright © 2014 Justin M. Jacobs
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
take advantage of the wealth of material that Huang has not yet received the serious scholarly treatment it
collected during his expeditions to Xinjiang. The ar- deserves. By means of a careful analysis of the person-
ticles in this volume, authored by a balanced mix of al diary Huang kept during his first and most famous
Chinese, Japanese, and Western scholars, represent expedition to Xinjiang (1927–30), it is hoped that more
some of the first systematic attempts to integrate the scholars, both within China and abroad, will recognize
“the Huang Wenbi collection” into wider fields of the enormous potential of a field of study dedicated to
comparative scholarship. the life and times of Huang Wenbi, in much the same
Two other volumes offer an eclectic sampling of ar- way that other fields of study have grown up around
ticles relating mostly to Huang’s life and career in a the lives of men like Aurel Stein or Sven Hedin.
historical context, though some continue to pursue
the above volume’s focus on analyzing the actual ar- A Life of Obscurity
chaeological material that Huang brought back from Up until very recently, the name Huang Wenbi has
Xinjiang. Collected Essays on Huang Wenbi 黄文弼研究 been relatively unknown outside of China. Even with-
论集 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2013), edited by Zhu in China, he enjoys nowhere near the prestige and
Yuqi and Wang Xinchun, includes articles of both his- recognition of other contemporaries in related fields.
torical and historiographical import, many of which Why? Two explanatory frameworks may go some way
were first published several decades ago [Fig. 2]. Gen- in helping to understand his neglect: language and
erally speaking, the later the date of original publi- politics. The first explanation is largely responsible
cation, the higher the quality of scholarship. Though for his obscurity outside of China and Japan. Huang
some of the articles included in this volume break new was educated entirely within China, obtaining all of
ground in going beyond mere admiration of the man his degrees from Peking University in the late 1910s
and his work, too many of them simply cover more or and early 1920s, and never traveled abroad. Though it
less the same standard points of biographical interest, seems he could read publications in major European
lacking both new sources and new interpretations. Six languages pertaining to his field, and was able to car-
entire articles, for instance, are authored by Huang’s ry on basic conversations with his foreign colleagues
son, and belong more to the category of studied rem- — apparently in English or German — his own work
iniscences than scholarship. Far more promising is
The International Symposium on Huang Wenbi and the
Sino-Swedish Northwest China Scientific Expedition 黄文
弼与中瑞西北科学考察学术研讨会论文集, a collection
of papers presented at the international conference in
Urumqi in 2013. Here one finds cutting-edge research
into Huang’s life and work, put forth by new and
promising scholars—mostly from mainland China—
for whom the restrictive politics and scholarly taboos
of earlier generations exert less influence than they
did on their forbears.
The purpose of the present article is to bring
much-needed attention to the lively reassessment of
Huang Wenbi’s life and work currently underway,
and further to contribute to the emerging field of
“Huang Wenbi studies.” For the historian of twenti-
eth-century China, the life and times of Huang Wenbi
offer original and rare insights into the relationship
between foreign scholars and their Chinese counter-
parts during an era of great upheaval. Huang came of
age during a time when the global monopoly of West-
ern and Japanese scholarly institutions was gradual-
ly — and reluctantly—giving way to the determined
efforts of Chinese scholars to join the ranks of an in-
ternational scientific elite. Though it was a protracted,
painful, and highly illuminating process, it is one that

Fig. 2. The cover of 黄文弼研究论集 with an expedition photo of

Huang Wenbi.

123
was published exclusively in Chinese, and remains so el to which all foreign scholars are expected to ad-
to this day. This stands in stark contrast to some of here should they desire to do work in China. For Xu
his more well-known contemporaries — such as the Bingxu, the professor of philosophy at Peking Univer-
archaeologist Li Ji or anthropologist Fei Xiaotong — sity who was selected as Co-Director of the expedition
who were educated abroad and saw to it that their alongside Sven Hedin, the venture was regarded as a
works appeared in both English and Chinese. That politically successful enterprise that paid professional
Huang did not survive the Cultural Revolution, suc- dividends for the rest of his life. Xu’s diary of his ex-
cumbing to his persecutors on a snowy winter day periences, first published in 1930, has long attracted
in 1966, similarly deprived him of the opportunity to scholarly attention and is frequently reprinted.
oversee a revival of his scholarship during the reform
In stark contrast, Huang’s diary, amounting to 565
era.
typeset pages, was never even prepared for publica-
Another inhibiting factor related to language is the tion during his lifetime. (It is a wonder at all that the
fact that many of Huang’s discoveries contained an- original handwritten manuscript managed to survive
cient Central Asian scripts and languages. Indeed, as Huang’s persecution during the Cultural Revolution).
will become evident in the analysis to follow, this is Only through the unstinting efforts of Huang’s son,
one of the more important and compelling aspects of Huang Lie, was the manuscript rescued and edited
Huang’s legacy, and one that carries profound impli- during the reform era, finally seeing the light of day
cations for the political and cultural debates attendant in 1990. What can account for such a delay? Articles
on any “frontier expedition.” In the context of his time, by Li Xun and Håkan Wahlquist, appearing in two
however, the unfortunate result was that few scholars of the three volumes published on the occasion of the
within China had the linguistic expertise which might 2013 conference, both give prominence to a series of
have allowed them to study Huang’s collection with remarkable entries in the second and third volumes
profit, even if it had been accessible to them. As Wang of Hedin’s massive History of the Expedition in Asia,
Guowei observed in the 1920s, “none of our country- 1927–1935, long the chief narrative of the expedition
men have yet studied these sorts of ancient languag- with which most people outside of China are familiar.
es.” As a result, those who wanted to unlock the secrets As Wahlquist notes, it is in these portions of the nar-
of non-Chinese documents and artifacts discovered in rative, particularly the one detailing Hedin’s return to
Xinjiang “have no choice but to look toward England, Beijing in 1934, that Hedin takes the unprecedented
France, and Germany” (Wang 1999, p. 52). (Even to- and — for him — highly unusual step of vilifying one
day, roughly half of the articles contained in Collected of his adversaries in print. That adversary is Huang
Papers on the Documents Discovered by Huang Wenbi in Wenbi, whom Hedin repeatedly disparages as an un-
the Western Regions [2013] have been penned by West- scrupulous rumor-monger and relentless saboteur of
ern or Japanese scholars). And yet scholars from these Hedin’s most recent collaboration with the Nationalist
latter countries could not obtain access to the collec- government in Nanjing: a motor expedition across In-
tion during the tumultuous decades subsequent to ner Mongolia and Xinjiang intended to produce blue-
Huang’s return to Beijing in 1930. Furthermore, the prints for future road construction.
fact that Huang was not chiefly engaged in the recov-
Outside of China, these provocative entries have
ery of classically oriented sources, filled with symbolic
most likely escaped previous scrutiny simply because
nationalist potential — such as the Shang oracle bones
Huang was such an unknown and shadowy figure
unearthed by Li Ji at the government-funded Anyang
within the standard histories of the Silk Road and its
site in Henan — could only further undermine his
latter-day expeditions. Within China, the reason no
prospects for scholarly celebrity.
one has highlighted these entries prior to Li Xun’s
Matters of linguistic import notwithstanding, the article in 2012 can only be due to the fact they touch
chief reason Huang has fared so poorly in the histor- upon extremely sensitive issues located at the heart of
ical imagination is due to politics. More specifically, nationalist narratives of scholarly collaboration with
it is due to the politically charged tensions Huang foreign explorers. In short, as a result of his unprec-
maintained with both Chinese and foreign members edented willingness to re-organize his Swedish and
of the famous and much touted Sino-Swedish North- German expedition as a joint Sino-Swedish venture,
west Scientific Expedition to Xinjiang (1927–33). Billed Sven Hedin has long occupied a cherished position
both then and today as the first scientific expedition atop the pantheon of enlightened and progressive
to Xinjiang in which Chinese and foreign specialists foreign scholars sympathetic to, and respectful of,
participated on equal footing and on terms respect- Chinese concerns. That Huang Wenbi, a relatively
ful to Chinese political and cultural sovereignty, the low-ranking member of this expedition, would later
Sino-Swedish expedition has long occupied a hal- incur Hedin’s very public wrath for suggesting that
lowed and sacrosanct position within China as a mod- Hedin had been less than honest in adhering to the
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stipulation of the Nationalist government that he not My colleagues and I have been deputed by the
engage in archaeological excavations during the 1934 Chinese Association of Academic Organizations to
motor expedition — Huang even alleges that Hedin serve as members of the Northwest Scientific Ex-
conspired to smuggle his finds out of China altogether pedition, entrusted with the task of excavating an-
— thus presents a very serious problem. tiquities and other assignments. Originally Hedin,
Li’s and Wahlquist’s findings naturally lead to even a Swede, had planned to organize a large-scale ex-
more questions. If, for instance, Huang’s relationship pedition to northwestern China to excavate antiq-
with Hedin could end with such public acrimony uities and study the geology, climate, etc. Chinese
in the mid-1930s—and still bother Hedin enough to scholars expressed their opposition. After negoti-
consider the episode worthy of inclusion in his offi- ations, China sent five scholars and five students
cial narrative of the expedition a full decade later — to accompany the survey. I was one of the schol-
could there also be signs of discord during the orig- ars. As a result, our task was twofold. On the one
inal Sino-Swedish expedition in 1927–30? If so, then hand, we were to supervise the foreigners, and on
the outlines of Huang’s historiographical ostraciza- the other hand we were to carry out scientific in-
tion might finally be within our reach. In other words, vestigations. [Huang 1990, p. 1]
was Huang’s feud with Hedin one of the chief reasons Xu Bingxu, the professor of philosophy at Peking
why Huang’s diary was deemed unfit for publication University who was chosen as the Chinese Co-Direc-
during the entirety of Huang’s natural life? And, by tor of the expedition, expressed similar sentiments in
extension, could this be responsible for his margin- the preface to his published diary. Noting the unprec-
alization both from scholarly and from popular nar- edented nature of the Sino-Swedish collaboration, Xu
ratives of archaeological expeditions to Xinjiang? let it be known that all future proposals for foreign
This theory appears even more promising when we expeditions in China would have to follow this new
consider the diary of Chinese Co-Director Xu Bingxu model. “As for our posture toward foreigners,” Xu
— Huang’s colleague and superior — who was able wrote, “we will embrace them with friendship and
to publish his narrative of the expedition almost im- welcome those who are willing to cooperate with us.
mediately upon the return of most of its members to But for those who pursue an agenda of cultural ag-
Beijing in 1930. For instance, while Xu was only too gression (wenhua qinlue 文化侵略), hoping to pillage
willing to print his criticisms of some of the rank-and- and carry off our precious resources, we will find a
file foreign members of the expedition, he always por- way to resist them and prevent their return to our
trays Hedin himself as beyond reproach. land” (Xu 2000, p. 2).
Huang, however, does not. Thus it is with the above
Although both men professed similarly lofty goals,
backdrop in mind that we now turn to a close read-
there was a key occupational difference between
ing of Huang’s diary itself, in order to paint a fuller
them, and it was one destined to give rise to tensions
picture of the many tensions attendant upon a schol-
in the field. In short, Xu’s appointment to the expedi-
arly venture between Chinese and foreigners during
tion was based upon political considerations, whereas
a key transitional period in modern Chinese history.
Huang was attached to its roster on the strength of his
Huang’s diary will also prove instructive in challeng-
scientific qualifications. In other words, Xu was not
ing some of the conventional wisdom regarding the
trained to undertake excavations in the field, nor did
attitude of Chinese scholars in the eastern metropole
he. He was appointed to the expedition solely for the
toward the linguistic and ethnic heterogeneity of the
prestige of his name and willingness to endure hard-
distant non-Han borderlands. Ultimately, the follow-
ship. As a result, it is clear that Xu had a greater stake
ing analysis will show that the career of Huang Wenbi,
in adhering to a politically correct narrative of the
the first professional Chinese archaeologist to conduct
expedition than did Huang, who was more likely to
fieldwork in Xinjiang, bears a striking resemblance to
see himself in direct methodological competition with
that of Aurel Stein, toward whom Huang harbored
the Swedish and German members of the expedition.
equal parts admiration and jealousy.
And the politically correct line of the day, one that has
continued down almost to the present, was that Sven
Huang and the Teutons
Hedin was an enlightened foreigner whose actions on

this expedition stood as sufficient atonement for his
The opening lines of The Diary of Huang Wenbi during
past “imperialist” activities in China.
an Expedition to Mongolia and Xinjiang (Huang Wenbi
Meng Xin kaocha riji 黄文弼蒙新考察日记), make it In his diary, Xu always refers to Hedin as “Mr. He-
clear how Huang regarded the nature of his mission din” or “Dr. Hedin.” Huang, however, never refers to
to Xinjiang: Hedin by anything other than his unadorned surname,
reserving such titles of respect only for “Mr. Xu” and
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the other Chinese members of his party. On several have made him out to be. But Huang’s diary provides
occasions, Xu records his admiration for the spirit of a very different perspective, including several key ep-
scientific discovery and unflagging persistence of He- isodes that Xu chose either to omit or severely circum-
din, as was the case when the latter muddied himself scribe in his narrative. Here we will limit our analysis
in the water in order to measure the velocity of a river to four of the most telling: the filming of a traveling
current. “We Chinese may laugh at them now,” Xu ob- theater troupe, a proposal to survey the ruins of the
served, “but it is only later that we will come to realize Great Wall, the camel thief episode, and access to stra-
that the levels of judgment and tolerance exhibited by tegic military sites.
foreigners are very difficult to reach” (p. 94). By con-
trast, Huang demonstrated little interest in holding On June 26, 1927, a traveling contingent of the
up his foreign colleagues as a model for his country- Flower and Drum Opera Troupe passed by the expe-
men to emulate. What he wanted more than anything dition’s encampment in a part of what is now Inner
else was to become that model himself. When Huang Mongolia. Huang thought “their performance and
learned early on that the Swedish archaeologist Folke lyrics were very crass and depraved,” and took so-
Bergman had already uncovered a large number of ar- lace in the fact the new Nationalist government in the
tifacts, and that Hedin was promising a reward of up south had already issued a ban on its performance, so
to 5,000 dollars to anyone who discovered “the next as to “improve the customs and habits of the people.”
Loulan,” Huang let his competitive spirit be known: Much to Huang’s chagrin, however, “the foreigners
decided to take a motion picture of it, with the intent
Mr. Xu laughed and said that no one should tell of showing it to audiences overseas and exposing
Mr. Huang about this, or he will certainly go look- the backwardness of the Chinese race. How very hu-
ing for two ancient cities, and we shall have to give miliating!” Worst of all, Huang continued, was that
him 10,000 dollars. Hedin agreed, saying we abso- Co-Director Xu Bingxu refused to stand up for what
lutely cannot let Mr. Huang know about this. But Huang thought was right. “I made strenuous attempts
Mr. Xu then turned his head around and told me. I to suggest that they not do this, but Mr. Xu did not
laughed, and said that the discovery of one ancient approve. What a shame” (Huang 1990, p. 24). When
city is nothing, for when I get to Xinjiang I expect to Huang again broached the fate of this film with one
discover an entire kingdom. [Huang 1990, p. 112] of his Chinese colleagues, he concluded that Xu’s “ex-
Whereas Xu was eager to participate in a Chinese cessive weakness and pliability (guoyu ruanruo 过于软
and German language exchange arrangement with 弱)” were a “cause for concern” (p. 34).
Hedin, Huang kept his distance, despite his linguistic One week later, Huang proposed a side trip to in-
deficiencies. And though both Xu and Huang record vestigate rumors that a ruined portion of the Qin
criticisms of their foreign colleagues, Huang’s are far “Great Wall” was nearby. “I decided to head out and
more scathing and indiscriminate. Xu, however, took investigate it,” Huang wrote on July 1, “but was pre-
great care to insulate Hedin from censure. The best vented from doing so by the foreigners. This made
illustration of this comes from the arrival of the expe- me extremely angry and sad” (p. 26). Four days later,
dition in Hami, its first major stop within the borders Co-Director Xu took up the proposal with Hedin, and
of Xinjiang. Faced with orders from the governor that Huang recorded them “talking endlessly” in his diary.
every member’s baggage must be opened and inspect- According to Huang, Hedin initially demurred on the
ed, some of the European members dug in for a fight. pretext that there were not enough camels to permit
Calling their intransigence “very immature” and “un- their departure from the party. When faced with Xu’s
reasonable,” Xu wrote that he could not “countenance lobbying on Huang’s behalf, however, Hedin changed
any foreigner enjoying special privileges within my tack, telling Xu “that this part of the wall had already
country.” After several of the foreigners decided to been noted on European maps.” Hedin’s ever-chang-
eat separately from the Chinese, Xu proceeded to dis- ing excuses did not sit well with Huang. “I suspect
parage them in his diary. “Faced with such nonsense that Hedin is simply trying to frustrate us. Originally
and their childish temper, I could only let them go.” when we broached this matter with Hedin, he didn’t
Several days later, however, Hedin, sidelined during know anything about it. Now that we’ve told him it
the dispute with a fever, returned and “asked about might be the Qin wall, he says that it has already been
the course of the luggage inspection and why we were discovered. Could it be that he doesn’t want the Chi-
eating separately. He then roundly castigated Mas- nese to be the first to discover it?” (p. 27)
senbach and the others” (Xu 2000, pp. 164, 166).
Several months later, one of the expedition’s Han
If we only had Xu’s version of events to go by, then porters attempted to abscond in the night with two
it would seem like Hedin really was the foreign saint camels. Though both Huang and Xu recorded this
that seven decades of glowing Chinese historiography event, their responses could not be more different.

126
Huang wrote that he was “greatly ashamed of this straight into the heartland of China via Central
Chinese man, who has no self-respect and whose ac- Asia and the Pamir plateau, without having to
tions have led to a loss of face for all of us.” Wishing travel around the ocean. China has already lost its
to “prevent the foreigners from applying their own riverine shipping routes to foreigners, and this is
form of private punishment,” Huang and the rest of cause for regret to this day. [Huang 1990, p. 33]
his Chinese colleagues decided to deliver the thief to
Huang concluded the matter by expressing his re-
the local officials. Soon, however, Huang’s indigna-
solve to “restrict them from any and all strategic mili-
tion turned to pity:
tary regions” (p. 34). Later developments show that he
This man is already more than fifty years old and stayed true to his word. When the Swedish geologist
he has great difficulty walking. Thus he stole two Erik Norin proposed a survey of the strategic Juyanhai
camels, one to carry his possessions and the other region, Xu expressed his disapproval. Huang went on
for himself to ride. Other than his clothes and some to note in his diary that “Hedin suspects that I am the
other sundry possessions such as a few pieces of true cause of obstruction,” a suspicion Huang makes
bread, he didn’t touch any other important items. no attempt to dispel. From that point on, tensions
So to label him a thief rests upon a single moment mounted. “Originally Norin wanted to map a lake,”
of muddleheaded action; he is certainly not a sea- Huang wrote, “and planned to take a southern road
soned criminal. But the foreigners have already to get there, but I expressed my disagreement. Then
tied him up in chains, verbally abused him, and he decided to take the northern road, and stopped
even taken pictures of him. How many more such for three days. We started off after them.” What their
insults can our country bear? [p. 68] ultimate intentions were, Huang was uncertain, “but
Most distressing to Huang, however, was what whenever they see me they stop their secret discus-
happened two weeks later, when “the foreigners tied sions, and we simply have to act like we don’t under-
up the camel thief and filmed him on camera.” For stand what they are saying” (p. 112).
Huang, this was further evidence that “foreigners all In the end, Huang rejoiced when he heard that the
adopt an insulting attitude toward China, imposing governor of Xinjiang had refused to yield an inch to
a deep affront to our honor” (p. 86). On the contrary, Hedin’s proposal that his German sponsors be al-
Xu, in his published account of the camel thief affair, lowed to establish aerial routes through Chinese terri-
sides entirely with Hedin and the foreigners. In stark tory. Again, however, the differing accounts of Xu and
contrast to Huang, Xu describes the thief as a “sea- Huang are instructive. Whereas Xu dispassionately
soned criminal,” and approves of the shackles used to describes Hedin’s meeting with the provincial Min-
immobilize him, confident that “there was no intent to ister of Foreign Affairs, refraining from adding any
abuse him” (Xu 2000, p. 64). commentary of his own, Huang indulges in scarcely
The final source of tension between Huang and the concealed Schadenfreude. “Hedin then mentioned that
foreigners — and between Huang and Xu — was a [warlord] Yang Yuting had already issued his approv-
result of the strategic aims of Hedin’s original German al [in Beijing], hoping to use this as an intimidation
financiers. In short, Hedin’s purpose in attempting tactic against [the governor]. This is truly laughable.”
to organize an expedition to Xinjiang had originally Several weeks later, the matter was closed for good.
been to undertake geological, meteorological, and car- “They were refused,” Huang noted. “I am thrilled. For
tographic surveys in support of German aeronautic many days now the air has been filled with the shrill
expansion throughout Central Asia. Huang’s under- voices of the Germans saying they will return home,
standing of these aims comes through clearly in an ac- but this is not enough to intimidate my countrymen”
count of an extended discussion he had with another (p. 178).
Chinese member of the expedition, in which Huang From these few examples, it is clear that the animosi-
learns that “their goal for this expedition is entirely ty between Huang and Hedin destined to surface pub-
related to airplanes”; hence, the cover pretext of “im- licly in the mid-1930s traces its roots back to the ear-
plementing aerial archaeology.” After summarizing liest days of the Sino-Swedish expedition. At the crux
the geopolitical goals of interwar Germany vis-à-vis of the matter lay the understandable tensions between
the Soviet and British presence in Xinjiang, Huang ex- foreign explorers long accustomed to getting their
presses his adamant opposition: way in China, and a new generation of professional
Chinese scientists eager to displace them. The irony
I am of the opinion that such a project as this ab- of the situation, of course, is that in choosing Xu and
solutely cannot be countenanced, as the rights for Hedin as model examples of the new spirit of inter-
aerial routes concern national security. If we per- national scientific cooperation in China, those respon-
mit airline routes, then Germany can simply fly sible for the suppression of Huang’s no-holds-barred

127
account inadvertently consigned him to the margins of policymakers, scholars, and dissidents around the
of historiography on the archaeology of the Silk Road. world — but especially within China — who may wish
For it is clear that Huang’s diary, with its frank and to advance their own agendas regarding the future of
none too flattering appraisals of Hedin and its raw ex- Xinjiang today. Second, from a historical perspective,
pose of jealous competitions on all sides, could not be it is clear that many influential scholars on the eastern
reconciled with the politically correct narratives put seaboard demonstrated a strident bias against the re-
forth by Xu and Hedin, both of whom were far more covery of that which Huang had devoted himself to
renowned than Huang. collecting. Chen Yuan, president of the Catholic Uni-
And yet it is clear that Huang deserves his due, per- versity of Peking, expressed precisely this sentiment
haps now more than ever. Toward this end, the re- in the preface to his Index to the Dunhuang Manuscripts
mainder of this article will analyze the substantive Remaining after the Plunder (Dunhuang jieyu lu 敦煌劫
work that Huang undertook in Xinjiang following his 餘錄), completed soon after Huang’s return to Beijing.
departure from the main body of the caravan. As we “Manuscripts written not in Chinese but rather in one
shall see, there is much more to learn from Huang’s of the ancient Central Asian languages are not worth
career than that made relevant by his principled oppo- much (bu guizhe 不貴者),” he wrote. “What the Chi-
sition to the foreign presence in China. Evaluated on nese people value (guoren suo guizhe 國人所貴者) are
the merits of the work he performed rather than the ancient manuscripts written in Chinese” (Chen 1931).
political battles he lost, it is difficult to see Huang as Much like Stein, who often lamented the lack of in-
anything other than the Chinese embodiment of Aurel stitutional and financial support for any archaeologist
Stein. who chose to lead an expedition outside of the “Bible
lands,” Huang faced an uphill battle to procure fund-
A Chinese Stein? ing and support for archaeological labors deemed un-
likely to shed light on the classical forbears of Chinese
The similarities between Huang Wenbi and Aurel civilization.
Stein are many. Both undertook four expeditions to
Xinjiang during their lifetimes. Each was the first of his Nonetheless, this is precisely the task to which
countrymen to complete a successful crossing through Huang set himself, despite the wholesale lack of in-
the heart of the Taklamakan Desert (Stein did it both terest among many of his colleagues back home and
from north to south and in reverse, while Huang did despite the fact that few if any of them were equipped
it from north to south). Both men were indefatigable to conduct research on what he had uncovered. His
in the field, yet neither was eager to dramatize their unorthodox interest in such remains was kindled al-
accomplishments back home or bask in the limelight. most immediately after the expedition’s departure
Both men were fiercely independent and shunned the from Beijing, during a cursory survey of the environs
company of colleagues: Stein went to great lengths to of Bailingmiao in today’s Inner Mongolia. Huang’s
avoid the sort of burdensome partnerships that he saw first big find was a Chinese-language stele “capable
in his German and French competitors, while Huang of yielding an investigation into the history of the
and Xu nearly had a falling out over Huang’s insis- Mongol kings, which we can then use to supplement
tence that he be allowed to split from the party and in many places the official history of the Yuan.” Not-
conduct his own excavations without a Chinese col- ing that there were very few rubbings of Mongol ste-
league by his side. Furthermore, both men evinced a les then in circulation, Huang noted his “great luck”
strong archaeological “conscience,” evident in Stein’s in stumbling upon this one. In addition to the Chi-
criticisms of German excavation methods and the care nese-language stele, Huang also made two additional
with which he reburied those murals he could not rubbings of Mongol-language steles, sending at least
take with him, and in Huang’s repeated determina- one of these back to his sponsors in Beijing (Huang
tion to lock horns with both Hedin and Xu, despite the 1990, pp. 16–17, 19, 22). Three months later, on the
detrimental effect such a principled stance had upon fringe of the Gobi Desert, Huang notes that he “took
his career and legacy. some workers to Sa-la-zai Temple to examine the
Tibetan inscriptions. I made two copies of rubbings”
One other point of comparison, however, carries far
(p. 60).
greater import vis-à-vis the Chinese scholarly com-
munity than it does for its Western counterpart. This With artifacts or manuscripts written in Mongolian
is the realization that Huang Wenbi took just as much or Tibetan, Huang could rest content that someone in
care to unearth and preserve Central Asian artifacts Beijing would be able to read them. The further west
and manuscripts as he did Chinese. Why is this so im- he traveled, however, the likelihood that anyone in
portant? For two reasons. First, it carries profound im- China would be able to decipher the scripts he was
plications for political claims to the region by an array collecting decreased significantly. On such occasions,

128
Huang merely expressed a desire to safeguard the ma- Muslim manuscript written in five different languag-
terial for consultation by future generations of more es, none of which was Chinese. “If not consulted for
linguistically endowed Chinese scholars. Once, when its contents,” Huang wrote, “it can be used as a lin-
he uncovered a script “that wasn’t Tibetan or Mongo- guistic reference book.” The same man also brought
lian” but rather Tangut, Huang cursed his own lin- The Acts of Mohammed, while another brought a man-
guistic deficiencies, a refrain often heard from Stein uscript about “the conversion of the Mongol kings at
regarding his own sinophilic inadequacies. “It is a Khotan and Kashgar to Islam” (p. 516). In letting it be
shame that I cannot read Tangut,” Huang noted in known that he was interesting in acquiring in such
his diary. “Thus I can only briefly describe it here for items, Huang was positioning himself against decades
future consultation by those who know how to read of antiquarian transactions in northwestern China,
it” (p. 89). He pursued a similar approach to what most of which took it as an article of faith that foreign-
he thought would be a bilingual stele in Chinese and ers would pay the highest prices for Central Asian ar-
Mongolian near Karashahr. After offering a reward of tifacts and manuscripts, while the Chinese would do
five silver liang to whichever of his laborers managed similarly for the same in Chinese.
to recover it first, Huang found that he could not iden-
In pursuing his interest in procuring Central Asian
tify the script. Nonetheless, “I took three pages of rub-
artifacts and manuscripts for consultation by future
bings, to retain for future research” (p. 235).
generations of Chinese scholars, Huang found himself
During his time in Xinjiang, Huang made it a pri- constantly in the footsteps of Stein and other foreign
ority to collect manuscripts and artifacts exhibiting explorers. Time and time again, he notes in his diary
non-Chinese scripts. Sometimes they surfaced as a traces of sites where his predecessors had excavated,
result of his own archaeological labors, but more of- and what, if anything remained. At one site in Turfan,
ten than not he acquired them through purchase. In Huang notes that “foreigners only excavated in this
Turfan, Huang records that “some of the locals dug spot for two days, and they did not find much. I doubt
up two pages of a manuscript in Uighur, so I gave that everything inside has already been discovered. If
them one silver liang for it. That is a pretty good deal” I dig here carefully, I am certain to uncover much”
(p. 168). Near Kucha, Huang encountered a village (p. 165). Most of the time, however, Huang realized
headman trying to sell some manuscripts, all written that the foreigners had done their work only too well,
in non-Chinese languages “that were probably from as was the case at Ming-oi:
India but with some slight changes.” He paid thirty It is a pity that this site has already been excavat-
liang for the lot of them, all of which were “complete ed. I see some fragments with the letters ‘mixi’ on
from front to end, and are probably government doc- them, and other foreign papers, all of which proves
uments or letters of some sort.” He then articulated beyond a doubt that this was done by foreigners.
the precise reason why he was paying so much atten- According to one of the guides, a foreigner came
tion to the collection of these sorts of artifacts: “We do here (probably Stein) with thirty laborers and
not lack for Tang manuscripts on Chinese soil, so I am worked for more than forty days. So there will not
beginning to pay closer attention to the collection of be much left to excavate. In matters of archaeology,
items in other scripts” (p. 263). On another occasion we have already fallen far behind the foreigners. It
near Domoko, a Uighur man approached Huang with is no longer possible to enjoy the ease of discovery
some manuscripts for sale. “The script resembles that which they experienced upon their arrival. [p. 203]
of India but with some differences,” Huang noted.
“They are printed documents, but printing developed Whenever Huang learned that he was closing in on a
in the Western Regions relatively early. I gave him site of Stein’s past labors, he usually gave up any and
twenty liang and he left” (p. 426). Huang regarded all hope for fresh discoveries. “I excavated here for half
such finds as “exceedingly precious” (shen zhengui 甚 a day, but did not see a single thing,” Huang wrote
珍貴) (p. 207). two weeks later. “It is said that twenty or thirty years
ago a foreigner dug here for many days, and every-
In fact, by the time Huang was about to leave the thing he found was taken away. This must be Stein”
province, word had circulated far and wide through (p. 209). Unfortunately for Huang, foreigners — even
local bazaars that this was a Chinese explorer who those working outside the Bible lands — had far more
would pay good money both for non-Chinese finds resources to work with than he did. “I inspected the
and for Chinese manuscripts concerning non-conven- site from north to south,” he wrote in the environs of
tional subjects. On his return to Turfan in early 1930, Kucha, “but most everything has already been exca-
Huang was swarmed by locals trying to sell him var- vated by foreigners. It is said about twenty years ago,
ious antiquities, few of which seem to have displayed a foreigner was here. Every day he employed tens of
Chinese characters. One such peddler brought him a laborers to dig, for twenty or thirty days straight. This

129
makes it clear on just how grand a scale the foreigners for the former to remove the cream of the crop from
pursued their work” (pp. 313–14). Xinjiang. Throughout Huang’s diary there is a recur-
Despite the often melancholy nature of Huang’s rent air of melancholic tardiness, nowhere more evi-
work, coming as it did a full generation after the “gold- dent than when Huang encounters what appears to be
en age” of foreign expeditions in Xinjiang, Huang re- several “tourist placards” at sites long since explored
served very little energy for scolding his predecessors. and explicated. At one bare site near Aksu, Huang
Mostly he simply aspired to do what they had already was taken aback by the sight of “a wooden board in
done. And in the case of Stein specifically, any antipa- the middle [of the site] inscribed with the words: ‘The
thy Huang may have felt was balanced by a large dose Tang city of Qieshi.’ It was erected in 1925 by Magis-
of quiet admiration. In his diary, we see Huang go- trate Yang Yingkuan.” One week later, he found an-
ing to great lengths to procure only those guides once other. “Halfway up the mountain there was a wood-
used by Stein, staying in local lodgings once frequent- en sign, erected by the magistrate of Bachu County,
ed by Stein, noting Stein’s campsites, and making Duan Quan. On it appeared the words, ‘Ancient ruins
liberal use of Stein’s maps, which Huang deemed far of the Tang state of Weitou,’ followed by several lines
superior to those produced by his own government. of description…” (pp. 478, 484). Few things could be
Huang frequently consults Stein’s publications, and more demoralizing to any explorer, much less the
does not second guess the old Hungarian lightly: first Chinese archaeologist ever to visit Xinjiang, than
to come face to face with the realization that a great
Looking at the shards of pottery and coins, it seems number of people before you had already been there
like this region was still inhabited a thousand years and done that.
ago. Yet Stein, based upon the papers he unearthed
here written in ancient Western Regions script, Conclusion
concludes that these all date to after the eighth cen- The diary of Huang Wenbi contains a virtual treasure
tury. As I do not have any evidence to the contrary, trove of data and commentary relevant to scholars in
I dare not say otherwise. [p. 425] many disciplines. For the archaeologist and historian
Like Stein, Huang makes frequent reference to the of ancient China or the Silk Road, it is akin to read-
travels of Xuanzang. Unlike Stein, however, Huang ing Stein’s Ruins of Desert Cathay or Le Coq’s Buried
also had full recourse to the classical canon of Chinese Treasures of Chinese Turkestan, in that it provides the
literature and histories at his fingertips. situational and topographical context indispensable
More than anything else, the reader of Huang’s dia- to a comprehensive understanding of the artifacts
ry gets the sense that what he most fervently wished and manuscripts now contained within “the Huang
for was to be regarded as the Chinese successor to Wenbi collection.” For the historian of modern China
Stein. Thus, it should come as no surprise to learn or the historian of archaeology, it provides a wealth
that few things bothered Huang more than attempts of documentation regarding Huang’s interactions
to obstruct his progress toward such a goal by local with local Chinese officials in Xinjiang, international
Chinese officials. In December 1928, five months af- scholarly collaboration in China, the daily lives and
ter the assassination of the governor of Xinjiang had livelihoods of the southern Uighur oases, the warlord
given the new governor a pretext to attempt to dis- politics of the early Nationalist era, and the amateur
band the expedition, Huang wrote a pointed letter to excavation activities of Chinese officials themselves.
the latter that laid bare a raw sense of injustice. “In Though Huang’s diary has long taken a back seat to
the past,” Huang observed from Aksu, “scholars from the accounts of Sven Hedin and Xu Bingxu, it is argu-
both East and West have come numerous times to ably the most informative — and certainly the least
conduct excavations, and they have collected untold censored — of the three. That its long delayed pub-
numbers of crates full of antiquities. In particular, the lication may very well be a consequence of Huang’s
officials who hosted them were solicitous to the ex- falling afoul of the political lines of his day only makes
treme in seeing to their needs. Today, however, when it more valuable as a historical resource for scholars of
Chinese come, they are not even allowed to obtain a our own day. As recognition of the value of the Huang
single glance. What will people say about this?” (p. Wenbi collection increases in tandem with interna-
373). Though one of his Chinese colleagues succeed- tional accessibility to its contents, there is no doubt
ed in convincing him to remove several provocative that studies of Huang Wenbi will flourish as well.
phrases from this letter, Huang’s most fundamental
insecurities remained on full display in his diary. About the author
At the crux of the matter was a simple chronological An Assistant Professor of History at American Uni-
fact: Huang and his colleagues lagged behind the for- versity, Justin Jacobs is a historian of modern China.
eigners by a full generation, more than enough time He is currently working on a comprehensive reassess-
130
ment of foreign archaeological expeditions to Xinjiang Xu 2000
during the early twentieth century, as seen chiefly Xu Xusheng 徐旭生. Xu Xusheng xiyou riji徐旭生西游日记 [A
through the reactions and interactions of Chinese of- diary of Xu Xusheng’s western travels]. Yinchuan: Ningxia
ficials and scholars to and with Aurel Stein. E-mail: renmin chubanshe, 2000.
<dryhten@gmail.com>. Wang 1999
Wang Guowei王国维. “Zuijin er san shi nian zhong Zhong-
References guo xin faxian zhi xuewen” 最近二三十年中中国新发现之学
Chen 1931 问 [New discoveries in Chinese scholarship within the past
twenty to thirty years]. In: Zhongguo Dunhuangxue bainian
Chen Yuan 陳垣. Dunhuang jieyulu 敦煌劫餘錄 [Index to the wenku (zongshu juan) 中国敦煌学百年文库(综述卷). Vol. 1.
Dunhuang manuscripts remaining after the plunder]. Bei- Edited by Feng Zhiwen冯志文and Yang Jiping杨际平. Lan-
jing: Guoli zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo, zhou: Gansu wenhua chubanshe, 1999: 49–52.
1931.
Huang 1990
Huang Wenbi 黄文弼. Huang Wenbi Meng Xin kaocha riji 黄文
蒙新考察日记 [The diary of Huang Wenbi during an expedi-
tion to Mongolia and Xinjiang]. Comp. Huang Lie. Beijing:
Wenwu chubanshe, 1990.

131
Featured Museum, I

The David Collection

Journal of the David Collection. Ed. Kjeld von Folsach; Joachim Meyer. Vol. 4.
Copenhagen, 2014. 223 pp. ISBN 978-87-88464-12-2; ISSN 1603-5313.

T he David Collection in Copenhagen was estab-

lished and endowed as a public museum by a
prominent lawyer, Christian Ludvig David, who be-
provides a model for what one might wish). Ivanov
emphasizes that the Islamic material in the Hermitage
has traditionally been organized under rubrics other
gan by collecting European porcelain, more general- than “Islamic art,” often instead by a geographical
ly European art of the 18th century, and early modern or political principle, since there is still no dedicated
Danish art, and then developed a serious interest in “Islamic art” division administratively in the muse-
the arts of the Islamic world. Islamic art is now the um. Among the strengths of the collection are Iranian
dominant part of the collection and has been substan- metalwork, late Iranian ceramics, and Central Asian
tially augmented and broadened by acquisitions be- material.
ginning in the 1980s. It is one of the ten most signif-
Thinking about such issues of organizing principles
icant collections of Islamic art worldwide and by far
for any collection of “Islamic art” inevitably raises
the largest one in Scandinavia. Books on Islamic art
questions about how one might best define the subject.
and exhibitions around the world regularly draw on
For The David Collection, Islamic art is “works of art
its many superb and unique objects.
produced in the part of the world where the religion
The new volume of the museum’s journal (the first of Islam has played a dominant role for a long period
to appear since 2009, at the time of the reopening of of time. They do not necessarily have to be works of
the re-mounted collection), contains a series of fasci- art made by or for Muslims. The artists might also be
nating and broadly-conceived articles which highlight followers of another religion, for example Christians
pieces in The David Collection and thereby can serve or Jews. And the message conveyed by their art does
as an introduction to the riches it contains. The vol- not have to directly reflect the religion of Islam. It can
ume is illustrated with high quality images (the collec- also have a purely secular character” (What is Islamic
tion photos taken by Pernille Klemp), a great many of Art <http://www.davidmus.dk/assets/2353/What_
them in color and full page in medium format. After is_Islamic_art_02.pdf>). The rest of the articles in this
reviewing the contributions in it, I shall make some volume of the museum’s journal provide an excellent
additional observations on the Museum’s website, sense of that range of work over time, space and genre.
which invites anyone interested in Islamic art to learn
Joachim Meyer writes on “The Body Language of a
about the subject.
Parrot: An Incense Burner from the Western Mediter-
This volume of the journal opens with one article ranean” (pp. 26–49), the subject being a late 11th or ear-
not devoted to The David Collection, Anatol Ivanov’s ly 12th century bronze incense burner, in the shape of a
very useful introduction to the history of the Islam- parrot [Fig. 1, next page]. Meyer’s essay ranges wide-
ic collections in the State Hermitage Museum in St. ly over analogies among other animal- or bird-shaped
Petersburg. He reviews the various acquisitions over examples of Islamic metalwork, the closest parallels
time and then summarizes the strengths of the hold- being from Muslim Spain. Metallurgical analysis also
ings. A good many black-and-white photos showing points to an origin of the object in the Western Medi-
the galleries as they looked in earlier years illustrate terranean. Yet some features of the Arabic inscription
the article. The process of producing modern catalogs on it (analyzed here by Will Kwiatkowski) suggest the
of the material is ongoing, and, although he does not provenance was not Spain; in fact the most likely or-
comment on this, one can hope that the recently re-de- igin may have been Norman Sicily, where the Chris-
signed Hermitage Museum website eventually will tian rulers presided over a court at which Muslim
include the kind of extensive collection database that craftsmen and savants were welcomed (famously, in
other museums now provide (The David Collection the 12th century, the geographer al-Idrisi). So the in-

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 132 – 136 + Color Plate IX 132 Copyright © 2014 Daniel C. Waugh
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
cense burner was not necessarily produced for a Mus-
lim patron, even if it connects with traditions of the
manufacture of such objects for elites in other parts of
the Islamic world.
One of the most significant of the essays in this vol-
ume for laying the basis for future study is Jangar Ya.
Ilyasov’s “Exotic Images: On a New Group of Glazed
Pottery of the 10th and 11th Century” (pp. 50–87). He
stresses that the significant attention which has long
been devoted to the study of Islamic pottery might
make it unlikely for a whole new category of Islamic
ceramics to be discovered. Yet this is precisely what
two examples from The David Collection [Fig. 2], ones
recently excavated in Central Asia, and a suddenly
rather abundant group of wares which have otherwise
surfaced in recent years would suggest we have. The
dishes in question have bold figures of fauna (strik-
ingly, many depict fish), anthropomorphic or fan-
tastical creatures on them, brightly colored and with
distinctive (often purplish gray) background color. He
analyzes and catalogs here 43 examples, being careful Fig. 2. Earthenware bowl, decorated with colored slips over an auber-
to note where gine-colored ground under a transparent glaze. Central Asia, Samar-
Fig. 1. Incense burner. Cast, engraved bronze. kand, or Afghanistan; 10th century. D 29 cm; foot D 11 cm; H 10 cm.
Sicily or southern Italy, end of 11 –begin- there may be
th
Inv. no. 87/2004. Source: <http://www.davidmus.dk/assets/177/8.12-87-
ning of 12th century. H: 35.5 cm. Inv. no. serious doubts 2004-Keramisk-skal-med-loeve.jpg> © The David Collection, Copenha-
10/2005. Source: <http://www.davidmus.dk/ as to the age/ gen. Photo: Pernille Klemp. Reproduced with permission.
assets/158/5.2-10-2005-Roegelsesbraender-i- a u t h e n t i c i t y
form-af-en-falk.jpg> © The David Collection, of some of them. Where so many of them are of unknown prov-
Copenhagen. Photo: Pernille Klemp. Reproduced
enance, the question of authenticity is a serious one, but the fact
with permission.
some have come from documented excavations and others (for
example, The David Collections pieces) have had their dates ver-
ified by thermo-luminescence provides a reliable reference base
for the group. The second part of his article explores the possible
models the ceramicists might have drawn upon for some of the
designs, thus providing a convincing context in which the dishes
could have appeared. Ilyasov concludes that the group might best
be designated as Tokharistan pottery and dated to the 10th centu-
ry. Obviously further analysis and testing of the many un-prove-
nanced examples is going to be needed.
In an equally substantial and significant contribution, Eleanor
Sims writes on “The Nahj al Faradis of Sultan Abu Sa’id ibn Sul-
tan Muhammad ibn Miranshah: An Illustrated Timurid Ascension
Text of the ‘Interim’ Period” (pp. 88–147). Her article includes the
formal publication and analysis of eight exquisite illustrated man-
uscript pages (five in the David Collection [Fig. 3, next page, and
Color Plate IX], three in the Sarikhani Collection) that had been
removed from a manuscript book which remains in private hands
and is not currently accessible. While the importance of Timurid
miniature painting for the larger developments in that genre in the
Islamic world has long been recognized, the middle of the 15th cen-
tury has been something of a void. Attention has been devoted to
the period of Tamerlane’s successor Shah Rukh or that of Sultan
Husayn Baykara in the last decades of the century, the patron of
the famous painter Bihzad. The “Paths of Paradise” manuscript
discussed here, produced under the patronage of Tamerlane’s

133
 Fig. 3. “The Prophet Muhammad Be-
fore the Angel wisth Seventy Heads.”
Miniature from a copy of al-Sarai’s
Nahj al-Faradis (The Paths of Para-
dise). Signed: “work of the slave Sul-
tan ‘Ali al-sultani (in royal service).”
Iran, Herat; probably 1466.
Folio size: 41.1 × 29.9 cm. Inv. no.
14/2012r. Source: <http://www.
davidmus.dk/assets/3114/Copy-
right_David-Collection_Copenha-
gen_14_2012_side-A_web.jpg> ©
The David Collection, Copenhagen.
Photo: Pernille Klemp. Reproduced
with permission.

credits a great many peo-

ple for their assistance with
this article and makes it
clear that the study of the
Mi‘raj-nama by Christiane
Gruber (published in 2008)
is fundamental and pro-
vides important informa-
tion on the Abu Sa’id man-
uscript. The emphasis here
is broadly on what we learn
about Timurid painting and
Abu Sa’id’s atelier and less
on the sources for the imag-
es, which include, as is well
known, Buddhist imagery.
The article provides superb
full-page illustrations of the
eight illustrated folios (plus
the text-only page for one
of the David folios) and on
facing pages the comparable
images from the BN manu-
script.
In analogous fashion to
Sims, Howard J. Ricketts
great-grandson Sultan Abu Sa’id (d. 1469) in Herat, substantially enhances our knowledge of the arts at
helps fill that void and leads Sims to reexamine the the court of one of the lesser-known Indian rulers, in
significance of other manuscripts from the same ate- “Ahmadnagar: Nizam Shahi Blazons, Animal Sculp-
lier. As it turns out, Abu Sa’id’s manuscript is in many ture, and Zoomorphic Arms in the 16th Century” (pp.
ways almost identical with the famous Mi‘raj-nama 149–69). The evidence in the first instance is in the
manuscript now in the Bibliothèque nationale, which sculpted relief of the Ahmadnagar buildings dated
was produced a generation earlier under Shah Rukh. 1550–1560s, which include various animal and foli-
Clearly the later of these two books devoted to the As- ate designs that then compare with the elaborate hilts
cension of Muhammad is in fact a direct copy of the of two daggers in The David Collection [Fig. 4, next
earlier one, both from the standpoint of the images page; Inv. no. 18/1982] and also can be seen in some-
and the fact that the text is written in Uighur script in what schematic form on a dagger handle in a painting
Turkic. Interestingly, both manuscripts then fell into it owns depicting the ruler of Bijapur [Inv. no. 6/2013].
Ottoman hands in the early 16th century, following the While eventually it fell to the Mughals, Ahmadnagar
Ottoman defeat of the Safavids at Chaldiran, before emerges here as more significant politically and cul-
eventually ending up in Western collections. Sims turally than one might previously have assumed.
134
Fig. 4. Dagger with gilded bronze hilt, set with a few rubies. Probably Ahmadnagar,
ca. 1575. L: 42 cm. Inv. no. 36/1997 <http://www.davidmus.dk/assets/278/18.4-36a-
1997-Dolk-med-dyregreb.jpg> © The David Collection, Copenhagen. Photo: Pernille
Klemp. Reproduced with permission.
The David Collection has an important group of works
produced in Islamic South Asia. Steven Cohen’s “Two Out-
standing Mughal Qanat Panels in the David Collection” (pp.
170–201) highlights two large qanats or panels for cloth screens
which commonly were erected to form an enclosure within
which the ruler’s tent might be situated. The well-preserved
David panels, one in lampas weave [Inv. no. 19/2011], the oth-
er [Fig. 5] in “cut, voided velvet enhanced with metal-wrapped
threads,” are significant for their having required a massive
pattern unit “possibly unprecedented in the history of 16th and
early 17th-century lampas weaving for textiles displaying hu-
man figures” (p. 177). While there is much in the arts of the
Mughals which draws on Persian traditions, there is no prece-
dent in Safavid textiles for lampas weavings with such a large
pattern. The evidence here points to the initiative of the Mughal
emperor Akbar, but it was not simply a matter of his attract-
ing foreign craftsmen, as there is much to suggest the weavings

come out of well-established Indian textile traditions.

Cohen’s discussion embraces evidence about the uses
of the qanat panels as well as a great deal on the de-
velopment of silk weaving in northern India. An ap-
pendix to his article by Anne-Marie Keblow Bern-
sted provides technical analysis of the two panels and
drawings of the weave structures.
The final article in this volume illustrates another
of the strengths of The David Collection, so many of
whose objects speak specifically to long-distance cul-
tural exchange. Yuka Kadoi, whose book Islamic Chi-
noiserie was reviewed in this journal (vol. 8 [2010], pp.
130–32) brings her unique expertise on both Islamic
and Chinese art to bear in her “From China to Den-
mark: A ‘Mosque Lamp’ in Context” (pp. 202–23). The
unusual late Qing cloisonné hanging “lamp” [Fig. 6,
next page] serves to illustrate the importance of taking
seriously Islamic art objects produced in China. The
shape here imitates that of mosque lamps produced
in the Islamic West (two good examples, one in brass,

Fig. 5. “Standing Lady Beneath a Cusped Arch.” Qanat panel. Velvet,

silk and silver lamella spun around silk. Mughal northern India, ca.
1600. 143 × 69 cm. Inv. no. 37/1995. Source: <http://www.davidmus.
dk/assets/446/19.2-37-1995-Floejlsdame.jpg> © The David Collection,
Copenhagen. Photo: Pernille Klemp. Reproduced with permission.
135
the other enameled glass, are also pages bring up sets of thumb-
in the David Collection and de- nails which then lead to pages
picted here). Yet it seems almost with the individual works of art
certain that the Chinese craftsman and brief but very informative de-
had as his model a hanging lamp scriptive text. One can click then
made under Mamluk Sultan Bay- to bring up huge jpeg images of
bars I in the 13th century, which he the objects, of a size and quality
knew not from the original work that enables close examination:
but from a photo published in a one might hope that other mu-
noteworthy French album of Is- seums would emulate this gen-
lamic art in 1869-1877. Interest- erosity [as I write, the Freer and
ingly, that same photo provid- Sackler Galleries in Washington,
ed the model for a replica lamp D. C., have just announced the
commissioned by Lord Curzon imminent posting of their whole
to be hung in the Taj Mahal. Ka- collection in such large, high-res-
doi’s essay discusses the distinct olution images]. For some ob-
Chinese-Arabic calligraphy on jects, there is more than one view
the “lamp” and other examples (e.g., the exquisite kesi medallion
of Chinese cloisonné, including a from the Mongol period, Inv. no.
tankard now in the Victoria and 30/1995, has five detail photos
Albert Museum which is modeled in addition to the overall view).
on a design popular in Timurid Both the obverse and reverse of
metalwork that was widely im- coins are shown. The descrip-
itated (the David Collection in- tive paragraphs for the materials
cludes an elegant silver Ottoman pages are quite short. It is import-
version, Inv. no. 15/1986). Kadoi ant to note that some objects, for
concludes her essay with a chal- which no dynastic date has been
lenge: “Having confirmed the assigned, may be found only via
power of portable objects that can these pages. The thematic pages
bridge Islamic, Chinese, as well as have more substantial text, under
European art histories in a visual- topics such as “The Five Pillars of
ly dynamic and convincing way, Fig. 6. Lamp, bronze, parcel-gilt and decorated with Islam,” “Sunni and Shia,” “The
it is hoped that the present study cloisonné enamel. China, 19th century. H without Religious Prohibition against Im-
will broaden our disciplinary chain: 25; D: 23 cm. Source: <http://www.davidmus. ages” and “Symbolism in Islamic
horizons, redress the art-histori- dk/assets/912/Copyright_-David-Collection_Copen- Art.” Apart from links to the rel-
cal merits of the arts of Islam in hagen_42-1966_web.jpg> © The David Collection, evant images, there may also be
the eastern periphery of the Mus- Copenhagen. Photo: Pernille Klemp. Reproduced supplementary materials: e.g., for
lim world, and, finally, provoke with permission. “Trade, Measures and Weights”
the contentious issue of the definition of our field — there is a schematic map of trade routes and a set of
what is Islamic art, after all?” (p. 217). photos of caravanserais and bazaars; for “Mechanics,
The David Collection is clearly committed to educat- Astronomy, and Astrology” there are photos of the
ing a broad public who might wish to tackle that ques- Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur. The website has
tion. There are regular public lectures (in Danish) and a separate section “Mostly for kids” with a memory
regularly scheduled gallery tours on various topics, game, a quiz and a set of Islamic geometric pattern
for which one can download concise overviews in pdf drawings that can be copied as pdf files.
format from the website. The website <http://www. Fortunately I can look forward to an opportunity in
davidmus.dk/en> offers access (in both Danish and the next few months to visit Copenhagen for more than
English) to the Islamic collection by dynasty, materials a brief stopover between SAS flights. Even if there for
or cultural-history theme. Each dynasty is introduced a short time, a visitor would be well advised to skip
by several paragraphs on its history and relationship the Little Mermaid and Tivoli, and instead head to C.
to cultural production. From each overview page, one L. David’s former residence at Kronprinsessegade 30,
can choose links to images of works of art, coins, ar- the home of one of the best Islamic art collections any-
chitecture, and a map. There also is a series of nearly where.
hour-long recordings of radio broadcasts (in Danish —Daniel C. Waugh
only) about the dynasties and their art. The linked University of Washington (Seattle)

136
Featured Museum, II

The Arts of China in Seattle

Josh Yiu. A Fuller View of China: Chinese Art in the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle
Art Museum, 2014. 192 pp. ISBN 978-0-932216-71-7.

Chinese Painting & Calligraphy [on-line catalog of the Seattle Art Museum collection]
<http://chinesepainting.seattleartmuseum.org/OSCI/>

T hese two distinctive and excellent works intro-

duce one the best collections of the arts of China
in North America and serve as tributes to two vision-
sources for high-quality Asian antiquities). The rela-
tionship between Chinese ceramics and Central Asian
or Islamic-world metalwork is well documented, of
ary directors of the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). Rath- course. As James Watt observed, this small ewer “is
er than write a “masterpieces” catalog, Josh Yiu offers the earliest Chinese jade carving to display Islamic in-
an elegant study of the vision and collecting acumen fluence” (quoted, p. 31). It dates to a period when a
of SAM’s founder, generous patron, and director for good many objects made of blue-and-white porcelain
four decades, Richard Eugene Fuller, whose passion were decorated with Arabic inscriptions, and crafts-
was Chinese art. And his impact went beyond the mu- men in China were not only catering to possibly new
seum: in Yiu’s words (p. 21), “his work turned Seattle domestic tastes but also producing for specific export
from a small town to the public-spirited urban city we markets in the Islamic world.
know today.” Whereas Fuller was largely self-taught
Fig. 1. Chinese nephrite ewer, late 15th-early 16th centuries. H: 8 in.
in Asian art, Mimi Gardner Gates came to her direc- Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 33.77.
torship in 1994 as a recognized academic specialist in Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.
Chinese painting, that expertise abundantly evident
in the innovative on-line catalog (funded by the Get-
ty Foundation) whose creation she and Josh Yiu su-
pervised. SAM’s director until her retirement in 2009,
Gates oversaw a major expansion of the museum, po-
sitioning it as an innovative 21st-century institution.
As curator of SAM’s Chinese collection for several
years, Yiu became intimately familiar with the hold-
ings and was able to sift the archives for documen-
tation about acquisitions. The result is a compelling
“life history” of the first decades of the Seattle collec-
tion, from its infancy to adulthood, a history that is
coterminous with the maturation of Richard Fuller as
a collector. Inspired by his mother Margaret’s modest
collection of Far Eastern objets d’art, Fuller developed
an early interest in jade and snuff bottles, although
that enthusiasm often led him to acquire objects he
soon understood to be of limited artistic merit and
which he then might happily de-acquisition.1 For stu-
dents of exchange along the “silk roads” one of the
jades he kept that is of particular interest is a Ming-
period ewer [Fig. 1],2 which cost him $78 at Macy’s
(yes, department stores in those days were often good

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 137 – 152 + Color Plates X - XIII 137 Text copyright © 2014 Daniel C. Waugh; image copyrights as specified
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 While an early trip to China and then many years later a long encounter in Lon-
don with a major visiting exhibition from China helped sharpen his acumen, to
a considerable degree Fuller’s success lay in cultivating the right dealers. When
asked about his collecting philosophy in later years, he emphasized that “the
true value of art depends on an intangible aesthetic return, which varies with
the knowledge and taste of each beholder” (quoted, p. 25). That is, the monetary
value attached to a work of art was not the important thing. Indeed, one of the
impressive facts which emerges here is how Fuller often swam against the tide
of what was currently fashionable in acquisitions of Chinese art, with the result
being that many of his lastingly significant purchases cost almost trivial sums.
His “first important acquisition” (in 1918?), a tall Wanli period blue-and-white
vase [Fig. 2; Color Plate X] cost all of $10 (p. 28). By 1932, when he was making
considerable efforts to broaden the coverage of his collection and was increas-
ingly discriminating, he would pay $500 for a Tang sculpture of a female polo
player [Figs. 3, 4]. While now not an uncommon type (the Musée Guimet in Par-
is has several wonderful examples), this piece occupies a prominent place in the
Seattle collection of Tang Dynasty funerary figurines (mingqi). At the time Fuller
acquired what is arguably the best of the tomb attendants in his collection [Fig. 5;
Color Plate X], only one other example of the type was known, but as in the case
of others of Fuller’s forward-looking acquisitions, subsequent archaeological ex-
Fig. 2 (left). Wanli period porcelain vase, late 16th–early 17th century, H: 22.5 in. Eugene Fuller Memorial
Collection, 54.120. Fig. 3 (below). The current display of Tang-era mingqi in SAAM. Fig. 4 (bottom left).
Polo player, 7th-8th century, L: 14 in. Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 33.7. Fig. 5 (below right). Tomb
attendant, late 7th century, H: 27.5 in. Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection , 35.6.
Photographs by Daniel C. Waugh.

138
Fig. 6. Bronze hand censer, 7th century, Chinese. H:
2.5 in. (6.3 cm); L: 14 15/16 in. (37.94 cm); diam.: 4 3/8
in. (11.11 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller
Memorial Collection, 39.27.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.
cavation has turned up almost identi-
cal ones that help to contextualize the
statue (p. 70). Even though such objects
were very rare and not always correct-
ly identified, when Fuller acquired his
bronze censer (also Tang period) [Fig.
6] in 1939, he understood that it was to
be compared with a famous one pre-
served over the centuries in the Shosoin (p. 88). ing now houses only the Asian collections as the Seat-
By the early 1930s, Fuller’s collection was already tle Asian Art Museum [SAAM]).
significant, and, given the interest shown in Seattle Fuller understood clearly that the interests of a pri-
at a special exhibit which highlighted it, he embarked vate collector were not necessarily the priorities that
on an ambitious plan to replace the struggling Art were needed for a public museum (p. 49). So he set
Institute of Seattle with a real public museum, the about broadening the acquisitions for the new mu-
emphasis in whose collections would be Asian art (p. seum and increasingly trying to ensure that only the
46). He and his mother funded the construction of a highest quality works entered the collection. Despite
new building in a hilltop park overlooking the city. the fact that much of the operating expenses of the
To encourage public interest, and appropriate to its museum were being covered by the Fullers (who had
focus, they acquired and installed in front of the se- deep but not bottomless pockets), there continued to
vere Art Deco façade genuine statuary that had once be funds for purchases, and he had basically a free
been part of a “spirit way” leading to a Chinese tomb hand in the decisions about what to buy.3
[Fig. 7]. The camels flanking the entrance became im- On the eve of the opening of the new museum in
mediate hits, fully justifying Fuller’s instincts despite 1933, he acquired a set of remarkable embroidered silk
the fact that some art critics rather disparaged their bed curtains which probably had been commissioned
quality. The camels one sees there today are replicas by the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795) [Fig. 8, next
(still clambered over by children and senior citizens page; Color Plate XI]. Josh Yiu notes that they “may be
and nowadays featured in selfies), the originals of the the best that exist” [p. 63]. Trips to Japan and London
Seattle version of a “spirit way” having been moved in the mid-1930s both resulted in new acquisitions and
indoors to the new downtown SAM building that contributed to the broadening of Fuller’s knowledge
opened in 1991 [see Fig. 30 below] (the original build- of the field. As a result, Seattle now has one of several
Fig. 7. The entrance to the original building of the Seattle Art Museum, elegant, large Song- or Jin-period wooden statues of a
opened on June 23, 1933, as seen today. For a historic photo giving a seated Guanyin (Fig. 31 below; others are in London,
sense of Fuller’s concept of the “spirit way,” see Yiu, Fig. 27, p. 47. Princeton and Kansas City). The catalyst for the visit
Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh. to London was the opening of a major exhibition of
art on loan from Chinese collections,
which provided a unique opportu-
nity to study a broad array of the fin-
est works. Fuller’s purchases in Lon-
don included another large wooden
sculpture, a spirited Yuan-period
evocation of a monk at the moment
of Enlightenment [Fig. 9].
Perhaps more important for the
broadening of the Seattle collection
was the development of Fuller’s in-
terest in painting. He acquired what
was thought to be a Song-period
landscape (Song paintings in gener-
al are very rare and highly prized)

139
Fig. 8 (left). Bed curtains, Chinese, 1735–1796 (Qianlong period). Silk and
gold thread, 107 x 70 3/4 in. (266.7 x 179.71 cm). Seattle Art Museum,
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 33.159.2.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.
Fig. 9 (top right). Monk at the moment of Enlightenment, Chinese,
ca. 14th century. Wood with polychrome decorations, 41 x 30 x 22 in.
(104.14 x 76.2 x 55.88 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial
Collection, 36.13. Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.
Fig. 10 (right). Scholar gazing at the moon. Ma Yuan 馬遠 Tradition
(15th century). Ink and color on silk. Overall: 116 1/4 x 48 5/16 in. (295.3 x
122.7 cm); Image: 78 x 41 3/4 in. (198.1 x 106 cm). Seattle Art Museum,
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 36.12.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.

[Fig. 10; for detail see below, Fig. 28]. While it then
turned out to be a later, Ming work, it remains one
of the museum’s best paintings. Fuller’s cultivation of
local patrons in Seattle eventually led to the donation
(by Mrs. Donald E. Frederick) of a Song painting that is
understandably one of the highlights of the collection
[Fig. 11, next page]. Looking back on the time when he
was advising the San Francisco Museum of Asian Art
on its acquisitions, James Cahill has written somewhat
ruefully about how an extraordinary album of land-
scapes by the innovative late Ming artist Shao Mi 邵彌
[Fig. 12; Color Plate XIII], ended up in Seattle when he
could not persuade the decision-makers in San Fran-
cisco that it was worth buying.4 Later the acquisition
of painting and calligraphy became one of the priori-
ties of Mimi Gates. It took an honor roll of donors (she
and her husband were among them) to add an import-
ant poem scroll dated 1521 by Wen Zhengming 文徵
明 [Fig. 13]. Modern works of Chinese calligraphy are
now in the collection as well, one a couplet donated by
the artist Xu Bing 徐冰 [Fig. 14] to honor Gates on the
occasion of her retirement.
140
Fig. 11 (above). Hawk pursuing a pheasant, by Li Anzhong 李安忠, 1129–
30. Ink and color on silk. Image size: 43 1/2 x 16 in. (25.9 x 26.8 cm). Seattle
Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Donald E. Frederick, 51.38.
Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.
Fig. 12 (above right). “Landscape of dreams,” by Shao Mi 邵彌, 1638.
One of ten album leaves: ink and color on paper. Overall: 11 7/16
x 17 in. (29 x 43.2 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial
Collection, 70.18.2.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.
A number of the most important additions to the
collection were made during the short period, 1948–
52, when Sherman Lee was Fuller’s assistant, hired at
a time before he earned what would be a huge reputa-
tion in the art world. This was a period when the mu-
seum began to build a good collection of early bronzes
[e.g., Fig. 15, next page] and became one of the first to

Fig. 13 (below). Poem for the painting “Sunset over the Jin and Jiao Moun-
tains,” by Wen Zhengming 文徵明, 1521. Ink on paper. Overall size of
scroll: 15 3/16 x 454 1/2 in. (38.5 x 1154.5 cm), a portion of which is shown
here. Seattle Art Museum. Purchased in honor of Jay Xu and Jennifer Chen
with funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Art Acquisition
Endowment, Anonymous, Mimi and Bill Gates, The Asian Art Cuncil, Jef-
frey and Susan Brotman, Lyn and Gerald Grinstein, Jane and David Davi,
2003.1. Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.
Fig. 14 (right). Couplet: “Learning from the Past, Moving Forward
in Time,” by Xu Bing 徐冰, 2009. Calligraphy; ink on paper. Di-
mensions: 53 1/2 x 13 3/4” each sheet. Seattle Art Museum, Gift of
the artist in honor of Mimi Gardner Gates, 2010.7.2.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.

141
 If, when Fuller began, Seattle was on no one’s map
for its Chinese collections, well before he retired in
1973 (he died three years later), what he had built
was widely appreciated by specialists in Asian art,
Fig. 15 (above). Bronze you (wine vessel), 11th century BCE (Western who paid tribute to his excellent taste and his ability
Zhou period). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, to stretch limited financial resources so effectively in
56.33. Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh. a world when huge
Fig. 16 (above right). Painted bowl, Chinese, 3rd century BCE. Wood with sums were now be-
lacquer, 10 x 2 7/16 in. (25.4 x 6.19 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene ing lavished to ob-
Fuller Memorial Collection, 51.118. tain what in lesser
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum hands sometimes
turned out to be
develop a serious interest in lacquerware. Arguably works lacking in
the most important example of the latter is a black- real merit. The Se-
on-red dish dating to the Warring State period [Fig.
16; Color Plate XII], a piece found in a documented Fig. 17. Vase, 13th century
excavation. Lee himself was a collector; the museum (Jin period). Stoneware with
bought from him the superb, large Cizhou ware vase black decoration on white
slip. H. 35 in. Seattle Art
dating to the 13th century [Fig. 17], a work that has in-
Museum, Eugene Fuller
spired both admiration and silly comments about its Memorial Collection 48.34.
“vulgarity” (p. 129) on account of its fertility imagery. Photographs by Daniel C.
Waugh.
The directors in Seattle clearly have an eye for talent,
but keeping it proves to be difficult. Lee
moved on and up, to become director of
the Cleveland Museum of Art. Under
Mimi Gates, the curator for Chinese art
was Jay Xu, who organized a blockbust-
er exhibition of the archaeological finds
from Sanxingdui in Sichuan. Xu is now
the director of the Museum of Asian Art
in San Francisco. When Josh Yiu left Se-
attle, it was to become Associate Director
of the Art Museum of the Chinese Uni-
versity of Hong Kong.

142
 Fig. 18 (above left). The east wall of the atrium of the Seattle Asian Art
Museum.
Fig. 19 (above). Mi’raj, illustrated frontispiece from the Mahzan
al-Asrar of Nizami (Book One of the Khamsa), ca. 1550–1600. Note
the decorative Chinese cloud motif on the background. Ink, opaque
watercolor, and gold on paper. Iranian (Safavid period). Seattle Art
Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 47.96.
Fig. 20 (left). Figurine of a wine seller, 8th century (Tang period).
Earthenware with polychrome glazes. H: 14 5/8 in. Seattle Art Museum,
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 38.6.
Photographs by Daniel C. Waugh.

attle collection is by no means huge, but it contains

excellent examples over a range of genres and periods.
Fuller’s hand is to be found in all the other areas of
Asian art in the museum’s holdings, from Gand-
haran and later South and Southeast Asian sculpture
(beautifully displayed in the atrium of SAAM, Fig. 18)
to Islamic and Mughal miniatures (the subject of a cur-
rent small exhibition in the adjoining room, Fig. 19).
Before turning to questions of access and educa-
tion about the collection, I will indulge in a few notes
about some of the objects which, in addition to those
already discussed, should be of considerable interest
to students of the “silk roads.” Let’s begin [Fig. 20]
143
 Fig. 21 (above left). Semitic peddler. Tang period (618–906). Ceramic
with one of the most widely reproduced works in the with polychrome paint. Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial
collection, a polychrome-painted earthenware depict- Collection, 33.19.
ing a Semitic or Central Asian wine merchant. While Fig. 22 (above). Covered bowls in the shape of a five-petaled flower, with
such figurines (generally made to accompany the floral patterns, late 8th-early 9th century (Tang period). Beaten silver with
deceased into the afterlife and thus buried in tombs) gilt decoration. D: 9.5 in. Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial
are among the most popular objects of art from Chi- Collection, 45.61.1-.2.
na, the uniqueness of the Seattle wine merchant had Photographs by Daniel C. Waugh.
raised questions as to its authenticity. Thermo-lumi- the British Museum (Museum Nos. OA 1973.7-26.192;
nescence testing has confirmed now its early date to 1936.10-12.56) and the Musée Guimet (Museum No.
the Tang period (p. 102, n. 105). Analogous to the wine MG 18260). Among the Tang period objects Fuller ac-
merchant is another depiction of a foreigner, wear- quired is a pair of fine silver bowls with gilt decora-
ing a peaked Central Asian cap and hunched under tion [Fig. 22] and a silver cup with a chased pattern of
the burden he is carrying [Fig. 21]. He is quite sim- vegetation and birds, whose shape reflects the norms
ilar to examples well known from the collections of of Sogdian silver from Central Asia [Fig. 23; Color
Plate XII]. Opportunities to see such fine examples of
Tang silver are rare.5
The Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty period in China in the
13th and 14th centuries is often considered to mark the
epitome of cross-Asian trade (indeed, this was when
Marco Polo and his father and uncle went from Italy
to China and back). While eclectic in their religious
beliefs, the Mongols in China cultivated close connec-
tions with Tibetan Buddhism. One apparent witness
to that is a stunning gold- and silver-decorated bronze
statue of a Buddha, which is distinguished by what
Fig. 23. Cup, Chinese, late 7th to early 8th century. Silver, with chased
patterns of lotus, vines, and birds. H: 2.5 in. (6.3 cm.); D: 3 in. (7.62 cm).
Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 42.5.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum.
144
 Fig. 24. Seated Buddha, Chinese, 14th [- 15th] century. Bronze with inlaid
gold and silver thread. 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 in. (15.88 x 11.43 x 7.62 cm).
Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 69.114. Pho-
tograph © Seattle Art Museum.

Access and Education

At the beginning of his book, Josh Yiu referred the
reader to several published catalogs of the Seattle col-
lection (p. 10). While ultimately one can expect that
the museum’s website will provide complete on-line
access, would not it make sense in the meantime to
digitize these mostly out-of-print publications and
link them to the website? For in fact, as the discussion
which follows will elaborate, SAM’s online catalog is
still very much work in progress and is far from com-
plete.
The brilliant exception here is the new online catalog
of Chinese painting and calligraphy, created with the
support of a grant from the Getty Foundation, which
can be accessed from the top of the “Collections” page.
Users would be advised first to click on “About” to
learn about the goals of the project, stated as follows:
…Seattle’s collection of 152 Chinese painting and
calligraphy has never been studied in depth and is
heretofore largely unpublished. For the first time, it
is being introduced and made universally accessi-
are variously described as Nepali or Indian features ble through this newly developed online catalogue,
[Fig. 24]. Sherman Lee’s inclusion of it in an import- which features thoughtful and provocative essays
ant exhibition in Cleveland on Chinese art under the about major works by renowned scholars, with
Mongols helped persuade the experts that it is a Yuan- high-resolution, zoom-able images of the works of
period work (p. 149). Most agree that the Yuan period art, and thorough documentation—including tran-
also saw the full flowering of Chinese blue-
and-white porcelain, with the production of
large vessels suited to Mongol elite foodways
and exhibiting a dense array of decorative mo-
tifs. While Seattle has a good range of blue-
and-white, arguably the most important of its
pieces is a 14th-century charger (large dish or
plate), which, unusually, has a raised, mould-
ed design for the large flowers and a formally
composed garden scene in the center featur-
ing two phoenixes [Fig. 25].6 Major donations
were necessary for the museum to be able to
afford its purchase from Eskenazi in London
in 1975.

Fig. 25. Dish with phoenix and flower motifs, early 14th cen-
tury (Yuan period). Jingdezhen ware; porcelain with under-
glaze cobalt-blue decoration. D: 18 3/4 in. Seattle Art Museum,
purchased in memory of Elizabeth M. Fuller with funds from
the Elizabeth M. Fuller Memorial Fund and from the Edwin
W. and Catherine M. Davis Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota,
76.7. Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.

145
 scriptions and translations of inscriptions and col- Yang Hui painting opens doors into poetry and the
ophons, and seals which are transcribed, identified spiritual associations of plum blossoms. The reader
and located…. learns how the painting’s attribution was confirmed
This online catalogue is designed to facilitate and is introduced to a strikingly similar painting in
scholarly dialogue. Readers are encouraged to post the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. A separate
comments about the works of art and the accom- set of links leads to related works in the Seattle collec-
panying essays, as well as to formulate answers to tion. There are study questions, a listing of exhibitions
questions that we put forward under the section and previous publications and additional bibliogra-
“Questions for Thought.” phy. The zoom feature of the catalog, illustrated on
The open-ended nature of the online catalogue the next page {Figs. 27, 28], is a marvel allowing one to
represents a significant departure from the stan- seen the paintings in intimate detail or focus on seals
dard printed catalogue. In contrast to printed cat- and inscriptions while reading their translations.
alogues, which reflect a specific fixed moment in Like a reviewer of a detective novel, I would be de-
time, the Seattle Art Museum considers the online priving readers of the pleasure of discovery were I
catalogue an adaptable document that will contin- to devote much more space to this catalog. I would
ue to evolve as the collection of Chinese painting note though that the essays I have examined close-
and calligraphy grows. Moreover, in the future ly, while perhaps somewhat intimidating for general
we hope other aspects of the Seattle Art Museum users where they include, appropriately, the Chinese
collection will be researched, documented and en- characters along with translations of their texts, are
tered online to complement this groundbreaking full of fascinating material which can help one better
catalogue. appreciate more broadly Chinese art. Josh Yiu’s essay
Before going on to explore the collection the user on Wen Zhenming’s poem scroll [Fig. 13 above] of-
then is advised to watch the brief instructional tuto- fers many insights into the importance of calligraphy
rial. The design and functionality here are first-rate, in Chinese culture. Yiu’s essay on the 2009 couplet
with a range of filters on the left which let one select by the innovative contemporary artist Xu Bing [Fig.
groups of works by artist, period, region, subject and 14 above] offers a fascinating account of the creation
more. of this bold calligraphic piece. Another of the essays
which struck me for its personal note, combined with
It is appropriate that the first work which appears scholarly detachment, is James Cahill’s, to which I
on a full page with tiles for each item in the collec- referred earlier, discussing Shao Mi’s album “Land-
tion — the exquisite treatment of plum blossoms by scape of Dreams” [Fig. 12 above].
the 15th-century painter Yang Hui 楊輝 [Figs. 26, 27;
Color Plate XIII] — is one for which Mimi Gates has There has been little time yet for users to take up
written the long and scholarly analytical essay. Gener- the offer of interacting with SAM via this catalog and
al readers may be satisfied with the opening summary posting comments. I have already sent some sugges-
paragraph of essays such as hers, but if one chooses to tions to the museum staff (outside of the format of the
“read more,” there is so much that can be learned. The catalog) regarding possible fixes for a few glitches, and
they have been very respon-
sive. One desideratum here
would be for them to obtain
permissions to use or link to
larger images of the paintings
cited for comparison in the es-
says. Over time, I assume, that
will become possible. In gen-
eral, one of the as yet too rare
features of museum collection

Fig. 26. “A branch of the cold season,” by

Yang Hui 楊輝, ca, 1440. Ink on paper.
Overall: 30 5/16 x 56 1/16 in. (77 x 142.4
cm); image: 12 3/16 x 25 in. (30.9 x 63.5
cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller
Memorial Collection, 51.132. Photograph
© Seattle Art Museum.

146
catalogs is cross-referencing and linking to
examples in other collections. The beginning
made here should inspire others. As should
this catalog project as a whole. This clearly
has to be the wave of the future into which
more museums should move to make their
collections accessible.

Fig. 27. Illustration of the capacity of the on-line catalog to enlarge and trans-
late the poetry (above) and enlarge and translate the seals. These photograph
screen shots, by Daniel C. Waugh, may show pixelated when printed here, even
though on a high-resolution monitor at maximum zoom the sharpness is such
that one can even see the paper or fabric structure. The translations and other
information scroll down on the right panel

Fig. 28 (below). A photograph screen shot at maxi-

mum zoom showing detail from the painting of the
scholar gazing at the moon (Fig. 10 above; Eugene
Fuller Memorial Collection, 36.12).

147
 It would be nice to be able to lavish similar praise on ently still not in place; it seems likely that much more
the SAM website as an access point to other parts of needs to be done to equip the system to handle alter-
the Chinese collection. The website has recently been native designations that a casual user might put into
redesigned, and work on it is ongoing, which means the quick search box. The most refined chronological
that the comments which folliow here undoubtedly divisions under dynasties generally are problematic,
will soon be dated. At least as of this writing, there especially since datings by dynasty are so problemat-
is still much to be done before the Seattle collection ic to begin with and because the descriptive verbiage
is fully available and easily searchable on-line. These in the captioning may not necessarily correspond to
remarks are intendeed to present a kind of “user’s per- the category breakdown offered in the search tool.
spective” as of the end of 2014, one which may say as “Porcelain” as a search term may not bring up all that
much about the user as about the website itself.7 is captioned as porcelain. “Earthenware” is a useful
The “Collections” web page by department includes term, but when should one apply it under “material”
a link to Asian Art, where there are relatively few instead of just doing a more general search under the
highlighted objects on the page. Only 14 of these are “classification” of “ceramic”? Is there any consistent
from the Chinese collection, and very few of those idea of what is a “vessel” as opposed to a “dish” or
are items which are currently on display in the mu- “bowl”? The country listings lack “China” (!); so the
seum. It seems in fact that the indication of whether way to get Chinese artefacts is to insert “Chinese”
any object listed in the online database is on display as the supplementary search term under the rubric
is not being kept up to date (case in point, Doug Ait- “people.” I tried several different ways to bring up
ken’s “Mirror” installation on the outside of the new the link to the page about my favorite figurine of the
SAM wing). While the arrangement of the tiles in the wine merchant, but he did not always appear when I
display groups them alphabetically by the rubric for would have expected to find him. The most general
“people” (Chinese, Japanese, etc.), it would have been searches are likely to bring up the most options. E.g.,
good to have distinct specific pages for each of those just look for works attributed to the “Tang Dynasty,”
sub-categories. That then would allow for expanding or do a query for the “classification” of “bronzes” and
the selection of highlighted works without requir- add the supplementary criterion, “Chinese” — which
ing the user to do excessive scrolling to pick an ob- then brings up an impressive number of items, more
ject. In clicking on any of these tiles, the user brings than I had been aware the collection holds.
up a separate page, containing one or more images. Clearly some of these problems can be at least mit-
None are enlargeable, which is unfortunate, though igated if there would be an explanatory page for the
some offer close-ups of detail. Are the main images search categories being offered and a more detailed
anywhere near large enough? — the Freer and Sack- indication of search strategies. But I wonder if the
ler Galleries in D.C. are poised to make available their problems may lie deeper in the coding for the objects
entire collection in high resolution downloadable im- or the search algorithms. There is certainly some in-
ages, and they are not unique in this. Included on the consistency in captions, where I assume for each item
SAM website are outdated photos from the museum a term has been entered in the appropriate line on a
archive that are inferior to the newer ones and might spread-sheet that then provides a searchable file. I
well have been dropped. The standard for verbal de- would not suggest that the problems I encountered
scriptions is a usually brief, and if so, not always very here are unique, but at least some other museums
informative paragraph. For many interesting objects may have figured out some solutions. In sum, at least
in the collection (e.g., the early Chinese bronzes), as for now it takes a lot of work and guessing to locate
yet there are no descriptive paragraphs at all. on-line what in fact seems to be a quite extensive cata-
When I realized that the limited array of “highlight” loguing of the Chinese collection in Seattle (note, how-
objects was not going to get me to other parts of the ever, many of the items listed as yet lack photos or any
Chinese collection (aside from the thorough coverage kind of meaningful description).
in the new online catalog of the paintings discussed Beyond a mere catalog description with a short para-
above), I tried various search strategies using the graph, what else might one hope eventually to find on a
“Search Collection” link. Could I easily locate “Chi- good web page for any object? I would think we need
nese blue-and-white porcelain” or “Tomb figurines,” some linked introductory essays (e.g., one on calligra-
since both categories include items of interest for the phy, one on the different types of ritual bronzes) and
history of the silk roads? While part of the problem more comparative examples. Should one happen to
was the learning curve for a new user, I concluded stumble on the page provided for the wonderful Yuan
that the search mechanism may still need of a lot of blue-and-white charger discussed earlier, one finds in
work. The “thesaurus” that would allow one to figure fact a number of complementary, informative para-
out what term to use for certain categories is appar- graphs and some comparative photos. That page as it
148
 Fig. 29. The display of many of Richard Fuller’s
snuff bottles, in the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh .

ucational resources which many

of them have created. A substan-
tial annotated listing of portals to
major internet resources can in
fact be found linked to the SAM’s
“Programs and Leaning” pages
<http://www.seattleartmuseum.
org/programs-and-learning/librar-
ies-and-resources/online-resourc-
es>. What I have in mind here as a
desideratum though is the specific
kinds of focused learning pages, of-
ten interactive, which naturally take
a huge amount of time to produce.
Unless one is provided with direct
stands is where the user interested in blue-and-white links to them where they relate to a given object in the
might well start. But how is he or she to know? If a collection, one may not be aware they exist.
visitor to Seattle wanted to see its good collection of SAM has begun to move in this direction. In its small
Asian ceramics he or she should also be aware that Islamic exhibit in the downtown museum, there is a
what is displayed, but a fraction of the whole, is di- little computerized set of pages to introduce visitors
vided between SAAM and a porcelain room (mainly to Islamic art. All that material seems to have made it
focused from the European perspective) in the down- into the online catalog, including the audio recordings
town museum. It is in the latter that some of the exam- of a curator discussing a particular topic. When SAM
ples of “kraack” wares, the export blue-and-white of mounted in the downtown museum a beautifully cu-
the late Ming period, are to be found. One can, at least, rated exhibition (“Luminous”) of its best treasures of
download a pdf file on the porcelain room ahead of a Asian art after they had returned from touring in Ja-
visit, in order to see exactly what is in it.8 Apart from a pan, I was very impressed by the computerized dis-
rather extensive display of Richard Fuller’s snuff bot- play which had been created to explain the extraordi-
tles in SAAM [Fig. 29], I think that porcelain room is nary Japanese “Deer Scroll” in the Seattle collection.
the closest thing we have here to a “study collection.” That interactive display offers information about
One specifically for Chinese ceramics would be highly poets, translations of the poems, the ability to zoom
desirable. in to look at details, etc. (that is, very like what one
On a very few of the caption pages for individual can do in the new on-line catalog of painting). The
objects, along with bibliographic references, are links “Deer Scroll” feature is available on the SAM website
to explanatory pages on other museums’ websites. So now and linked on the collections page for the scroll
far this barely hints at what might be possible. In one <http://www1.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/inter-
of the galleries at SAAM, which currently displays a actives/deerscroll/webSAM_deer.swf>. Another on-
handful of the early Chinese bronzes, there is an in- line resource, accessible from “Collections Resources”
teractive monitor where one can follow the process is pdf files of the papers given at a symposium on
of how a bronze was cast. This was created by the “Masterpieces of Japanese Painting.” There is also
Princeton Art Museum <http://etcweb.princeton. supposed to be an interactive catalog, “Discovering
edu/asianart/interactives/bronze/bronze.html>. Buddhist Art—Seeking the Sublime.” but the link to
A link to this resource could be added in the on-line it seems to be dead.
catalog pages for Seattle’s Chinese bronzes. Princeton An important part of Mimi Gates’s legacy is the
has another page with a similar interactive learning Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas at SAAM, es-
tool for making a Cizhou ceramic vessel <http:// tablished at the time of her retirement, which supports
etcweb.princeton.edu/asianart/interactives/ceram- an ambitious array of public education programs. It
ics/ceramics.html>, which would be good to connect has forged close relationships with the relevant aca-
somehow with the several fine examples in Seattle. demic programs at the University of Washington and
There have to be numerous possibilities here for has been expanding considerably on an earlier legacy
reaching out to other museums and sharing the ed- that dates back to the time of Richard Fuller, when he
149
would give public lectures on Seattle’s Asian art. Any joining modern office tower in 2007, the main entrance
good museum nowadays takes its educational mis- being in the new wing — a move that was essential to
sion seriously, something that arguably was always SAM’s future — both staircase (rightfully) and Chi-
foremost in Fuller’s mind. nese sculptures (sadly) languish largely unnoticed.9
On the other hand, the idea of luring the public to ex-
I can recall participating several decades ago in a perience art by bringing art to the public is certainly in
grant-funded NEH program for teachers involving accord with Fuller’s vision, even if now what one sees
University of Washington outreach programs and on the street is Jonathan Borovsky’s huge “Hammer-
SAM that focused on “objects of trade.” My wife still ing Man” sculpture with its motorized arm and Doug
has vivid memories of a workshop allowing partic- Aitkin’s recently installed digital display, “Mirror,”
ipants to learn about Chinese ceramics and actually that wraps around part of the new wing of the muse-
handle some of the objects in the collection. Apart um. Fuller might have welcomed this as necessary for
from a regular array of films and performances rang- the greater good of a successful public museum.
ing from the Southeast Asian version of “The Vagi-
na Monologues” to traditional Afghan music, one of As the neighboring Seattle Symphony has also de-
the star attractions of the Gardner Center now is its termined, to bring in new audiences seems to require
“Saturday University” lectures, each series exploring an emphasis on the modern and postmodern. Cer-
a broadly-based theme that generally will connect his- tainly this message is reinforced in the lobby of the
toric cultural traditions with the present. One that I new SAM, where one stands, somewhat nervously,
was involved in on Central Asia attracted an overflow under Cai Guo-Qiang’s 蔡国强 eye-catching “Inop-
audience of hundreds. The most recent one, which portune: Stage One” 2004, “a large-scale installation
filled every week the 200-seat auditorium, explored work consisting of a meticulous arrangement of life-
science and technology in East Asia. Christopher size cars and multichannel tubes that seem to blow up
Cullen of the Needham Institute in Cambridge intro- in sequence, symbolizing a series of car explosions.”
duced the series and played a key role in the selection Indeed, work by modern Chinese artists occupies an
of topics and speakers. important place in the museum: one room in SAAM
has been featuring Ai Weiwei’s 艾未未 “Colored Vas-
Into the 21st century es” (2010), and the larger gallery that at one time held
Fuller’s collection of mingqi, hosted a temporary ex-
I have to wonder a bit whether Richard Fuller, whose hibit of Chen Shao-xiong’s 陈劭雄 “Ink, History, Me-
view of Chinese art shaped the first decades of SAM, dia,” a captivating display of video and ink drawings
would be comfortable with the 21st-century muse- created from historic photos. The southern galleries of
um which has grown out of those ambitious begin- SAAM currently host the work of the Japanese Neo-
nings. He probably would rue the fact that the “spirit Pop artist who goes by the professional name of Mr.,
way” sculptures he installed to lure the public into timed presumably to coordinate with the downtown
his new museum have now been moved indoors in museum’s “Pop Departures” exhibit. I have not yet
an infamous “stairway to nowhere” that Venturi and had time to explore a new exhibit on at SAAM from
Associates designed for the new downtown museum late December until mid-June in 2015: “Conceal/Re-
building that opened in 1991 [Fig. 30].9 With the fur- veal: Making Meaning in Chinese Art.” It promises to
ther expansion of the downtown museum into the ad- connect older and newer traditions.
This new emphasis on the modern clearly strains
the existing gallery space, although fortunately many
of the best items in the older part of the Chinese col-
lection (in the first instance, ones acquired by Fuller)
are still to be seen, in the company of some outstand-
ing similar works from private collections that one
can hope eventually will be donated to the muse-
um. Over the last year or two, for example, there has
been a lovely selection of celadons, including some of

Fig. 30. The “grand staircase” (a.k.a. “Art Ladder”) in the Venturi wing
of SAM, the statues having been moved from in front of the original
SAM building in Volunteer Park. The camels are out of sight farther up
the stairs. Photo by Joe Mabel. Source: <http://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/4/4e/SAM_Art_Ladder_02.jpg>.

150
dramatic size. It is not as though the Fig. 31. Images from SAM’s “Lumi-
historic core of the Seattle collection is nous” exhibition. Left to right: In
really being consigned to the dustheap the foreground of a display of Bud-
of history. Josh Yiu’s book was pub- dhist sculpted heads, a late 7th–early
lished in conjunction with a like-named 8th-century (Tang period) head of a
exhibition in SAAM that highlighted Fuller’s legacy. Buddha (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 39.29); detail from a statue
“Luminous” <http://www1.seattleartmuseum.org/ of a seated Guanyin, 10th–late 13th century (Song period) (Eugene Fuller
luminous/>, one of the best recent exhibitions held Memorial Collection, 35.17); a standing Bodhisattva, early 8th century
(Tang period) (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection 34.64). Photographs
in the large galleries of the downtown museum, dis-
by Daniel C. Waugh.
played SAM’s masterpieces of Asian art after they had
returned from a successful tour in Japan [Fig. 31]. The spectful of the existing architecture and its surround-
exhibition included an inspired installation commis- ing park, a space that then could allow much more
sioned from contemporary artist Do Ho of the Asian collections to be
Suh <http://www1.seattleartmuseum. available to visitors on a per-
org/luminous/doho.html>, through manent basis. After all, we
which the visitor passed to be met by the can continue to be inspired
remarkable early 17th-century Japanese by the “intangible aesthetic
painted screens depicting “Crows,” yet return” of the objects Fuller
another of Richard Fuller’s important acquired, such as this evoc-
acquisitions. Thus one could experience ative dry lacquer head of a
what was expressed in Xu Bing’s couplet luohan [Fig. 32], which I first
presented to Mimi Gates on her retire- saw years ago in the base-
ment: “Learning from the past, Moving ment storage rooms but to
forward in time” (or its reverse: “Learn- our good fortune is currently
ing from the present, moving backward on display. So many of these
in time”?). works invite us to return and
contemplate them anew on
Yet one can dream of the day when
every visit.
one of Seattle’s philanthropically gen-
-- Daniel C. Waugh
erous moguls, far better heeled than University of Washington (Seattle)
Richard Fuller ever was, would allocate
even a fraction as much for Asian art in Fig. 32. Head of a Luohan, 10th–12th
the city as for, say, basic science research century (Song period). Dry lacquer
or, heaven help us, a professional sport and glass. H: 17 1/4 in. Eugene Fuller
franchise. A visionary donation might Memorial Collection 40.20. Photo-
make possible an addition to SAAM re- graph by Daniel C. Waugh.

151
Notes ently only one roughly analogous example of a Yuan-era blue-
and-white porcelain with the raised flowers in the design
1. His collection of snuff bottles that remain in the museum (Museum no. 1951.1012.1). The famous collection of Safavid
is still recognized as being a very important one. See Fig. 29. Shah Abbas at Ardebil had a dish with a nearly identical
design in the outer rings (including the raised floral images)
2. Note that the ewer is green, even if Yiu’s book, Fig. 12, p.
but a central design that only very selectively replicates a
32, depicts it as gray.
motif found on the dish in Seattle. The Topkapi Saray collec-
3. The Fuller legacy in the collections is denoted under two tion in Istanbul, has a dish with a much more closely related
important rubrics. His own collection and the purchases for design in the center, but which otherwise is different. The
the museum which grew it bear not his name but rather that Ardebil and Topkapi dishes are nos. A.15 and T.15 respec-
of his father: “The Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection.” An tively in T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near
endowment in his mother’s name is “The Margaret E. Fuller East: Topkapi and Ardebil, 3 vols. (Hong Kong: Hong Kong
Purchase Fund.” Univ. Pr., 1981).
4. See his essay on the album which was commissioned for 7. I should also qualify my remarks by stressing that I have
the on-line catalog of the Seattle paintings. accessed the web pages only using a desktop computer with
a mouse. I assume the redesign of the website in part is to
5. Both the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert in
accommodate access by mobile and other touch-screen de-
London have quite a few pieces of Tang silver, but of dif-
vices.
ferent forms or techniques. A dish in the Musée Guimet is
very similar to one of the Seattle dishes. One of the more 8. The guide to the Wyckoff porcelain gallery is <http://
spectacular collections of Tang precious metalwork was www.seattleartmuseum.org/Documents/SAMPorcelain-
auctioned off at Southeby’s in May 2008, with a number of Guide_4mg.pdf>. An excellent overview of porcelain, draw-
the best pieces being bought for a museum in Qatar. The ing extensively on Seattle’s collections, is Julie Emerson, Jen-
item most similar to Fuller’s, was a covered dish bought nifer Chen, and Mimi Gardner Gates, Porcelain Stories: From
by the famed London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi for nearly China to Europe (Seattle: Seattle Art Museum in association
1.6 million British pounds. It is lot 64 and may be viewed with University of Washington Press, 2000).
on-line <http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecata- 9. The construction of the downtown building was fraught
logue/2008/masterpieces-of-chinese-precious-metalwork- with controversy, as the available site and funding required
early-gold-and-silver-early-chinese-white-green-and-black- considerable revision and downsizing of the original archi-
wares-l08211/lot.64.html>. For a somewhat sensationalized tectural plans. In effect, Venturi re-cycled his design for the
news account of the sale, see Suren Melikian, “Whiff of mys- Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery in London, where
tery hangs over sale of China objects,” The New York Times, the “grand staircase” actually connects in a meaningful way
May 23, 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/ to both the older building and the new annex. The expan-
arts/24iht-melik24.1.13157032.html?pagewanted=all&_ sion of SAM has also included the creation of a beautifully
r=0>, accessed 3 December 2014. situated outdoor sculpture park overlooking Puget Sound
6. The rareness of the Seattle dish is indicated by the fact that and the Olympic Mountains.
in the huge collection of the British Museum, there is appar-

152
Featured review

Re-Imagining and Re-Imaging Eurasian Exchange

Daniel C. Waugh
University of Washington (Seattle)

Wollt ihr nach Regeln messen,

was nicht nach eurer Regeln Lauf,
der eignen Spur vergessen,
sucht davon erst die Regeln auf!
— Hans Sachs
(Wagner, Die Meistersinger, Act I)

Toby C. Wilkinson. Tying the Threads of Eurasia: Trans-regional routes and material flows
in Transcaucasia, eastern Anatolia and western central Asia, c. 3000-1500 BC. Leiden: Side-
stone Press, 2014. 406 pp. ISBN 978-90-8890-244-4.
Threads of Eurasia databank <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/a/index>,
or <http://www.archatlas.org/databank/2014/Wilkinson.tc/a/index>.

T his is a challenging, innovative, and, I would ar-

gue, very important book. Since it takes on a lot of
conventional wisdom, specialists may well find ways
tions and is going to require a lot more spinning and
weaving if it can ever be expected to cover the cav-
ernous walls of an ancient edifice. Readers wanting
to fault it. This essay is an attempt to interpret what neat conclusions here may come away disappointed,
its significance is for non-specialists like this reviewer even though Wilkinson is very careful along the way
who come at the material from the perspective of the to summarize important points clearly and offers an
history of the chronologically later “silk roads.” Since admirable summary discussion, followed by a conclu-
the author has commendably made freely available sion which re-visits the research questions first posed
for academic users downloadable copies of most of his on p. 59, indicating clearly which hypotheses and
maps and datasets, most of the illustrations below are methods seemed to produce the desired results and
taken from his website. which did not.
Toby Wilkinson began this, his Ph.D. dissertation Wilkinson’s starting point of itself has been antici-
project at the University of Sheffield, with the goal of pated by others who have written about Eurasian ex-
trying “to explore and map the possibility of earlier change, especially during the Bronze and early Iron
prehistoric precursors to the ‘historical’ silk roads to Ages, generally with an eye to how that history may
assess the antiquity of trans-regional and trans-con- relate to that of the so-called silk roads. Little of that
tinental cultural interconnections.” (p. 23). Those previous work though has proposed the kind of meth-
who have explored the important ArchAtlas <http:// odological sophistication or comparative perspective
www.archatlas.org/Home.php>, an on-line project at found in this book and thereby has offered little which
Sheffield, founded by the late Andrew Sherratt, will might help us to “re-configure” the history of the silk
have seen a preview of Wilkinson’s project. The chal- roads themselves. While Wilkinson bookends his ma-
lenges presented by the uneven and often inadequate terial with references to the silk roads, as he rightly
data required that he develop new ways of trying to points out, “The Silk Road” is really a “literary trope,”
reconstruct the history, going beyond what texts, ar- “a modern attempt to create a fixed identity for a very
tefacts and geography of themselves seem to reveal. vague idea about trade across Eurasia in the pre-mod-
The result, in his words, is “a never-finished tapestry,” ern age” (p. 93). His subject then has little to do with
whose complexity does not lead to simple generaliza- it, even if at the end he suggests that possibly applica-

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 153 – 163 + Color Plates XIV - XVI 153 Copyright © 2014 Daniel C. Waugh; map copyrights Toby C. Wilkinson
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
tion of some of the techniques of analysis he lays out establish clear “route hierarchies.” A great virtue of
may lead to fruitful results in helping us understand his review of the evidence is his inclusion of elegantly
the Eurasian exchange of the first millennium or so of drawn maps, with the individually determined his-
the Common Era. For that reason, I would argue, ev- torical routes (everything from Roman roads to ones
ery student of the silk roads should read this book. mapped by British Naval Intelligence) traced over
He starts by discussing interpretive strategies and ter- shaded topography. He then brings together the vari-
minology regarding long-distance exchange, where he ous data (p. 90), to show the complexity of “all recon-
argues that a “networking” model (providing it is not structed routes” as they might be envisaged for the
too abstract and takes into account material evidence) period covered in his book. Significantly, the one route
seems more appropriate as a way of conceptualizing he does not illustrate explicitly is the “Silk Road.”
pre-historic exchange than does the “world-systems” This review leads him to the conclusion that a new
approach with its hierarchical scheme of dynamic core approach is needed, since there are too many un-
territories and marginalized peripheries. He stresses provable assumptions about “route intertia,” and the
that while his focus is on “material flows,” this does hard data we have are so uneven and arguably quite
not mean simply charting where objects or products incomplete. The traditional approach, which produc-
originated or ended up. Critically important is to es static “road maps,” fails to provide a way of de-
understand the contexts in which they seem to have termining periods of “route dynamism.” Historically
been used and are found, since often it is the chang- attested later routes by no means determine the possi-
ing patterns of use more than the objects themselves ble corridors of movement in earlier periods; indeed,
which will be revealing of cross-fertilizing interaction. one has to define “route” as a “corridor,” not think
Another interesting emphasis here is on the aesthetic of it as a thin line on the map. Wilkinson presents his
or ritual value of objects, which may be a more im- alternative to the traditional way of mapping routes in
portant indicator of the esteem in which they are held Ch. 3, “Landscape and Non-linear Networks: Finding
than “economic” value as conventionally defined. As Methods to Visualize Ancient Flow of Materials.” His
he proceeds, for example, he returns on more than new approach is
one occasion to the significance of color, which may
explain why certain materials were more valued than a novel computerized method based on the princi-
others, at times defying what a rational modern stan- ple of landscape continuity, in which the travers-
dard might suggest. Once he introduces an aesthetic ability of terrain is modelled and visualized using
criterion, he then can argue logically for the inclusion cost-surface GIS techniques, and this then can be
of certain proxies (especially from pottery) which may used in association with period-specific distribu-
be relevant to filling in the gaps in the material record tion data to suggest the density of travel across this
for substances such as metals or textiles. terrain. [p. 325]
At the heart of the book is a sophisticated use of GIS The cost-surface analysis takes into account topog-
(Geographic Information Systems)-based mapping. raphy, availability of water, and climate by assigning
Were it merely a matter of registering locations of sites proximate values for “cost” of whether one is going
and artefact finds, to be able to connect them with lin- uphill, downhill, is nearer or farther from sources of
ear routes, this would hardly be new, even if his da- water, is in a more or less extreme temperature zone
tabase is more carefully constructed than that which (see Appendix A for details on the numerical values
others have used. His Ch. 2, “Routes: on the Trail of assigned). It is possible to weight topography or water
History and Myth,” contains much that will be famil- availability differently, which then will alter the “cost
iar to those who have tried to map concrete routes of passage”. Thus he can construct a grid (“raster”)
across Eurasia, but the whole point of his review is model used for the subsequent analysis in the book
to suggest why most such attempts are of question- [p. 114; Fig. 1, next page], the greener areas designat-
able value if one is trying to project back in history. In ing the terrain least costly to traverse, shading then
particular he takes on what he calls a largely unstated through yellow into red, where the darkest color then
assumption that there was “route intertia” — the idea indicates the terrain most costly to traverse (e.g., wa-
that what can be documented from later sources de- terless desert, high mountains). [I would emphasize
fines routes which undoubtedly had deeper histories. that gray-scale reproductions of his color maps are
In such argument, over time people followed more or inadequate to show clearly some of the distinctions
less the same major routes, some of which eventual- in shading; readers of the print version of this journal
ly came to be paved (e.g., by Roman roads) or dotted should consult the on-line version or go directly to the
with caravansarays to accommodate travelers. One of same maps on Wilkinson’s website. Some of his maps
the issues here which Wilkinson is testing is whether have been reproduced here as well in the Color Plate
one can, on the basis of the later historical evidence, insert.]
154
 Fig. 1. “Cost of passage” raster--Model 2. Source:
<http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/
staticfiles/3/FIG3-1_model1.jpg>. Also, Wilkin-
son, p. 114.

the barriers to movement. Among

the more interesting results of this
analysis then is what it suggests
about archaeological “cultures”
which straddle terrain that is costly
to traverse, but which lies between
areas of less costly travel and easier
access to materials.
To be able to construct such archae-
otopograms does require sufficient
hard data. Thus, for example, he
can produce them for some kinds of
raw material sources and the objects
made from them (e.g., stone, met-
als) or different types of pottery, but
not for direct textile remains, which
Once he has this cost-of-passage model, Wilkinson are so infrequently found and in ways that obviously
is able to input on it archaeological data on sites and would not correspond in any accurate way to the ac-
finds, creating what he terms “archaeotopograms” tual distribution of textiles historically. Wilkinson rec-
[Fig. 2]. By the color gradation in them, they can indi- ognizes that what he has come up with here is at best
cate “relative distance” (time or energy cost of travel) what we might term a first approximation, and that a
from a particular site or source of a substance, or can great deal of additional discovery and collection and
show “zones of interaction,” which suggest the re- organization of data is going to be necessary before
gions around a site or sites in which particular objects it will be possible to confirm some of the suggestions
most likely circulated. They are intended to help in he makes: “To a large degree, the future of synthetic
visualization. They are “heuristic tools of interpreta- approaches to archaeology must lie, therefore, in the
tion… not … ‘objective’ maps of past exchange net- digital management of data” (p. 328).
works” (p. 327), and suggest corridors of interaction.
While his geographic purview perforce has to be
It does not necessarily follow that the “least costly”
much wider, to be able to deal with a manageable
corridors were always the ones followed in reality,
data set (and one based on areas for which there is at
since a great many variables may have affected the
least an adequate density of archaeological material),
actual choice of routes. Moreover, as Wilkinson stress-
he focuses on two regions, which he has defined as
es, just as it is important to determine what facilitated
Eastern Anatolia/Transcaucasia and Western Central
movement, it is equally important to take into account
Asia [Fig. 3] (see pp. 29–30 for details of what these
encompass). Of course even within these areas, the
Fig. 2. Archaeotopogram illustrating distribution of “inter-cultural
style” stone vessels of known provenance, with “zones of interaction” distribution of archaeological sites and quality of the
suggesting areas of circulation around the find sites. Source: <http://to- evidence varies considerably. To some extent, his
bywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/4/FIG4-8_interc_simple-
cost-dist.jpg>. Also, Wilkinson p. 138. Fig. 3. Map indicating broad location of the two main case-study areas.
Source: Wilkinson, Fig. 1.1, p. 29.

155
 Fig. 4. Decoration on harp buried in tomb of Queen Puabi, with gold, la-
pis lazuli and shell. Ca. 2500 BCE (Early Dynastic III). From Grave PG
800, Ur. Collection of the British Museum, ME 121198A. Photograph
by Daniel C. Waugh.
“cradles of civilization” which lie to the south. That
said, he devotes some attention to the south, insofar as
the source of some of the materials he is considering
undoubtedly was the Indus Valley and adjoining re-
gions, where maritime transport surely was involved.
His focus on the period between 3000 and 1500 BCE
reflects the fact that this was a time when significant
changes in trade and interaction are known to have
occurred, involving in particular development of met-
al technology and new means of transportation that
facilitated widely ranging exchange. He admits that
having to use standard chronological divisions within
this range (ones largely based on typology of pottery)
is problematic (see the comprehensive chart, p. 39),
but there is as yet too little analysis which would en-
able one to develop more precise chronologies.
The rubber hits the road in the book in Chapters 4-6
on material flows, dealing successively with stone and
stone objects, metals, and textiles and patterns. It is
no surprise to find in the first of these a discussion of
evidence about lapis lazuli and carnelian, both rare
minerals which were highly prized for their color and
possible religious or spiritual connotations. In the
case of lapis, whose source, it still seems, was a remote
choice was governed by wanting to look at areas that
mountainous area in what is now Afghanistan, there
were considered to have been important in the later
is ample evidence of its having traveled far and wide.
history of the “silk roads”; also to look at regions that
The royal burials at Ur, contain large quantities of it
did not include what are considered to be the urban
[Fig. 4], as do Egyptian tombs. Yet, oddly perhaps,
there is also insufficient data
to map precisely the flows
and their changes over time:
“the density and resolution
of the evidence remains too
low and our distribution
map is incomplete” [Fig. 5]
(p. 129). Wilkinson’s dis-
cussion of the several most
likely corridors of move-
ment of lapis (pp. 130-31)
and how the preference for
Fig. 5. Distribution of known lapis-la-
zuli objects and regions of intense
consumption in relation to the mate-
rial’s sources. Relative distances from
sources in Badakshan, shown by dia-
mond, indicated by archaeotopogram
type A2 (yellow -- close; purple—
far). Numbers key for sites given in
Appendix C.1.1. Source: <http://to-
bywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/
staticfiles/4/FIG4-2_lapis_srcs.tif>.
Also, Wilkinson, p. 128.

156
Fig. 6. Carnelian beads. Iran (Susa), ca. 2600–2200 BCE. Musée du
Louvre, Sb 17751. Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.

Fig. 8 (right). Bronze-age weights. Collection of the Archaeological Mu-

seum, Istanbul. Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.

one over another may have changed over time pro- patterns of international exchange (in this, Wilkinson
vides a good sense of his analytical approach and the is following arguments by L. Rahmstorf). By the late
somewhat open-ended suggestiveness of what his ar- third millennium, the weighting systems in various
chaeotopograms illustrate. The evidence for carnelian regions seem to have been calibrated in a way that al-
also leaves open a good many questions, not the least lowed for easy conversion from one region to another,
being the issue of where the prized etched carnelian this suggesting a conscious development which had
beads were actually manufactured [Fig. 6]. occurred to facilitate significant international trade
Arguably the most intriguing section of Ch. 4 con- (see the table of the common multiples on p. 148, and
cerns objects made of other stones (steatite and chlo- the maps showing the regions in which the different
rite) in an “intercultural style” and weights [Figs. 7, 8]. systems seem to have operated, p. 149).
Widespread as some of these objects are, it seems like- Once he has examined all this evidence, Wilkinson
ly, he argues, that the meaning attached to them var- then constructs a visual summary of distribution data
ied considerably from one region to another. It is en- [Fig. 9] showing the most likely (generalized) direc-
tirely possible that some of the containers were valued tion of material flows overlaid on an indication of the
less for themselves than for the perishable substances
(herbs, narcotics?) that they may have contained. The Fig. 9. Summary of distribution data on lapis lazuli, carnelian, “intercul-
development of weighing systems (where many of tural-style” objects and weighing systems for the 3rd millennium BCE.
the weights which have been preserved are made of Source: <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/4/FIG4-
stone) is a crucial indicator of changes in the broader 14_summary.jpg>. Also, Wilkinson, p. 150.

Fig. 7. Vase. SE Iran (Kerman prov-

ince). 2600–2200 BCE. Chlorite,
mother of pearl, turquoise (?).Musée
du Louvre, AO-31918. Photograph
by Daniel C. Waugh.

157
Fig. 10. Archaeotopogram showing on left relative distance from copper mines were exhausted or have been obscured by lat-
ore sources and on right from tin ore sources around Western Central er mining. And, in any event, there still has not been
Asia. Darker color indicates closer proximity to ore sources. Source: close enough archaeological survey in many regions.
<http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/5/FIG5-3_Cus- The differences in the availability and accessibility of
rcs_pathdist_ca.jpg>, <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/stat-
the ores of the two metals are vividly highlighted by
icfiles/5/FIG5-6_a2_tinsrcs-ca.jpg>. Also, Wilkinson, pp. 159, 163.
comparison of the archaeotopograms for copper (p.
areas in which weighing systems have been identified. 159) and tin (p. 163) [Fig. 10], the former dense with
What this map suggests is that the concentrations of regions of easy access, the latter very sparsely so pop-
finds and the most likely areas in which the objects ulated. Not the least of the challenges in analyzing
circulated correspond to regions where particular (as the data for the production of bronze derives from
yet undeterminable) cultural values were attached to the tendency to privilege tin-bronze (as “more ad-
them. Notably, there is practically no evidence that vanced”) over arsenic-bronze, even though it would
these objects were valued in the Eastern Anatolia/ seem the latter continued to be made in many areas
Caucasus region which is one of his areas of primary and the evidence about it therefore needs much more
concern. careful attention. Among the more intriguing of the
archaeotopograms here is one [Fig. 11] which suggests
Pride of place in Ch. 5 on metals goes to copper and
where we might expect to locate several centers for
tin, the former abundantly available in various places,
early tin-bronze experimentation, based on the rela-
whereas the sources of the latter seem to have been
tive proximity to sources of both metals.
few. [He also treats precious metals and to a limited
degree iron.] As Wilkinson emphasizes (and this is es- Wilkinson is very interested in the cultural contexts
pecially important for the question of whether there of both production and consumption. Following on
were significant sources of tin other than in Central his discussion of sources of the ores and transmis-
Asia), there often is little evidence to show where ores sion patterns, he examines the distribution of vari-
were mined back in the Bronze Age, either because the ous categories of objects made from the metals, and
then devotes considerable attention
to the metallurgical “provinces” de-
termined by E. N. Chernykh’s huge
database, whose evidence attempts
to track and map changes in the
composition of alloys over time (this

Fig. 11. Prediction for centers of early tin-bronze

experimentation based on archaeotopogram
showing sum of relative distance from copper
and tin sources, the green areas showing regions
with relatively easy access to both metals. (A.
Balkans; B. Marmara; C. Taurus and Cilicia;
D. Luristan; E. west Afghanistan; F. east Af-
ghanistan; G. Zerafshan and Ferghana). Source:
<http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/
staticfiles/5/FIG5-11_b_cu-and-sn.ai>. Also,
Wilkinson, p. 169.
158
relates, for example, to the question of jects would be recycled. To try to gain
arsenic- vs. tin- bronze). Chernykh’s a fuller picture of how metal wares
material raises important questions were valued, Wilkinson turns to an-
about “networks of interaction” and other kind of evidence, what he terms
“key social boundaries” (p. 180). In “skeuomorphs,” that is objects not
considering how such questions might made of metal which deliberately im-
be answered (without being able to itate the shape or substance of metal
flesh out any kind of definite answer), wares but are composed of different
Wilkinson ventures the following cau- materials. In particular here, he means
tionary note, which is bound to raise certain types of pottery vessels, whose
the hackles of those who have devoted color, shape, and/or texture most like-
a lot of energy to proving different hy- ly was based on metal wares (or wares
potheses (p. 181): with a “metallic” appearance). In the
western sector of his research area,
[W]e need to evoke a dynamic model
there are both reddish “Metallische
in which there must have been sub-
stantial movement between a prov- Ware” objects [Fig. 11], very likely
ince’s constituent regions, whether made to imitate copper vessels, and
by this we mean movement of peo- black wares which arguably imitate
ple, movement of objects and mate- obsidian (parts of Eastern Anatolia
rials, or, less tangibly, movements Fig. 12. Spouted pitcher, Acemhöyük. ca. were long an important source of that
of ideas. The migrant people we 18th century BCE. Museum of Anatolian stone). In Wilkinson’s Western Cen-
would need to envisage should not tral Asia region, the skeuomorphs of
Civiliations, Ankara.
be the monolithic and unidirectional Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh. particular interest are the plain “me-
hordes of traditional culture-history, tallic” Namagaza V ceramics (found
nor a version of modern day nomadic pastoralists, beginning ca. 2500 BCE), which replace the highly
but groups or individual crafts people moving in decorated ceramics of the earlier Namagaza sequence.
both directions with particular interests or motiva- If we accept the argument for using these proxies for
tions in maintaining cultural links for a variety of actual metal objects, then there is a sufficient density
reasons… Even if an individual moves only a few of finds to enable the creation with some confidence of
kilometres to the next village, if that individual’s archaeotopograms that define circulation and distri-
apprentices also then migrate a few kilometres,
bution areas. All this evidence then can be combined
over only a few generations the knowledge of par-
in a very suggestive visualization of metal flows over-
ticular techniques and shapes can be transmitted
laid on a mapping of the circulation/distribution ar-
over large distances without necessarily requiring
eas of the relevant pottery [Fig. 12, next page; Color
the bulk of population to move in the same direc-
tion. Marriage and similar social alliance patterns Plate XIV].
can [have] played a role in this kind of mobility Textiles, in particular woven and decorated ones
and transmission of techniques. which are the focus here, are hugely important, not
necessarily in purely economic terms, but for how
Patterns of consumption of metals have received less
they were used to adorn, “a vital medium for ‘symbol-
attention than patterns of production. In focusing on
ic’ negotiation of social identities, particularly through
consumption, Wilkinson finds of value a distinction
human clothing and the display and emulation of de-
posited by David Wengrow between deposits of metal
sirable colours, motifs and materials, but also in other
objects in a “sacrificial economy” as opposed to those
contexts (wrapping of goods, decoration of architec-
in an “archival economy” (pp. 194-95), the latter re-
tural spaces and dressing of animals)” (p. 226). The
lating to periods when there may have been a much
ease with which they could be transported could ex-
larger scale of exchange but also reflecting a different
plain the long-distance migration of patterns and mo-
set of cultural values. Such considerations might then
tifs. Since so rarely have the actual textiles been pre-
lead to a conclusion that the metallurgical boundar-
served (and then in what we might call a-typical and
ies in Chernykh’s scheme are not coterminous with
localized contexts), evidence about them largely has
boundaries between value systems (p. 198).
to be sought from indirect sources. The huge numbers
Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, for all of the abun- of clay tablets preserved at some important sites such
dance of metal objects found in excavations, the ev- as Ebla [Fig. 13], Mari and Kültepe help document the
idence is not necessarily representative of the real social contexts of textile manufacture and to a degree
range of metal usage. Certain kinds of objects would the range of trade, although Wilkinson cautions about
not necessarily be deposited in the ground; metal ob- how much one can conclude if a given textile is desig-
159
Fig. 12. Summary of distribution data on metals over the 3000-1500 Fig. 14. Relief of goddess Lama, Mari,
BCE period. Source: <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/static- early 2nd millennium BCE. Musée du
files/5/FIG5-52_summary_metals.jpg>. Also, Wilkinson, p. 223 Louvre, AO 19077. Photograph by
Daniel C. Waugh.
nated by a term associated with a particular place, the
name not necessarily referring to its actual origin (p. on the basis of depictions
231). In instances where no actual textiles have been such as those on seals, but
preserved, they may have left their traces imprinted he is skeptical of conclusions
on hard objects or in dye residues. One aspect of tex- some scholars have reached
tile production he explores is the source of fibers. In associating patterns on tex-
much of the area that concerns him, wool made from tiles found in burials in the
sheep and goat hair was the most important source. Tarim Basin with a particu-
Whereas the actual fibers have for the most part not lar (in particular, Indo-Euro-
been preserved, spindle and loom weights have. In his pean) language group (pp.
discussion of textile technology, he gives due credit 255–56).
to Elizabeth Wayland Barber’s important book, even Apart from seal impres-
as he differs from her in some matters of interpreta- sions, there is a lot of other
tion. Weave patterns sometimes can be reconstructed visual evidence for learning
Fig. 13. The ruins of Ebla in Syria, the lighter (plastered over) walls about fabrics and dress (or
marking the palace area where the archive of clay tablets was found. its absence) — figurines or
Photo panorama by Daniel C. Waugh. reliefs [Fig. 14], some wall

160
 to integrate these patterns with the distribu-
tion of and variation in textile technologies—
which…we still know very little about” (p.
274).
In “Tying the Threads” (Ch. 7), Wilkinson
divides his 1500 years into 300-year seg-
ments (and adds a “postscript” one for the
period after 1400 BCE), for each producing
a map charting the flows of stones, metals
and textiles, supplemented by indications of
culture areas of importance and directions of
other flows (such as the introduction of new
means of transport, changes in pottery type,
or distribution of figurine types) [Fig. 16; Col-
or Plate XV]. His discussion then highlights
Fig. 15. Investiture scene, Mari royal palace. 2nd half of 19th century BCE. Possibly rep- the changes these maps exhibit and presents
resenting a tapestry. Musée du Louvre, AO 19826. Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.
paintings [Fig. 15], and, sig-
nificantly, the replication of
patterns in the decoration of
pottery. Certain kinds of jew-
elry also are very important
for suggesting areas of the
spread of particular styles
of costume. As with the evi-
dence concerning metals, the
pottery, which is abundant
and relatively well repre-
sented in the archaeological
record, is particularly import-
ant for constructing archaeo-
topograms. It is important to
note that the pattern of the ar-
eas well covered by particular
classes of evidence changes
between the third and second
millennia BCE. Wilkinson
ventures that, if one accepts
the idea of the correlation
between pottery decoration
and textile design, it might be
possible “to construct textile
provinces and foci in a simi-
lar way to Chernykh’s metal-
lurgical groupings. However,
more work needs to be done
Fig. 16. Summary of data on flows
of stones, metals and textiles for peri-
ods 2900–2600 and 2600–2300 BCE.
Source: <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/
threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/7/FIG7-
2_2900-2600.jpg>; <http://tobywilkin-
son.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/7/
FIG7-3_2600-2300BC.jpg>.
Also, Wilkinson, pp. 293, 296.

161
hypotheses as to why they occurred. He readily ad- (BMAC) in Western Central Asia [Fig. 17; Color Plate
mits that with more time, additional detail could have XVI]. The position of each straddles what seems to
been provided for regions outside his self-selected be a “high-cost” boundary between lower-cost areas,
core zones and for products (e.g., foodstuffs) which and the respective chronologies of their expansion
are obviously very important to provide a fuller pic- and contraction are of particular interest. In contrast
ture of exchanges. to Philip Kohl, who has suggested a possibly related
synchronous rise or fall of both areas, Wilkinson won-
Central to his interpretation of this dynamic pic- ders whether revisions of chronology may suggest a
ture of exchange is what the evidence reveals about more complex relationship (p. 316). Even if those two
two culture areas represented in the Kura-Arax as- areas might be construed as “peripheral” to the main
semblages of Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus and centers of urban development to the south, in fact one
the so-called “Bactro-Margiana Culture Complex” can argue they were actors in control of their own
destinies, who were able to
maximize benefit from their
interaction with surround-
ing regions by controlling
material flows. Changes
in identity and the ways
in which it was expressed
seem to have been part of
the explanation for changes
we can in fact document in
the flows of material objects.
Perhaps the most provoca-
tive idea to come out of this
analysis, in particular re-
garding the evidence from
Wilkinson’s “non-urbanized”
western study area, is that,
ironically, “‘urbanism’ is
often seen to represent a
process of settlement and
sedentism, when in fact it
appears to have involved a
much greater degree of mo-
bility (in the movement of
people and goods) and a fo-
cus on the increase of ‘por-

Fig. 17. (top) The relationship be-

tween Kura-Arax assemblage (at
their greatest extent) and the acces-
sibility to copper sources known to
modern geology (archaeotopogram
type A2). (bottom) The relationship
between BMAC/Namazga VI-related
material culture, the central BMAC
zone and areas of high accessibility
to tin sources (archaeotopogram type
A2). Source: <http://tobywilkinson.
co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/7/
FIG7-8_cu_KuraArax.jpg>; <http://
tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeur-
asia/staticfiles/7/FIG7-9_sn_BMAC.
jpg>. Also, Wilkinson, pp. 312, 313.

162
tability’ of wealth and abstraction of social relations” fully printed book should find most of it accessible.
(p. 322). Wilkinson does an excellent job of explaining con-
Returning to his original set of research questions, cepts and delineating exactly how much or how little
Wilkinson concludes that his new methodological ap- can reasonably be concluded from his evidence. True,
proach works reasonably well for some material flows, most readers probably would prefer to find a more
but not so well for others. The fault is not necessarily definite set of “answers” here, rather than be left with
in the model, but rather in the availability of enough a bundle of provocative hypotheses, which may not
data and, where the evidence is huge and complex, yet be testable. It can be difficult to see how one can
the amount of time it would take to code and have combine visualizations in a set of fairly conventional
even a fast computer crunch the numbers. He remains maps plotting sites or find distributions with visual-
confident that further application of his methodology izations in archaeotopograms that may resemble more
may move us closer to a real understanding of the pro- abstract expressionist art (or oil slicks on water) than
cesses and patterns of exchange. anything one can relate to hard data, and end up with
maps which overlay directions of material flows on
With regard to his original question about the rela- summary graphic representations of other evidence.
tionship of the historic “Silk Road” to earlier patterns, However, to the degree that the construction of such
he re-emphasizes, quoting Andrew Sherratt, that it composite maps for a sequence of time periods then
should at best be treated as “a directional chain of allows visual comparison highlighting change over
preferentially orientated transactions, which allowed time, the results indeed meet what Wilkinson had
a complementary flow of products” (quoted, p. 332). hoped to achieve.
If there was a “continuity of partners” over the longue
durée, it “was probably far from continuous, and … I have been searching for some time to find new ap-
it was precisely the constant transformations of part- proaches to re-conceptualize how we might talk about
ners (or rather the transformations of their preferences the “silk roads.” I am not sure yet that I have found
of consumption) that drove the evolution of routes.” an answer, but how I might go about looking for one
What was involved may have been driven by both has been fundamentally changed by this book. As the
a cumulative process of particular routes “gaining listeners responded, when Walther von Stolzing had
momentum through time” and oscillation whereby followed Hans Sachs’ advice: “…Wer hätt’s gedacht,
routes emerged and others disappeared. If further was doch recht Wort und Vortrag macht!” (Who
research proves this to be the case, then it may well would have thought it? What a difference the right
be possible to find the roots of the silk roads in the words and proper delivery make!”).
Bronze Age exchange networks (p. 332).
In sum, Wilkinson’s book is a bold and sweeping Note: I have found few technical flaws in the book —
call to re-think many of the traditional approaches a few typos, and a couple of cases (easily figured out)
to analyzing Eurasian exchange, in the process high- of switched images and captions (pp. 147, 163), and a
lighting time and again the limitations of the evidence stray artefact of a reference to a non-existent data CD
we have in hand and the possible paths for further (p. 403; superseded by the fact that the data have been
exploration. Even those like this reviewer who are made available on-line). The publisher has assured
not familiar with the underlying architecture of the me that since this is a print-on-demand volume, cop-
data analysis that has produced the abundant and ies fulfilling new orders will have had such oversights
elegant visualizations found throughout this beauti- corrected.

163
Reviews

Reconfiguring the Silk Road. New Research on East-West Exchange in Antiquity. The Papers of
a Symposium Held at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
March 19, 2011. Ed. Victor H. Mair; Jane Hickman. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Mu-
seum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2014. xvi + 104 pp. ISBN-13? 978-1-934536-68-1.

T he “Silk Road” as we thought we knew it has been

subject to “reconfiguring” for a good many years
now, thanks in no small part to the prodigious efforts
sion of the silk roads (which were many and included
importantly maritime routes) should not just focus
on Rome and China. The earlier history of western
of Victor Mair, the convener of the symposium whose Asia and northeast Africa are important, as the evi-
papers he and his colleague Jane Hickman (editor of dence for Eurasian exchange under the Achaemenids
the Penn Museum’s excellent Expedition magazine) and Alexander’s successors makes very clear. Little of
have edited into this attractively presented book. The this is news, but to have it emphasized in this way is
occasion for the symposium was the exhibition of ar- valuable.
tefacts excavated in Xinjiang which Mair organized
The distinguished historian of Late Antiquity Peter
and whose last stop on its U.S. tour was Philadelphia.1
Brown reminds readers how some of the most im-
It is difficult to imagine a more appropriate and dis-
portant early explorations of the Silk Road a century
tinguished group of presenters, whose papers are here
ago were inspired by the effort to find Late Antiquity
published. Had Andrew Sherratt, to whom Mair of-
along the Silk Road. Brown invites us not to see “the
fers a warm tribute at the end of his Introduction, still
Silk Road either as a fascinating conservatory of exot-
been alive, surely he would have participated. Had
ic mutations of Western forms of art and religion on
Toby Wilkinson (whose book is reviewed elsewhere
their long way across Eurasia, or as a corridor of trade,
in this journal) completed his Sheffield dissertation
in a modern manner,” but rather to focus on the dis-
and come to Mair’s notice, surely he would have been
tinctive societies along it in the late antique period (p.
considered, since he has a great deal to say about “re-
16). That is, we might think of the exchanges across
configuring” the Silk Road.
Eurasia as creating “a magical Middle Ground — at
Yet I came away from the book somewhat puzzled once local and international — in which rulers and
as to its audience and, sharing some of the reserva- aristocrats met in an environment carefully construct-
tions expressed in Philip Kohl’s thoughtful conclud- ed to be a world out of this world” (p. 18). He cites
ing assessment, wondering how much of what is here as examples of the kind of study which is needed the
really contributes to reconfiguring the silk roads. Not impressive recent books by Jonathan Skaff and Mat-
everything here is really new, some of it is very ac- thew Canepa.2 What emerged was a kind of “archaic
cessible for the general reader, and some is definitely globalization,” “a world still made up of local units
not. There certainly is plenty to stimulate the imagi- without the extensive outreach of modern states.” (p.
nation and much that quite appropriately leaves open 20). The nuance here is important, for Brown clearly is
many questions to encourage continuing research avoiding the danger some fall into of wanting to read
that may eventually provide some answers. One of back into the deep past a globalization that is distinc-
the great virtues of the symposium and this volume tive to the modern age.
is to bring together scholars with such a wide range
One of the most intriguing of the essays is Victor Mair’s
of interests, extending from the Mediterranean world
contribution on “The Northern Cemetery: Epigone or
of late Antiquity back through pre-history to the era
Progenitor of Small River Cemetery No. 5?” The ar-
of the spread of major language families. Archaeolo-
tefacts from Xinjiang brought together in the Penn
gists, historical linguists, a textile specialist and histo-
exhibition included ones from the Xiaohe (Small Riv-
rians all contribute to the discussion. Such multi-disci- er) necropolis, about which Mair has also published a
plinary perspectives are essential for any study of the nice summary article.3 He reviews that material before
complexities of Eurasian exchange. laying out what for many readers indeed will be new,
The essence of J. C. Manning’s “At the Limits: the discovery of another site some 500 km from Xiao-
Long-Distance Trade in the Time of Alexander the he in the Taklamakan, where the artefacts are striking-
great and the Hellenistic Kings” is to insist any discus- ly similar to those excavated at Xiaohe.
The Silk Road 12 (2014): 164 – 181 164 Copyright © 2014 Daniel C. Waugh
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 There is an air of mystery here regarding this “North- Textiles”) is a set of annotations correcting her cata-
ern Cemetery,” concerning which there is as yet no of- logue entries for the Secrets of the Silk Road exhibition,
ficial publication (and, given the disturbed and looted which she wrote prior to having a chance actually to
nature of the site, Mair suggests, there may never be examine the rich collection of textiles that were in-
one). He obtained information on it and some pic- cluded in it. To the degree that there is any general
tures (Figs. 3.2–3.7 in the excellent color insert) from conclusion, it seems to be that a variety of weaves
respected archaeologists in Xinjiang but also was able were produced in the various communities in early
to examine artefacts in private hands of individuals Xinjiang. Her article is illustrated with several good
(looters? dealers in illegal antiquities?) whom he can- color photos.
not name. It seems clear, as Christoph Baumer notes Among the kinds of analysis needing further at-
in his book (listed by Mair in his bibliography but not tention and with the potential for really helping to
specifically cited with reference to the Northern Cem- document the long-distance interactions across Eur-
etery), that this must be the same place Baumer terms asia is the study of domesticated plants. Michael
“Ayala Mazar” and concerning which he has sever- D. Frachetti’s contribution here (“Seeds for the Soul:
al pages in that book, based on his own apparently Ideology and Diffusion of Domesticated Grains across
unauthorized digging at the site in late 2009.4 Baum- Inner Asia”) presents some of the most important pre-
er had in fact reached the same conclusion about the liminary results of the long-term archaeological proj-
close connection between his Ayala Mazar and Xiao- ect he has been engaged in located in the foothills of
he. The issue here should not really be one of who gets southeastern Kazakhstan. In recent publications, he
credit for first discovery — though there is little doubt has argued that an “Inner Asian Mountain Corridor”
the Xinjiang archaeologists visited the site, already passing along the slopes of the knot of mountains
much disturbed, early in 2008 — since any knowledge in the center of the continent was a crucial pathway
of the artefacts from the two cemeteries would point of long-distance communication and may well have
to the same conclusion. But it is curious and no little been route for the east-west or south-north transmis-
disturbing to see such obvious tiptoeing around with sion of important products and ideas. This then would
regard to sources and what I would judge to be an un- be something of an alternative to the idea of the Silk
derstandable unwillingness to call attention to work Road and one that came into being well before the era
(or looting) that occurred in circumstances clearly at associated with the concept enunciated first by Ferdi-
odds with the rules which govern archaeological ex- nand von Richthofen.
ploration in Xinjiang.5 One of the pressing desiderata
The excavations at what was probably a season-
if we are ever to get control of the archaeological data
al camp of the mountain pastoralists at Begash has
for early Eurasia is to put everyone on the same page
yielded “the earliest evidence of domesticated wheat
in terms of identification and location of sites, even as
and broomcorn millet in the Central Eurasian region”
it has become necessary to conceal or alter their actual
(p. 45), a discovery first reported back in 2010. The
GIS locations in the hope of deterring looting.
wheat presumably passed along this corridor from
Mair’s conclusion here is no surprise, in that he has the north and west into China, and the millet moved
consistently argued for migration of Europoid peoples in the opposite direction, since it is indigenous to East
into the Tarim Basin from the north and west, and he Asia. C-14 analysis for the discovery at Begash sug-
promises soon a sequel to his book (co-authored with gest a date of 2300–2200 cal BC. The scarcity of the
J. P. Mallory) on The Tarim Mummies which will bring grains and their having been found in burial contexts
the archaeological evidence for such migration up to suggest that they were initially used for ritual pur-
date. In his scenario, the Xiaohe burials represent the poses and had not yet become a part of the local diet.
“main trunk” of migrants, who then could have easily Frachetti concludes from this that in regions such as
found their way from the Tarim River into the Keri- Begash, the local population was not just passively
ya River (which at that time would still have flowed absorbing what many have come from the outside
probably all the way through the desert) and its still but was actively engaged in adapting it to the local
little analyzed sites in the region of the Northern Cem- culture and thus must be credited with a significant
etery. This is an interesting, and as Mair emphasizes, role in cross-cultural interaction that in the long term
hypothetical scenario, which certainly should encour- would have a fundamental impact in many areas of
age further exploration if it is to be proven. Asia (p. 45). He admits there is still a huge amount
to be done to confirm his hypotheses about the Inner
Elizabeth Wayland Barber is one of the leading ex- Asian Mountain Corridor, but what we have here to
perts on ancient textiles who has in her earlier work date is one of the most far-reaching of all the essays in
devoted considerable attention to those excavated in this book if indeed we are to reconfigure our inherited
Xinjiang. Her essay here (“More Light on the Xinjiang ideas about Eurasian exchange.

165
 David W. Anthony and Dorcas R. Brown have writ- issue he addresses is whether or not there is a “fault
ten a great deal about the domestication of the horse line” along the Dnieper River separating the Tripolye
in the Eurasian steppes and use their essay here culture to its west from the Yamnaya to the East. He
(“Horeseback Riding and Bronze Age Pastoralism in finds that arguments for the latter having developed
the Eurasian Steppes”) to review, update, and some- out of the former to be unconvincing. His review of
what refocus their earlier conclusions. Anthony’s 2007 the sometimes obscure archaeological and linguistic
book (The Horse, the Wheel, and Language) presents a evidence leads to what may seem a surprising con-
closely argued case for a correlation between the de- clusion. Even if one assumes that the populations in
velopment of new technologies of communication the Tarim Basin that he and Mair believe spoke an In-
(horse riding; wagons) and the spread of Indo-Eu- do-European language trace their origins to Indo-Eu-
ropeans across Asia. This article rests firmly on that ropeans in the western steppes, then there is a dispar-
interpretive foundation. What is of particular inter- ity between language evidence in the East relating to
est here first of all is the clear admission that there such things as settled agriculture and the virtual ab-
is a large gap between the earliest horse domestica- sence of archaeological evidence for it in the alleged
tion and the “relatively recent” (ca. 900–400 BCE) “homeland” in the West (p. 86).
emergence of mounted warfare (p. 55). Secondly, In many ways, the best strategy for the general
even though the authors still feel that there is a case reader, who might pick up this book and admire the
to be made for the earliest horse domestication hav- historical photo on the dust jacket of an camel rider
ing occurred in the western steppes (at the so-called against a backdrop of what likely is the ruins of Pal-
Yamnaya horizon, when there seems to have been a myra, would be to begin not by reading Colin Ren-
transition to a mobile pastoral economy), to date the frew’s brief Foreword or Victor Mair’s Introduction,
only concrete evidence for it is at Botai (ca. 3600–3500 but rather by turning to the excellent summary and
BCE) in northern Kazakhstan. “Domesticated horses pointed critique of the various articles in Philip L.
might well have diffused from the western steppes to Kohl’s concluding comments. Then go back, read the
Botai during the middle 4th millennium BC, but it is book and finally re-read Kohl, who concedes that the
remarkable that there is so little evidence for exchange essays “have posed many more questions than pro-
between early Botai-Terek sites and the contemporary vided answers. Perhaps this is a healthy situation” (p.
western steppe cultures” (p. 60). Along the way here, 94). He leaves us with the stimulating thought:
Anthony and Brown cast some doubt on the idea “[O]n present evidence…the real Silk Roads began
that something like Frachetti’s Inner Asian Mountain in the Iron Age at the end of the 2nd and beginning
Corridor can explain certain kinds of cultural diffu- of the 1st millennium BC. In other words, there were
sion connecting areas of southern Central Asia with no Bronze Age Silk Roads and, thus, the world of the
those far to the north (in particular, the so-called Af- Bronze Age steppes cannot be reconfigured on the ba-
anasievo culture in the Altai). In their argument, the sis of its later inhabitants” (p. 94).
earliest east-west interaction was across the northern
forest-steppe zone. Acknowledgement
Their graphic display concerning the relative per- By way of full disclosure here, I should note that I was
centages of different animal remains at various ex- invited to contribute to the issue of Expedition (Vol.
cavation sites and how that changed over time (Fig. 52/3 [2010]) published in conjunction with the Secrets
6.2, p. A-15) is of some interest for summarizing the of the Silk Road exhibition and then had the good for-
changes in herd composition. This is the kind of ev- tune to visit it and listen in on the conference.
idence which supports broader generalization about
fundamental social and economic changes in the — Daniel C. Waugh
steppe world. As Philip Kohl rather bluntly reminds University of Washington (Seattle)
the reader (pp. 91-92), speculation on ethnic and lin-
guistic identities though is largely just that (his target
here is not just Anthony and Brown but also Mair and Notes
Mallory). Yet he detects a “more guarded” note here 1. The catalog is Victor Mair, ed. Secrets of the Silk Road
in what is said about such matters (p. 93). (Santa Ana, CA: Bowers Museum, 2010).
J. P. Mallory’s article (“Indo-European Dispersals 2. Jonathan Karam Skaff, Sui-Tang China and Its
and the Eurasian Steppe”) addresses yet again the Turko-Mongol Neighbors: Culture, Power, and Connec-
question of Indo-European origins, his emphasis here tions, 580-800 (Oxford, etc.: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2012);
being that the “out of Anatolia” hypothesis some have Matthew Canepa, The Two Eyes of the Earth. Art and
advocated cannot be sustained when one looks at the Ritual Kingship between Late Rome and Sasanian Iran
alternative Eurasian steppe hypothesis. The specific (Berkeley: Univ. of California Pr., 2009).
166
3. Victor H. Mair, “The Rediscovery and Complete Secrets of the Silk Road exhibition catalog appeared in
Excavation of Ördek’s Necropolis,” The Journal of In- print only in March.
do-European Studies 34/3-4 (2006): 273-318.
5. Mair tabulates (p. 31) C-14 dates measured on 27
4. Christoph Baumer. The History of Central Asia. Vol. August 2011, ranging from ca. 1950–ca. 1450 BCE,
1. The Age of the Steppe Warriors (London: I. B. Tauris, which fits his assumption that the Northern Ceme-
2012), pp. 123–33. Baumer takes pains (p. 321, n. 118) tery should be dated somewhat later than Xiaohe. In
to establish his priority for the discovery by casting his text though, Mair pegs the starting date for this
doubt on Mair’s assertion that the cemetery had been evidence as 1800 BCE (p. 28). Baumer cites analogous
discovered in 2008 by a Uighur archaeologist [Idris dates (1890–1660 BCE), based on a hair sample he had
Abdurssul]. Baumer notes his first communication of removed that was tested separately on 11 March 2011
the discovery was in newspapers published in Febru- (History, p. 129 and n. 119).
ary 2010, whereas Mair’s comments on the site in the

James A. Millward. The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, etc.: Oxford
Univ. Pr., 2013. xvi + 152 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-978286-4.

O xford University Press deserves accolades for

its vision of providing several series of books of
differing lengths and formats intended for the gen-
East-West road, bookended by Han China and Rome,
and existing only from about 200 BCE to ca. 1500 CE.
Much of his emphasis is on exchanges across Eurasia
eral reader. One is its series with the generic “[X] in (often, granted, impossible to document precisely as
World History” titles, which contains a good many to direction and chronology) well prior to the Com-
excellent volumes of interest to Silk Road enthusiasts. mon Era, and in the end he addresses squarely the
Another is this series of “Very Short Introductions,” fact that important exchanges following the patterns
“for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible established in earlier centuries continued well beyond
way into a new subject,” each book about the size of 1500 and down into modern times. If the silk roads
a smart-phone. When asked for an opinion by Oxford came to an end, it was mainly due to the intervention
regarding James Millward’s proposal for a volume in of modern technologies of the industrial and post-in-
this series, I recall giving it a thumbs-up. Millward, dustrial age.
known for his books on Xinjiang, certainly has not dis-
Another emphasis in the book is on the significance
appointed me.
of political entities (“states” or their precursors) in pro-
One of the commendable aspects of the book is his moting exchange. This may make parts of the second
successful integration of the early history with modern chapter, which compresses so much of the sweep of
concerns and experiences. He starts with the Silk Road political history, somewhat tough slogging for some
festival events sponsored by the Smithsonian in 2002, readers. I think figuring out how to connect Eurasian
later builds a chapter around what he encountered in exchange meaningfully with the political history has
the market in Urumqi (Xinjiang), and concludes with always been something of a challenge; I am still not
a review of “modern echoes” of the Silk Road, most entirely comfortable with an emphasis on “empires.”
of them the ways the term is invoked which of course Once this review is behind him though, Millward is
for the most part have nothing to do with the earlier free to move back and forth in the subsequent chap-
history of Eurasian exchange. ters, rather than feeling compelled to follow a strictly
The point of these invocations of the modern world chronological framework. There is much to commend
is not simply to draw in a reader oriented toward this approach, which will, however, keep the reader
the immediate rather than the past. As Millward ex- on his or her toes.
plains in a cover letter (with the letterhead “News The thematic discussions in the subsequent chapters
from Oxford”) which accompanied the copy of his encompass a lot that has been missing in earlier ef-
book I received, “we should think of the silk road… forts to survey the Silk Road. Ch. 3 (“The biological
as an ongoing process whereby a pan-Eurasian cul- silk road”) ranges over material from DNA evidence
tural substratum has been created and enriched over to foodways, with a good choice of viniculture and
millennia.” In many ways then, his book is the embod- dumplings as focal points to illustrate how products
iment of a “reconfiguration” of the silk routes, taking spread. Not the least of the attractions of this chapter
the reader away from outdated concepts of a single is his quotation of poetry illustrating the cultural im-
167
portance of wine both in China and the Islamic world. first impression trump the later, rational discussion of
While there are few illustrations in the book, the two the real evidence. So I would have avoided a state-
included here are well chosen, one a Gandharan re- ment such as “Arguably, however, the greatest demo-
lief of a feasting scene, and the other the famous wine graphic legacy of the Mongols was not in making peo-
merchant figurine from the collection of the Seattle ple, but in eliminating them” (p. 45), especially since it
Art Museum. now seems certain that the traditionally cited accounts
Ch. 4 (“The technological silk road”) begins with a of the destruction of Otrar or Baghdad greatly exag-
brief excursus on furniture and then develops in a sus- gerate what actually happened. That said, Millward
tained way the significance of silk, paper, medicines deals judiciously with another of the canards cast at
and military technology. Millward is careful not to in- the Mongols which blames them for the spread of the
sist on a definite direction of “borrowing” where one Black Death to Europe.
cannot in fact be demonstrated. Thus, for example, Some might wish he had devoted a more focused
while he makes it clear that printing with moveable section of the book to the transmission of religious
type came out of East Asia, he leaves open the ques- ideas. It is not as though the spread of religions is
tion of the degree to which knowledge of that might missing here — in fact he makes it clear that religions
have influenced Gutenberg. One of the more interest- played a role as important as political structures in fa-
ing sections of this chapter concerns the way in which cilitating exchange. Along the way, we find examples
the knowledge of smallpox vaccination developed of how Buddhist jataka tales were probably part of the
and spread. I had not previously known about its ear- channel for the development of secular literary motifs.
ly history in East Asia. I think though that there are some missed opportuni-
“The arts on the silk road” (Ch. 5) begins with a dis- ties to show how the adoption of religious concepts in
cussion of literary motifs and genres before moving new environments often required substantial adjust-
on to music, visual arts and blue-and-white porcelain. ment of the original ideas.
The section on music, allows Millward to draw on ma- The book has notes clearly indicating key sources he
terial in which he has particular expertise, the pride of draws on or quotes, many of them accessible on-line.
place being given to the widespread adoption of the He includes a well selected bibliography, recommen-
lute and the techniques of sound reproduction which dations for a few Internet resources, and an index.
it allowed. I would have welcomed more on painting,
Reading an excellent book like this one (or any in
but the choice of Islamic miniatures and the spread of
the Oxford series) is bound to raise some questions in
a motif of rabbits serves well to make the point about
this age of rapidly changing technology. I, for one, ap-
how motifs traveled. In his discussion of the export of
preciate the commitment to old-fashioned paper and
porcelain, it would have been of interest not only to
print, at the same time that the volumes are available
point out how the Dutch developed their own indus-
as e-books (just think how many of these “short intro-
try under the inspiration of Chinese designs but to be
ductions” would fit on a Kindle!). What I am wonder-
explicit about how much of the “kraak” porcelain was
ing though is whether Oxford might not take us a step
ordered to meet specifications and actual designs sent
further, recognizing that readers on their electronic
by the Dutch to the Chinese kilns.
devices might like to see more visual material. Would
I can but rarely fault Millward for any of his choic- it not be nice for an author like Millward, sensitive to
es here. He clearly has kept up on many of the most correlation of good visual examples with his carefully
important subjects which are forcing us to revise en- crafted text, to offer as a companion a much larger se-
trenched stereotypes, at the same time that he conveys lection of images on a dedicated website maintained
where there may be differing interpretations. I would by the publisher?
beg to differ in his decision, while emphasizing the —Daniel C. Waugh
importance of pastoral nomads, to open with three University of Washington (Seattle)
long, quite negative quotations about them as a rhe-
torical device against which to develop the more pos- Note: Some very minor corrections: If metals were com-
itive assessment that follows. Edward Gibbon, after ing out of Central Asia to the south, contributing to the
all, is even more famous for his equally disparaging making of the Bronze Age, surely what was being export-
comments on the Byzantines. Millward does have a ed was tin, not the relatively ubiquitous copper (cf. p. 7).
tendency to set up the reader with an idea that he then There is an obvious typo in the dates given for Guten-
proceeds to deconstruct and substantially “correct.” berg’s work on his Bible (p. 74); Richard Foltz, who wrote
This runs the danger, I think (as I know from observ- a much-cited little book on Religions of the Silk Road, is
ing recently how high school students respond to the listed in the bibliography (p. 134) as Richard “Forbes.”
Mongols in their world history classes), of having the

168
 Court and Craft: A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq. Edited by Rachel Ward.
London: The Courtauld Gallery in Association with Paul Holberton Publishing, 2014.
176 pp. ISBN 978-1-907372-65-0.

I t is to the great credit of Rachel Ward that the small

exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, built around
the unique Ilkhanid inlaid brass “bag” in its collec-
of craft traditions under their rule. The distinguished
contributors here, apart from Ward, include, inter alia,
Charles Melville, Robert Hillenbrand and Julian Raby.
tion, took place. Alas, I missed it, though fortunately Raby’s essay is of particular interest for documenting
I have at least seen the bag [Fig. 1, and details, Fig. 2, the likelihood that, as in other cities that were alleged-
next page] and some of the pieces which have been ly destroyed at the time of the Mongol conquest, in
brought to bear to contextualize it. The exhibit (and fact Mosul and its renowned craft tradition of inlaid
its catalog) is an inspiring example of how the “biog- metalwork continued to flourish. Mosul metal crafts-
raphy of a single object” can serve to illuminate much men (or at least those who wished people to believe
broader historical and cultural matters. Accompanied they were from Mosul, since this testified to their skill)
by various lectures, a symposium and this book, the produced important inlaid vessels for the Ilkhanid
exhibition explored not only this remarkable piece of rivals in Egypt. For Mosul to have continued to pro-
Islamic metalwork, arguably produced by the masters duce work of the excellence and cost represented in
in Mosul in the first decade or so of the 14th century, the Courtauld bag hardly would have been possible
but also shed considerable light on the aftermath of had the city remained in ruins.
the Mongol conquest of the Middle East, the culture
of the Ilkhanid court, and the survival and flourishing Fig. 1. The Courtauld bag prior to its recent cleaning and restoration.
Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.

169
 Fig. 2. Details of the Courtauld bag. Photographs by Daniel C. Waugh.

The various essays draw generously on comparative

examples, some from objects which were assembled to
display with the Courtauld bag. Among them are the contemporary illuminated manuscripts. Perhaps the
famous “Blacas Ewer” from the British Museum, an- most interesting of these is one of the pages from the
other example of what is arguably Mosul inlaid metal- so-called Dietz albums, in the given instance a paint-
work, if from a slightly earlier period [Fig. 3], an inlaid ing showing a court scene and undoubtedly dating
basin now in the collection of the Museum of Islam- from the Ilkhanid period [Fig. 5, next page]. In it, next
ic Art in Berlin [Fig. 4], and various miniatures from to the throne with the Khan and his consort stands
a female attendant who holds a bag very much like
Fig. 3. The Blacas Ewer, dated 1232. Collection of the British Museum, the one which the Courtauld owns. It was an inspired
Acc. no. ME OA 1866.12-29.61. Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh. decision to have Judith Pfeiffer write for the catalog
an essay on the position of women in Ilkhanid elite
culture, at least one of whom has poetry attributed
to her, quoted here in translation. Other essays focus
on the depictions associated with the royal hunt and
with courtly musical entertainments, where there is a
widely ranging iconography of such pursuits in both
painting and metalwork. James Allan writes on the
likelihood that images on Chinese silks were among
the inspirations for the design on the bag.
The production values of the book are excellent. One
can see the famous bag, carefully cleaned and restored

Fig. 4. Detail of the Berlin basin, 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Collec-
tion of the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin. Inv. no. I.6580. Photograph
by Daniel C. Waugh.

170
Fig. 5. Detail from Ilkhanid miniature of enthronement scene, early 14th
century. Berlin Staatsbibliothek, Dietz album 70, S. 2.
Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh.
(and a technical analysis performed on its substance),
with many close-up details of the individual scenes
and decoration on it. Similarly, there are close details
from the comparable metalwork and miniatures. In
the case of the metal objects, this then helps document
the stylistic similarities which point to the provenance
and possible identity of the master craftsman who
produced the bag.
If one could choose a single object to illustrate the
positive side of Mongol rule, the Courtauld bag might
well be the leading candidate.
—Daniel C. Waugh
University of Washington (Seattle)

Kochevniki Evrazii na puti k imperii. Iz sobraniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha. Katalog vystavki

[Nomads of Eurasia on the path to empire. From the collections of the State Hermitage.
Exhibition catalog]. Sankt-Peterburg: Gos. Ermitazh; AO “Slavia,” 2012.
272 pp. ISBN 978-5-9501-0209-7.

T his is the catalog for an exhibition held at the

“Hermitage Center” in the Museum of the Kazan’
Kremlin, 18 June 2012-31 March 2013. The incredible
viding mainly a compact historical overview, others
more intensively attempting to introduce key items
from the exhibition pertaining to a given culture. It is
number of 749 objects illustrated here in excellent col- not always clear what one should make of the objects
or photographs is explained in part by the fact that which accompany each essay, since the caption entries
many are the small items which probably have long contain only basic data and no interpretive discussion.
remained in the vast storerooms of the Hermitage For example, there is a large and amorphous collec-
Museum and rarely been seen in public. To be able tion (some 70 items) that somehow illustrates the cul-
now to see them is a cause for celebration. The flip ture of Turkic peoples beginning with the establish-
side, of course, is that many of the best known and ment of the Turk Empire in the 6th century, but the
arguably most important objects for the cultures cov- introductory essay discusses specifically only about
ered here were not included. Thus, for example, we 20 of them. What is one to think of the selection of
do not find major objects from the Pazyryk tombs in objects from the Saltovo excavations which follows an
the Altai or from the Xiongnu tombs at Noyon uul in essay that focused only on the history of the excava-
Mongolia. The choices, however, are valuable for the tions at Sarkel? The Sarkel essay seems to have been
inclusion of what in many cases are the ordinary ob- an excuse for Z. A. L’vova to discuss what appears to
jects of daily life, be it arrowheads, pottery, or parts of be still very controversial evidence from a 17th-century
horse harness. text that contains what purports to be a 13th-century
Bulgarian chronicle. The catalog tails off at the end,
The organization here follows a rather loose chronol-
with a page on the Khitans and but two objects found
ogy of successive cultures, starting well back in the
in Mongolia which hardly suffice to illustrate much
first millennium BCE and coming down to the period
about Khitan/Liao culture.
of the Mongol Empire. There are also sections pertain-
ing to a particular collection or find: e.g., the Siberi- The interpretive framework in the book swings from
an Collection of Peter the Great, the hoard found in dated and rather negative views of “what nomads
Ukraine near Poltava that is associated with the Bul- were all about” (the introductory essay by T. V. Riab-
gar Khagan Kuvrat, and the very recently excavated kova) to very speculative assertions about their high
Alan material from the Kichmalka II cemetery in the level of understanding of mathematics and astronomy
north Caucasus. The essays are uneven, some pro- (the essay by L. S. Marsadolov). The results of recent
171
German-Mongolian excavations at Karakorum are ant burial at Arzhan 2 to which he devotes consider-
barely acknowledged in passing, with the emphasis able attention was a joint project with the German Ar-
instead being on the work of Kiselev’s expedition in chaeological Institute.
the late 1940s. Understandable, of course, given the
The book’s value lies in its illustrations, not only for
fact that the Hermitage collection contains a good deal
the objects themselves, but for the occasional draw-
of what he found. But that is no excuse for salvaging
ings reconstructing the dress of those who were bur-
his erroneous determination that he had found the re-
ied with the ornaments which have survived. Two
mains of Khan Ögedei’s palace — we now know that
double-page maps with indications of find spots and
the building was a Buddhist temple — by suggesting
overlaid with thumbnails of key objects provide a viv-
that probably the temple served as the palace or that
id sense of the range of what the book encompasses.
the palace was built on the site of a temple. From K. V.
Chugunov’s discussion of the Scythian material, one —Daniel C. Waugh
would never know that the excavation of the import- University of Washington (Seattle)

Sogdiitsy, ikh predshestvenniki, sovremenniki i nasledniki. Na osnove materialov konferentsii “Sogdiitsy doma
i na chuzhbine”, posviashchennoi pamiati Borisa Il’icha Marshaka (1933–2006) / Sogdians, Their Precursors,
Contemporaries and Heirs. Based on proceedings of conference “Sogdians at Home and Abroad” held in memory
of Boris Il’ich Marshak (1933–2006). Trudy Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha LXII. Sankt-Peterburg: Izd-vo.
Gos. Ermitazha, 2013. 504 pp. + color inserts. ISBN 978-5-93572-522-8.

T his is the second sizeable Festschrift celebrating

Boris Marshak, who is so highly regarded for
his excavations at Panjikent and his widely ranging
craft production of Khorezm in the early stages of the
development of the state] (29–44). Analyzes evidence
that the craft production of the region has features
expertise on the Sogdians and the artistic culture of which make it quite distinct from what is found in
Central Asia and its broader connections. The vol- other areas of Central Asia.
ume published (in print and online) in 2006, Ērān ud Eleonora Pappadardo. “Ivory Rhytons from Old
Anērān, contained the bibliography of his work up Nisa. Methodological Remarks” (45–59). Based on her
through 2004; a supplement to that impressive list- work published as a monograph in 2010 (Nisa Partica.
ing opens this new volume. The editors deliberately I rhyta ellenistici). She establishes eight style groups, il-
delayed publishing conference proceedings when it lustrating their features with drawings; she concludes
became possible to include a broader range of papers that simply treating them as examples of Hellenized
and participants. The articles here are in Russian and works of art obscures the features which must be ex-
in English, with brief summaries of each provided at plained within the context of local artistic production.
the end in the other language. Here is the table of con-
tents, with descriptive annotations added for many of Carlo Lippolis. “The ‘Dark Age’ of Old Nisa. Late
the contributions. Parthian Levels in Mihrdatkirt?”(60–70).
Vladimir A. Livshits. “Parfianskie shutniki” [Parthi-
Oleg Grabar. “A Letter to the Organizers of the Con- an jokers] (71–76). Reinterprets the rock inscriptions
ference” (p. 9) found at Lakh-Mazar (southern Khorosan) not as re-
“Dopolneniia k bibliografii B. I. Marshaka” [Supple- ligious inscriptions but rather crude and humorous
ments to B. I. Marshak’s Bibliography] (10–12). graffiti left by caravaneers.
Frantz Grenet and Claude Rapin. “Formirovanie Nicholas Sims-Williams. “The ‘Lord’s Vihara’ at Ka-
etapy sogdiiskoi kul’tury” [The formation of the stag- ra-Tepe” (77–81). Evidence from an inscription on the
es of Sogdian culture] (13–28). The authors review wall of “Complex B” at Kara-Tepe which confirms V.
Marshak’s periodization, basically confirming its ac- V. Vertogradova’s reading of inscriptions on several
curacy, though suggesting some emendations based fragments of clay jars from the site.
on their ongoing excavations at Afrasiab and especial- Aleksandr N. Podushkin. “Epigraficheskie artefakty
ly Koktepe, with its carefully studied stratigraphy. gorodishcha Kul’tobe” [Epigraphic artefacts from the
Sergei B. Bolelov. “Remeslo drevnego Khorezma na site of Kultobe] (82–95). Places the as yet undeciphered
rannikh etapakh razvitiia gosudarstvennosti” [The inscriptions on baked bricks from this site on the Aris
172
River in southern Kazakhstan in their archaeologi- fan Sogdian Text. A Sogdian Fragment Found in the
cal context, arguing for a date around the turn of the Lushun Otani Collection” (201–18) While the many
Common Era and connecting them with the Kangjiu Chinese Buddhist text fragments collected by Count
state rather than defining them as “ancient Sogdian” Otani that now are housed in the Lushun Museum
writing. Several color plates illustrate the article. have been published, the Sogdian texts on the reverse
Erbulat A. Smagulov. “Kul’tovye postroiki khram- of them are still needing analysis. Here a facsimile,
ovogo kompleksa na gorodishche Sidak (Iuzhnyi transcription and translation, with copious annota-
Kazakhstan)” [Religious structures of the temple tion, of the text fragment 2LM20: 1480/22(02), which
complex on the site of Sidak, Southern Kazakhstan] may be either a Manichaean or Zoroastrian work. An
(96–128). A detailed preliminary report from the ex- appendix includes a facsimile, transcription and trans-
cavations, including a discussion and illustration of lation of Sogdian fragment L59 (SI 5438) housed in the
the artefacts. Dating of the excavated material to the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, St. Petersburg.
7th–early 8th century, on the eve of the settlement’s de- Pavel B. Lur’e. “O sledakh manikheizma v Srednei
struction by the conquering Arabs. Azii” [On the traces of Manichaeism in Central Asia]
(219–51). A thorough review of all the, as it turns out,
Judith A. Lerner. “Yidu: A Sino-Sogdian Tomb”
sparse evidence for Manichaeism in Central Asia,
(129–46). The carved stone slabs are from a tomb dat-
where Central Asia is here defined in the narrow for-
ed 573 CE excavated in 1971 in Shandong Province.
mer Soviet sense of the four republics plus southern
Lerner concludes the slabs served as the walls for a
Kazakhstan. Xinjiang is not included. The English
house-shaped sarcophagus made for a non-Chinese
summary of this article is substantially longer than
burial, most likely Xianbei in origin. The images are
that for others in the volume.
noteworthy for their various Zoroastrian elements.
The analysis is illustrated with clear line drawings. Stefano Pellò. “A Paper Temple: Mani’s Arzhang in
and around Persian Lexicography” (252–65). Explains
Valentin G. Shkoda. “V. I. Marshak i zhivopis’ how the term seems to be used both to refer to collec-
Pendzhikenta (Metod issledovatelia)” [V. I. Marshak tions of Mani’s paintings and more broadly to assem-
and Panjikent painting (his method of analysis)] (147– blages of paintings which might be associated with a
58). Central Asian Manichaean milieu.
Larisa Iu. Kulakova. “Rospisi paradnogo zala XXI Igor’ A. Kyzliasov. “Eniseiskaia runicheskaia nadpis’
ob”ekta Drevnego Pendzhikenta” [The murals of the s iranskim zaimstvovaniem” [A Enisei runic inscrip-
ceremonial hall of Object XXI of Ancient Panjikent] tion with an Iranian borrowing] (266–94). Detailed
(159–73). Careful reexamination of this well-known new reading and analysis of an inscription on a cliff
depiction of “Amazonomachy” reveals some new overlooking the Enisei River first discovered in 1982.
details. Illustrated with excellent color foldout and It probably dates to the 10th century and is unique for
drawings. including what seems to be the name of a Manichaean
Matteo Compareti. “Coronation and Nawruz: a priest. Illustrated with close-up photos.
Note on the Reconstruction of the Missing King at Iurii A. Piatnitskii. “Golgofa i chetyre raiskie reki:
Afrāsyāb” (174–89) Interesting for comparisons with novoe serebrianoe vizantiiskoe bliudo nachala VI v.
frontispiece painting in Istanbul Topkapi Saray album v sobranii Ermitzha” [Golgotha and the four rivers of
H.2152, suggesting possible completion of reconstruc- Paradise: a new silver Byzantine dish of the early 6th
tion proposed by Grenet and Ory for the upper part of century in the collection of the Hermitage] (295–330).
the famous “Ambassadors” painting at Afrasiab. Also An important purchase by the museum (with the en-
suggests Chinese parallels to the north wall images in couragement of Boris Marshak), from a private sell-
that room. er in 2002. The Eucharistic plate is one of very few
Mukhammad K. Akhmedov. “Rannesrednevekovyi with seals which attribute its production to the time of
‘Dom vina’ na Afrasiabe” [The early medieval “House Monophysite Emperor Anastasius I (491–518). On its
of Wine” on Afrasiab] (190–95). An early ancestor in face is a depiction of a cross on Golgotha with the four
function to the modern chaikhana for the reception of rivers of Paradise and what Piatnitskii identifies as the
guests. cave of Adam incised in the side of the mount. Detec-
tive work traced the probable find location of the plate
Tat’iana G. Tsvetkova. “Rezba po ganchu v dekore to the Khashupsa fortress in Abkhaziia, where there
dvortsa Varakhshi: motivy, kompozitsionnye priemy has been massive looting of this important but yet un-
i zhivopisnye traditsii” [Carved stucco in the décor of excavated site. While the author leaves to further re-
the Varakhsha palace: motifs, compositional methods search what exactly the plate may mean in the context
and pictorial traditions] (196–200). of the religious debates of the time, he seems to feel
Yutaka Yoshida. “Heroes of the Shahnama in a Tur- it was deposited in Abkhaziia prior to Emperor Jus-
173
 miki Maverannakhra IX–XIII v.” [On socio-economic
factors in the development of glazed ceramic of Tran-
soxania in the 9th–13th centuries] (353–75). Examination
of the changes in ceramic design, notably with increas-
ing simplification and stylization, leading eventually
to pseudo-epigraphic decoration. The author connects
this with decline of the Samanids, decentralization
and the apparent loss of functional literacy in Arabic
on the part of the craftsmen. Excavations of several
house units at Kuva, each with its own assortment
of ceramics, provides a sense of some specific social
contexts in which the wares were used by the 12th and
early 13th centuries, with increasing numbers of the
dishes showing signs of having been repaired. One
finds increasingly the production of local ceramics
imitating some of the costlier ones imported from Iran
which may still have been available to the elite. Exca-
vations also point to a shift in the economy away from
dependence on trade to self-sufficient agriculture.
Asan I. Torgoev. “Remennye ukrasheniia Karakha-
Fig. 1. Byzantine silver plater with stamp of Emperor Athanasius (491- nidov (K postanovke problemy)” [Belt decorations of
518), unearthed in the Sutton Hoo ship burial in England. Collection of the Karakhanids (Toward the formulation of the prob-
the British Museum, Acc. no. 1939,1010.78. lem)] (376–401). This is a pioneering effort to develop
Photograph by Daniel C. Waugh a classification scheme and chronological sequence for
the evolution of Karakhanid belt decorations, accord-
tinian I’s reaffirmation of Orthodoxy beginning in the
ing to shape and decorative designs. It is illustrated
520s. Among the few other vessels with the stamps of
with a good many comparative drawings.
Athanasius is a huge silver platter found in the Sutton
Hoo ship burial in England dating from the early 7th Anatolii A. Ivanov. “Tainstvennyi master Mukham-
century [Fig. 1]. mad-Ali Inaiaton” [The mysterious craftsman Mu-
Vera N. Zalesskaia. “K interpretatsii siuzheta na hammad-Ali Inaiaton] (402–07). Identification of
nestorianskom diskose iz sela Grigorovskoe” [On craftsmen active in Merv, whose names appear on
the interpretation of the subject on a Nestorian paten several stamp seals.
from the village of Grigorovskoe] (331–38). Marshak Ekaterina A. Amarchuk. “Dekorativnye nadgrobiia
dated this dish (found in Perm’ guberniia in 1897) and Khorezma i Zolotoi Ordy” [Decorative cenotaphs of
another important one (depicting Jesus Navin before Khorezm and the Golden Horde] (408–30). A com-
Jericho) to the 9th–10th centuries and argued from sty- plete descriptive catalog of cenotaphs decorated with
listic details that they were both made in Central Asia. glazed ceramic tiles from Khorezm in the time when
There seems to be general agreement that they were it was ruled by the Mongols of the Golden Horde. At
produced in a Nestorian milieu. The new analysis the end the author discusses the problems created by
here suggests the iconography of the Grigorovskoe the loose use of the term “majolica” to describe such
paten is to be connected with the apocryphal Gospel tile work.
of St. Peter.
Ernst J. Grube. “Some Thoughts on the Longevity of
Simone Cristoforetti and Gianroberto Scarcia. Sogdian Iconography in the Muslim World” (431–49).
“Talking about Sīmurġ and Tāq-i Bustān with Boris I. Descriptive analysis of miniatures Nizami’s Khamsa,
Marshak” (339–52). The first part, by SC, offers vari-
illustrating “The Last Meeting of Laylā and Majnūn.”
ous considerations as to why the winged creature usu-
The focus here is on explaining the depiction of a lion
ally indentified as a Sīmurġ (e.g., in the Rustam cycle
attacking a man on the outskirts of the camp where
at Panjikent) may be some other creature. GS’s con-
the lovers have met and swoon. Citing the inspiration
tribution here concerns arguments for a late date for
from Boris Marshak to look for the origins of certain
the Tāq-i Bustān grottoes and a connection between
motifs of Persian miniatures in the earlier painting
Bustām, a real uncle of the Sasanian ruler Khusro Par-
that has survived from Sogdiana, Grube identifies
wīz, and the mythical Farhād of the Shahnama.
the motif with one depicting a Brahman killed by a
Dzhamal K. Mirzaakhmedov. “K sotsial’no-ekono- Tiger (Panjikent, Room 1, Sector XXI). The article is il-
micheskim faktoram razvitiia glazurovannoi kera- lustrated with both black-and-white and color images
174
and includes a descriptive catalog of the miniatures in guage, historical sites and ethnography in the remote
question. Yagnob area of the upper Zeravshan watershed, an
Eleanor Sims. “The Stephens’ Inju Shahnama Manu- area whose traditional culture is rapidly succumb-
script. Millennial Thoughts and a Tribute to the Late ing to the incursions of the modern world. The re-
Boris I. Marshak” (450–60). Produced probably in Shi- gion has been known as the supposed last hold-out
raz in the time of its last Ilkhanid ruler in 1352–53, the for the ancient Sogdian language, but apart from that
manuscript is on long-term loan at the Sackler Gallery is arguably of great importance for a good many yet
of the Smithsonian Institution. A few of the pages unstudied historic sites. A goal of the project is to en-
are dispersed in other collections. It is important for courage local efforts to conserve what is left of historic
documenting the early development of Shahnama il- traditions.
lustration and the work of the artists at the Inju court, Paolo Ognibene. “Ital’ianskaia nauchnaia ekspedit-
which is now a subject of increasing attention. The siia v Tadzhikistane” [The Italian Scientific Mission in
miniatures have elements that can be connected with Tajikistan] (477–80). A brief supplement to the discus-
pre-Islamic painting in Central Asia. sion by Panaino in the preceding article.
Antonio Panaino. “The Italian Scientific Mission in —Daniel C. Waugh
Tajikistan. The Case of the Yagnob Valley” (461–76). University of Washington (Seattle)
An overview of the multidisciplinary, multi-year Ita-
lo-Tajik expedition, which is documenting the lan-

Scripta Antiqua. Voprosy drevnei istorii, filologii, iskusstva i material’noi kul’tury. Almanakh / Scripta Anti-
qua. Ancient History, Philology, Arts and Material Culture. The Almanac.Vols. I–III. Moscow: Sobranie,
2011–2014. ISSN 2221-9560

P ublished by the Bongard-Levin International Insti-

tute of the Classical World, these substantial and
nicely printed volumes contain much of interest for
He dates these phalerae with a terminus ante quem of
the third quarter of the 2nd century BCE. The article
includes comparison drawings and a number of ex-
those studying broadly pre-modern Eurasian history. cellent photographs, including several in the color in-
While most of the articles are in Russian, with English sert of this volume. The Greek presence on the Black
summaries, some are in English. I can but single out Sea and interaction with the steppe nomads is the fo-
here a few articles that I think should be of particu- cus of several articles. Having recently seen some of
lar interest in Vols. I and II (the tables of contents for the Pontic tombs in Amasya (Turkey), I found Sergei
all the volumes may be found at <http://kronk.spb. Iu. Saprykin’s analysis/reconstruction (pp. 294–315)
ru/library/scriptaantiqua.htm>). Since Vol. III is a of a Greek inscription on one of them to be of some
Festschrift for the distinguished specialist on Central interest, as it commemorates the burial there of the
Asia, Edvard Rtveladze, I provide a fuller account of highest priest of the capital of the Pontic kingdom.
its contents. Even though much of what he covers has been wide-
In Volume I, Andrei Iu. Alekseev’s article (pp. ly known thanks to exhibition catalogs, Sergei V.
73–89) on the previously unknown images of griffins Laptev’s generously illustrated survey (in English) of
on a leather object from the 4th–century BCE Scyth- the masterpieces of the Classical and Hellenistic col-
ian Alexandropol’ Kurgan is of interest for the com- lections in the Miho Museum (pp. 345–66) provides a
parisons with, inter alia, images on objects from the good introduction to this striking material, the selec-
Pazyryk burials in the Altai. Mikhail Iu. Treister (pp. tion both overlapping with and supplementing what
90–146; available on-line at <https://www.academia. is depicted on the museum’s own website <http://
edu/1163605/M._Treister_Silver_Phalerae_with_a_ www.miho.or.jp/booth/html/plaart140902/smape.
Depiction_of_Bellerophon_and_the_Chimaira_in_ htm>. Each volume of this series includes a section
Russian_>) writes on silver phalerae with images of on numismatics, the one here devoted to a long article
Bellerophon and chimaera from a Sarmatian burial by Aleksei N. Gorin (pp. 369–402; on line at <https://
in Volodarka, western Kazakhstan, which shed new www.academia.edu/3849681/scripta_1_2011>) an-
light on the problem of the “Graeco-Bactrian Style.” alyzing a recently discovered hoard of late Kushan
175
copper coins from the vicinity of Termez. The article sil’evicha Rtveladze” [For the jubilee of Edvard Va-
is of value in part for his summary tables of the oth- sil’evich Rtveladze] (pp. 11–28).
er hoards of Kushan and post-Kushan coins found in
Leonid M. Sverchkov, Wu Xin, and Nikolaus Boroff-
southern Uzbekistan, southern Tajikistan and along
ka. “Gorodishche Kizyltepa (VI–IV vv. do n.e.): novye
the Amu Darya in Turkmenistan.
dannye” [The settlement of Kizyltepa (6th–4th centuries
In Volume II, the brief article by Galina B. Trebel- BCE): new data] (31–74). Results of the excavations be-
eva and her colleagues (pp. 94–101) introduces some gun in 2010, after a long hiatus since the initial exca-
of the results of a GIS modeling project for the archae- vations of this site in Surkhandarya province. Details
ological topography of the Sukhumi region, where of stratigraphy; overview of artefacts, illustrated with
the database for the larger coastal region of Abkhazia a good many photos and drawings. The recent work
now includes more than 800 monuments. The subject re-assessed the function of what the first excavations
of Boris E. Aleksandrov’s critical text and analysis of had designated as the “citadel” dated to ca. the end of
an Akkadian version of a 14th–century BCE Hittite-Mi- the 6th century BCE. After the settlement’s destruction,
tanni treaty (pp. 185–207) may seem remote from presumably by the Graeco-Macedonian forces in 328
the interests of most readers of The Silk Road, but as BCE, a new lower city emerged below the ruins of the
he suggests, the history which this text helps recon- original massive structures.
struct is very significant in the larger pattern of inter-
Sergei B. Bolelov. “Kampyrtepa — antichnaia
national relations in the period. Despite the fact that
krepost’ na Okse: stratigrafiia, periodizatsiia, khro-
the main Hittite versions of the treaty have long been
nologiia” [Kampyrtepa: an ancient fortress on the
known (and are available on the Mainz website de-
Oxus: stratigraphy, periodization and chronology]
voted to the Hittites), there is clearly much yet to be
(75–132). This is a lengthy review of recent excava-
learned. Sviatoslav V. Smirnov’s political biography
tions, with a good summary of what one assumes is
of Seleukos Nikator (pp. 257–90) updates the stan-
the current thinking about the chronology of the sev-
dard biographies by Grainger (1990) and Mehl (1986)
eral layers at this important site, assumed to be the
with reference to Babylonian tablets discovered in the
Hellenistic Pandaheion, established to protect an im-
last two decades. The “Masterpieces of World Muse-
portant crossing point on the Oxus no later than the
ums” section of this volume highlights the Hermitage
last quarter of the 4th century CE. It continued as a ma-
Museum’s Siberian Collection of Peter the Great (pp.
jor transit center between Balkh and points east and
329–54). Elena F. Korol’kova reviews the collection’s
south.
history and discusses a number of the most interest-
ing items, including belt plaques with animal motifs. Karl M. Baipakov. “Issledovaniia islamskoi
She emphasizes the collection’s importance (despite arkheologii i arkhitektury v Kazakhstane” [The stud-
the lack of a precise provenance for the objects) for ies of Islamic archaeology and architecture in Kazakh-
the early date at which it was assembled, thus pro- stan] (133–42).
viding some guarantee that it does not include forg-
eries. More than half of the excellent color photos in Mitsuru Haga. “Tyche as a Goddess of Fortune in
the insert to this volume illustrate her article; these “the Great Departure” (出家踰城) scene of the Life of
images can be supplemented by the much more exten- Buddha” (145–51).
sive coverage (mostly in black-and-white) in Sergei I. Mikhail D. Bukharin. “Refleksy *axšaina- v iranskoi
Rudenko’s Sibirskaia kollektsiia Petra I (1962). Annotat- gidronimii” [The reflexes of *axšaina- in Iranian hy-
ed Russian translations are an important part of this dronymics] (152–63).
series. In this volume Mikhail D. Bukharin introduc-
Aleksei A. Zavoikin. “Bosporskie greki i ‘aziatskie
es and translates the reconstructed text of Book I of
varvary’ v period arkhaiki rannego ellinizma” [Bos-
the treatise “On the Erythrean Sea” by Agatharchides
poran Greeks and ‘Asiatic barbarians’ in the Archaic
of Cnidus, and Ivan Iu. Miroshnikov offers Russian
Period of early Hellenism] (164–96). Makes an inter-
readers an annotated translation of all the witnesses
esting case for integrating studies of the Greek set-
of the Gospel of Thomas, superseding the translation
tlements and their “barbarian” neighbors if we are to
from the Coptic version published by S. K. Trofimova
understand fully the history of the Bosporan region.
in 1972 (Miroshnikov’s article is on his web page at
<https://helsinki.academia.edu/miroshnikov>). Sviatoslav V. Smirnov. “Anabasis Antiokha I” [The
Anabasis of Antiochos I] (197–203). Uses evidence
The contents of Scripta Antiqua, Volume III (2014),
from cuneiform tablets, numismatics and archaeolo-
subtitled: K iubileiu Edvarda Vasil’evicha Rtveladze. I
gy to reconstruct the history of an important eastern
have selectively added some descriptive comments.
campaign of Antiochos I which left few traces in the
Aleksandr B. Dzhumaev. “K iubileiu Edvarda Va- narrative sources.

176
 Igor’ V. P’iankov. “’Kamennaia Bashnia’ na Velkom edu/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81
Shelkovom puti” [The ‘Stone Tower” on the Great %D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%
Silk Road] (204–19). P’iankov, who has written a sub- B8%D0%BD>). The Parthian period in the history of
stantial monograph on the Classical sources for the Kampyrtepa is the least well studied; coin evidence
geography of Central Asia, argues that the famous is crucial for filling in this lacuna. Gorin analyzes in
“Stone Tower” most likely was located near modern detail a relatively small (and rather badly preserved)
Daraut-Kurgan where the Karategin enters the Alai group of copper coins, distinguishing genuine ones
Valley in Kyrgyzstan. Apart from the archaeological from imitations. This evidence points to trade rela-
and textual evidence, he brings to the subject system- tions but not Parthian control over the middle Amu
atic travel over the possible routes for this segment of Darya.
the Silk Roads. While he cites a range of studies in var- Nikolaus Schindel. “A New Kushano-Sasanian
ious languages, the most recent French contributions Coin Type?” (330–40). Several different coin vari-
to this debate are not among them. ants attributed to Wahram have been studied; here a
Kseniia D. Nikol’skaia. “Povsednevnaia kul’tura new type is analyzed, which suggests there may be
Drevnei Indii: vzroslye i deti” [Daily life in Ancient more than one provincial governor’s issue within this
India: adults and children] (220–36). group.
Sergei G. Kliashtornyi. “Sogdiiskii vel’mozha v go- Mikhail Iu Treister. “Klad serebrianykh ritonov
sudarstve eniseiskikh kyrgyzov” [A Sogdian magnate akhemenidskogo kruga iz Erebuni” [The hoard of
in the Enisei Kyrgyz state] (237–40; on-line at <http:// silver rhyta of the Achaemenid sphere from Ere-
kronk.spb.ru/library/klashtorny-sg-2013.htm>). buni] (343–424; on-line at <https://www.academia.
Analysis of Yenisei inscription Elegest-2, arguing that edu/5517923/M._Treister_The_Hoard_of_the_Sil-
there is a Sogdian Manichaen name in the text, likely ver_Rhyta_of_Achaemenid_Circle_from_Erebuni_
that of an ambassador from Sogdian colonies to East in_Russian_>). The several striking Achaemenid sil-
Turkestan. ver objects excavated at Erebuni (Armenia) in 1968
have received much attention, most recently by Da-
Anvar Kh. Atakhodzhaev. “Numismaticheskie dan-
vid Stronach, with whose cooperation the author has
nye k politicheskoi istorii Sogdiany IV–II vv. do n.e.”
used drawings and photos from his article published
[Numismatic data on the political history of Sogdiana
in 2011. Treister’s long article provides a full technical
4th–2nd centuries BCE] (243–79). This is an expand-
analysis of the objects (three of the rhyta) along with
ed version of one accepted for publication in Revue
a careful comparison of them with analogous pieces.
numismatique. He addresses the disputed issue of
He suggests that the objects were crafted probably in
whether Alexander’s Hellenistic successors exercised
eastern Anatolia and over a period from as early as the
control over Sogdiana, bringing to bear new coin dis-
late 5th century through the first half of the 4th centu-
coveries from Afrasiab to build on earlier analysis,
ry BCE. They may have been buried around 330 BCE,
especially that by Aleksandr Naimark. Atakhodzhaev
which is also the date of an important hoard excavat-
provides formal descriptions of the coins with photos
ed at Pasargadae. The article is illustrated with a good
and drawings (the photos for the largest number of
many detailed photographs.
them are really too small to be of much value here).
He tabulates the new material and juxtaposes it with Anatolii R. Kantorovich. “Izobrazheniia losia v vo-
evidence from other finds and from the written sourc- stochnoevropeiskom skifskom zverinom stile: klassi-
es, arguing that during the 3rd century BCE, the Seleu- fikatsiia, tipologiia, khronologiia” [Depictions of elk
cids did control Sogdiana but then lost that control in in the East European Scythian animal style: classifica-
the following century in the time of Diodotos. There tion, typology, chronology] (425–82). An interesting
is no numismatic evidence supporting the idea that attempt to systematize the evidence regarding depic-
Eucratides I exercised political influence in Sogdiana. tions of the Asian elk (in North America, a moose) in
various objects found across Eurasia and dating from
Mikhail G. Abramzon and Iuliia A. Fedina. “Zolotye the 7th to early 3rd century BCE. He traces the develop-
monety s legendoi ΚΟΣΩΝ iz rossiiskikh muzeinykh ment from relatively realistic images to increasingly
sobranii i problem dakiiskoi chekanki I v. do n.e.” abstract ones, where at first blush it would be diffi-
[The gold coins with the legend ΚΟΣΩΝ in Russian cult to discern any relationship to the earlier images.
museum collections and the problems of the Dacian Some groups of the figures display a kind of syncretic
coinage of the 1st century BCE] (280–301). combination of the cervid with a raptor. He provides
Aleksei N. Gorin. “Parfianskie monety Kampyrtepa” a chronology for the different types and an interesting
[The Parthian coins of Kampyrtepa] (302–29; linked “genealogical” chart (p. 478). Each of his subgroups
to his web page at <https://independent.academia. is illustrated with comparative photos and drawings.

177
 Nigora D. Dvurechenskaia and Sergei V. Novikov. Mikhail A. Shenkar’. “Boginia ili tsaritsa? K inter-
“Terrakotovaia plastika Margiany (po materialam pretatsii zhenskogo personazha na rel’efe Narse iz
Sredneaziatskoi arkheologicheskoi ekspeditsii 1980– Naksh-e Rustama” [Goddess or queen? On the in-
2003 gg.” [Terracotta sculpture of Margiana (from the terpretation of the female personage on the relief of
materials of the Central Asian Archaeological Expedi- Narseh at Naqsh-e Rustam] (614–34; linked to his web
tion, 1980-2003] (483–573). page at <https://dainst.academia.edu/MichaelShen-
Prilozhenie 1. Katalog nakhodok antropomorfnykh kar>). Unlike earlier scholars, Shenkar argues that the
terrakotovykh statuetok Sredneaziatskoi Arkheolog- figure in question is not a queen but a goddess, most
icheskoi Ekspeditsii [Appendix I. Catalog of the finds likely Anahita.
of anthropomorphic terracotta statuettes by the Cen- Rafael’ S. Minasian. “Zolotaia maska ‘Reskuporida’”
tral Asian Archaeological Expedition] [The golden mask of “Rescuporid”] (635–42).
Prilozhenie 2. Tablitsy dannykh terrakotovykh stat- Katsumi Tanabe “A Study of the Buddha’s Coffin in
uetok Sredneaziatskoi Arkheologicheskoi ekspedit- Gandharan Art. Introductory Remarks” (643–54).
sii [Appendix II. Tables of the data for the terracotta
statuettes of the Central Asian Archaeological Expe- Tat’iana G. Tsvetkova. “Reznoi ganch Varakhshi:
dition]. opyt klassifikatsii i obshchie kopozitsionnye priemy”
[Carved stucco of Varakhsha: an attempt at classifi-
This careful classification of the terracotta sculptures cation and general compositional devices] (654–714).
of Magiana excavated between 1980 and 2003 seems This long article publishes for the first time numer-
largely to be the work of Dvurechenskaia, who wrote ous stucco fragments from the wall decorations of the
her kandidat dissertation on the material. Earlier anal- well-known site of Varakhsha. The author argues they
yses of comparative material (e.g., from Ay Khanum; seem to have been part of compositions that imitated
inter alia, by Henri-Paul Francfort) have, she argues, Iranian “garden carpets.”
glossed over some stylistic details, which are import-
ant for any effort to identify who may be depicted in Sergei V. Kullanda “North Caucasian Loanwords in
the figurines. Dvurechenskaia and Novikov’s work Indo-Iranian and Iranian” (716–25).
here should serve as a basic reference work, with a Pavel B. Lur’e. “Neskol’ko neizdannykh khorezmi-
minutely analyzed series of types, their details illus- iskikh nadpisei iz Tok-Kaly” [Some unpublished
trated with photos and drawings. Khorezmian inscriptions from Tok-Kala] (726–37).
Shakirdzhan R. Pidaev, Kyuzo Kato, and Tigran K. Dzhangar Ia. Il’iasov. “Arabskie nadpisi na glazuro-
Mkrtychev. “Kamennyi skul’pturnyi dekor na Kara- vannoi keramike Samarkanda” [Arabic inscriptions
tepa (raskopki 1998–2000 gg.)” [Sculpted stone décor on the glazed ceramics of Samarkand] (738–47).
at Karatepa (excavations of 1998–2000)] (574–613). — Daniel C. Waugh
The evidence here (generously illustrated with pho- University of Washington (Seattle)
tos) testifies that Buddhist monuments of the Kushan
period in Northern Bactria included narrative reliefs.
The date of this group of sculptured fragments is the
2nd century CE.

Ol’ga V[asil’evna] D’iakova. Gosudarstvo Bokhai: arkheologiia, istoriia, politika / Pohai State:
Archeology, History, Politics. Moskva: Nauka—Vostochnaia literatura, 2014. 319 pp. + 32
color plates. ISBN 978-5-02-036574-2.

O l’ga Vasil’evna D’iakova has published exten-

sively on the archaeology of the Bohai (Parhae)
State (698–926), whose territories encompassed parts
(crucial to any discussion of the composition of the
population) and the nature of the fortress architecture,
which similarly is important for delineating the his-
of what is now the Russian Far East, China, and Ko- torical development of the Bohai. She concludes that
rea. The great virtue of her monograph is to provide the Bohai state was multi-ethnic, developing initially
a systematically organized descriptive catalog of its out of the local Mokhe population, but then strongly
archaeological sites and to summarize her previous- influenced by an influx of people following the end of
ly published classification of the pottery found there the Koguryo state. Chinese culture also then played an

178
important role in the evolution of Bohai culture and to “incorporate” neighboring territories and peoples
administration in the period when the Tang Dynasty into a scheme where all roads lead to Han China. The
exercised what seems to have been a loose protector- Korean narratives likewise are problematic for their
ate over it. Somewhat vaguely, she refers to elements nationalistic slant. So we are left to understand that
that might be have come via Indo-Europeans who perhaps the Russian perspective offers the greatest
spread across Inner Asia, filtered through the contacts objectivity. Of course one can imagine her own con-
with the early Turks and their successors. clusions here will end up being roundly criticized for
To write this history necessitates relying heavily on disputing the nationalist narratives, and one has to
the primarily Chinese written sources; there seems wonder a bit about possible unstated political moti-
to be little new here in what she does with them. If vations here, where there are still tensions regarding
one accepts what turns out to be a relatively nuanced the borders between Russia and China in the Far East.
reading of what one might conclude from the archae- She suggests that to date there have been few syn-
ology regarding the ethnic diversity of the Bohai state, cretic works of substance in any language which have
she is able to go beyond what others have done with attempted to bring together all the information, textu-
its history. Her great strength in all this is the work al and archaeological, to write the history of the Bohai.
she has done over several decades in excavation and It is odd though that she ignores Johannes Reckel’s
survey archaeology and tracing routes of communica- large monograph published in 1995 (Bohai: Geschichte
tion in the Russian “Primor’e” region east of the Ussu- und Kultur eines mandschurish-koreanischen Königreiches
ri River. This an area where V. K. Arsen’ev (of “Dersu der Tang-Zeit), perhaps because it is in German. She
Uzala” fame) undertook pioneering exploration over tends to rely rather heavily on often rather slim Rus-
a century ago, work that she credits as retaining its sian treatments for the textual evidence and eschews
value. an in-depth study of the culture. Nonethless, future
In cataloguing the sites, she summarizes the ev- studies of the Bohai will need to consult her book and
idence from archaeology and in each case then pro- take into account her pointers about the direction for
vides a pithy conclusion as to whether the site is defi- future archaeological exploration in these regions of
nitely to be associated with the Bohai or only probably the Far East if we are to gain a fuller understanding of
can be connected with them. Complicating this is the the Bohai and liberate the scholarship from the blin-
unevenness of the scholarship (in Chinese, Russian, kered attempts to impose modern political boundar-
Korean and Japanese) and the fact that many of the ies on the evidence which transcends them. Among
sites have a much longer history of occupation. There the desiderata is to try to unearth evidence about what
is no evidence that the material has been incorporated happened to the Bohai after their state collapsed and
into a GIS database. Those who would wish to consult its territories ended up under the control of the Khi-
her sources will be frustrated by the fact that she cites tans and others.
the non-Russian East Asian literature only by transla- The book has a several page “summary” in English
tions of titles and uses the standard Russian system of which is really a focused discussion of her conclusions
Cyrillic transcription for names. We get neither pin- regarding the ethnic history of the Bohai. There is also
yin nor Chinese characters, which then also challenges an English version of the table of contents. The insert
the reader to figure out what the names of the Chinese of color plates is of good quality; there are numerous
locations are. site maps for Bohai settlements, artefact drawings and
As her concluding chapter emphasizes, work on maps.
—Daniel C. Waugh
the Bohai has very much been the captive of nation- University of Washington (Seattle)
alistic politics. She has particularly strong words for
the relatively recent and systematic Chinese effort

179
 Elmira Janabergenova, Kazakhstan. Songs from the Aral Sea.
Bidas Rustembekov. Kazakh Terme. Sung Poetry of Wisdom.
Faik Chelebi, Tar. The Classical Mugam of Azerbaijan in Solo Instrumental Performance.
The Epic Körughly. The Kazakh version. Performed by Bidas Rustembekov.
An Anthology of Kazakh Epic Songs and Dombra Kyuis (recording) and A Journey to
Epic Qyzylorda: Three Kazakh Jyraus (video)

S ilk Road House <www.silkroadhouse.org>, which

occupies a modest store front not far from the
University of California campus in Berkeley, is the
Since both Janabergenova and Chelebi have formal
academic positions (and the latter advanced degrees
from Russian institutions), one does wonder to what
creation of Alma Kunanbaeva and Izaly Zemtsovsky, degree that experience may have altered “tradition.”
distinguished specialists on the literary and mu- Here one thinks about what Theodore Levin docu-
sical traditions of Central Asia. Over the years, the mented in his Hundred Thousand Fools of God, which
Silkroad Foundation has been happy to provide fund- charted the difficult path he followed in trying to
ing to support this non-profit organization in its goal identify performers in Central Asia whose art had not
of presenting to the public an impressive array of di- somehow been corrupted by the cultural norms im-
verse ethnic cultural traditions. SRH offers lectures, posed by Soviet-era institutions. While it appears that
concerts, art exhibits and much more and reaches out there is precedent for solo performance of muğams, as
beyond the one location near the Berkeley campus. Zemtsovsky’s notes indicate, they were conceived for
One of its most important recent contributions is the ensemble. The solo versions of the pieces are indeed
series of CDs and the one video DVD which are the captivating, and one can appreciate his somewhat
subject of this brief note and which can be purchased tongue-in-cheek reference to this music as “muğam
from SRH. One can supplement the information pro- Sebastian Bach.” It would have been interesting to
vided with the disks by some of the essays linked to learn something here about gender roles in traditional
the SRH website (most by Kunanbaeva, a couple by performance: is the current prominence of a talented
Zemtsovsky). woman performer like Janabergenova a relatively new
Accompanying each disk is a booklet that provides phenomenon, an artefact of the liberation of women
background on the performances and performers, under the Soviet regime, or does it have deeper roots
Kunanbaeva the author of all but the one for Chelebi, in a nomadic culture in which women’s roles were
written by Zemtsovsky. For Janabergenova and Rust- not constrained in the same way that might have been
embekov, there are translations of the lyrics, and for true of their urban counterparts?
the latter’s performance of the epic, a detailed sum- The performer adjusts his or her presentation de-
mary of its contents. The emphasis in the introductory pending on the particular audience and venue. That
texts is on the way in which the performers are direct is, audience response and cultural expectations are
heirs to an oral tradition whereby the musician learns part of any performance. The recordings here at least
at the feet of a master, rather than by some formal pro- in part reproduce programs the musicians presented
cess of institutional musical education. Given what where the goal seems to have been to a degree to an-
we are told in these biographies, we are to assume that thologize for the uninitiated from a broad repertoire,
the performances are an authentic evocation of tradi- in some cases then mixing different genres and mo-
tion, even as it is also clear that tradition is a mov- tifs. As the notes indicate, to some extent adjustments
ing target. Performers may sing or play compositions were made to accommodate an audience on whom
handed down over generations but may also perform some more complex or sophisticated elements might
new compositions created in traditional fashion and have been lost. The last of the disks listed has an inter-
in whose performance improvisation is expected. esting history, in that the recording was done in 1990
Having Rustembekov’s performance of the important as part of a Smithsonian Folkways project. For various
epic Körughly is especially valuable, given how widely reasons, the material was never issued then and the
known it is across much of southern Central Asia. tapes nearly lost. Two of the performers have since

180
died. The accompanying video, which provides the by the degree to which lyrics evoke nature, animals
best sense of how performances traditionally would both wild and domesticated, and do so in unexpect-
have taken place, was filmed about a decade later in a ed phrasing. Presumably those who are equipped to
yurt in the Qyzylorda region of southern Kazakhstan, study more deeply the culture would have benefitted
the region from which much of the Kazakh music pre- had the texts included transcriptions of the original
sented here comes. We might well wish to learn more Kazakh.
about the differences to be found among regional tra-
In reading and hearing so much wise counsel about
ditions.
values that should be shared and held in esteem
As with any music, its appreciation may take a bit of across cultures, yet which, like the Aral Sea, seem
getting used to for the unpracticed ear. Even though threatened everywhere with extinction, this listener
the superficial impression may be that a lot is the same could not help but wonder to what degree the elites
in song after song, in fact there are subtle progressions who are benefitting from the petroleum-fueled excess-
and differences. Certain of Janabergenova’s pieces es of modern Astana or other locations in Kazakhstan
are quite lyrical; in a song such as her lament for the really do care any more about this heritage. Assuming
disappearing Aral Sea, she conveys on the other hand that the technology to play them will still be available
a vivid sense of her anguish. The texts offer a lot of to future generations, at very least what Kunanbaeva
insight into Kazakh culture, many of them being di- and Zemtsovsky are so lovingly preserving on these
dactic and challenging listeners to respect tradition- discs will be available long after the Aral Sea has dis-
al social and family norms of conduct. A good many appeared entirely and some of the glittering façades of
of them are musings on life from the perspective of new buildings have been shuttered.
elders who remind the listeners of the inevitabilities —Daniel C.Waugh
that come in old age. A few of the songs are overtly University of Washington (Seattle)
connected with Islamic belief; one might wish to know
their relationship to Sufi traditions. One is struck

181
 Book Notices

Written/compiled by
Daniel C. Waugh

Two Arabic Travel Books: Abū Zayd al-Sīrāfī. Accounts of Uighurskie delovye dokumenty X–XIV vv. iz Vostochno-
China and India. Ed. and tr. by Tim Mackintosh-Smith; go Turkestana [Uighur civil documents of the 10th–14th
Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān. Mission to the Volga. Ed. and tr. by centuries from Eastern Turkestan]. Predislovie, tran-
James E. Montgomery. Volume editors Philip F. Ken- skriptsiia, perevod s drevneuigurskogo L. Iu. Tugu-
nedy; Shawkat M. Toorawa. New York; London: New shevoi. Faksimile rukopisei. Pamiatniki pis’mennosti
York Univ. Pr., 2014 x + 312 pp. ISBN 978-1-4798-0350- Vostoka, CXXXVIII. Moskva: Nauka—Vostochnaia
7 (cloth); 978-1-4798-4452-4 and -0028-5 (e-book). literatura, 2013. 326 pp. ISBN 978-5-02-036525-4.

This welcome volume is one of the first in a new series that This annotated edition and translation of 97 Uighur doc-
will be of inestimable value to both scholars and general uments housed either in the original manuscripts or in
readers. NYU’s Library of Arabic Literature publishes both the photocopies in the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute
original Arabic texts and on facing pages their English trans- of Oriental Studies (St. Petersburg) was issued to mark the
lations. Each text is prefaced by a brief introduction; there 85th anniversary of V. V. Radloff’s pioneering publication of
are notes, selected bibliography, indexes and glossaries. many of these same texts (Uighurische Sprachdenkmäler, Len-
ingrad, 1928). Radloff’s edition and that by Yamada (Sam-
The texts chosen for this volume are the earliest extant mlung uigurischer Kontrakte, 3 vols., Osaka, 1993), contain
Arab travel narratives. Abū Zayd’s compendium from vari- most of the texts, a few having been published separately,
ous accounts by merchants is important evidence regarding a number by Tugusheva, whose work on this material goes
the Indian Ocean trade connecting China with the Middle back over nearly half a century. Her new edition organizes
East in the 9th–10th centuries CE. Ibn Faḍlān’s narrative con- the material under the rubrics of “Sale documents,” “Loan
cerns the embassy sent by the Caliph to the Bulgars on the documents,” “Economic records” and a large miscellaneous
Volga in 921 CE, from which the lurid description of a Vi- category. She provides new Romanized transcriptions,
king funeral has inspired both fiction and film. modern Russian translations and philological commentary.
The editor/translators bring to their task what I assume There are name and word indexes. Serviceable photo fac-
are impeccable credentials for translation of the Arabic. similes are included for all the instances where the original
Mackintosh-Smith, long resident in Yemen, is best known manuscripts have been preserved. Since some of those used
as a travel writer, with several books following in the foot- by Radloff are no longer extant, those texts are reproduced
steps of the 14th-century traveler-extraordinaire Ibn Battu- from his edition.
ta. Montgomery holds a name professorship at Cambridge.
Their different profiles are reflected in the apparatus here, ****
Mackintosh-Smith somewhat chattier and less scholarly,
Montgomery more inclined to analytical detail and with “Novye zakony” Tangutskogo gosudarstva (pervaia chet-
deeper annotation. Montgomery does include references to
vert’ XIII v.) [The “New Laws” of the Tangut state (first
important literature in Russian, though he admits it is not
quarter of the 13th century)]. Izdanie teksta, perevod s
in his arsenal of scholarly languages. Both editor/transla-
tors have admirably fulfilled the goals of the series in mak- tangutskogo, vvedenie i kommentarii E. I. Kychano-
ing their commentary and translations accessible, and the va. Pamiatniki pis’mennosti Vostoka CXL. Moskva:
selected bibliographies offer plenty of guidance for those Nauka—Vostochnaia literatura, 2013. 501 pp. ISBN
wishing to explore more deeply each of the texts. 978-5-02-036544-5.
Mackintosh-Smith has had the easier task in editing his
Arabic text, in that there is a single manuscript. Montgom- In 1987-1989, the noted specialist on the Tanguts, E. I. Ky-
ery has had to make some harder editorial decisions in coor- chanov, published in four volumes in this venerable series
dinating the witnesses of the separate Mashhad manuscript an edition, translation and commentary of the 12th-century
of Ibn Faḍlān and passages not always replicated in it which Tangut Code which is part of the Khara-Khoto collection in
are quoted by the noted geographer Yāqūt. The result is a the St. Petersburg Institute of Oriental Studies. This new vol-
kind of hybrid edition. For specialists, he is providing an ume contains supplements to the earlier code, compiled in
alternate edition of the Mashhad manuscript and additional the second decade of the 13th century at a time when there
annotations, to be posted to the website for the Library of were still positive economic and political developments in
Arabic Literature <http://www.libraryofarabicliterature. the Tangut state which required additional legislation. He
org/>, although at this writing apparently not yet available. hypothesizes that the intent had been to publish a supple-
ment to the earlier code, but the destruction of the Tangut
**** state by the Mongols within the next decade prevented that
publication from having been issued.

The Silk Road 12 (2014): 182 – 192 182 Copyright © 2014 Daniel C. Waugh
Copyright © 2014 The Silkroad Foundation
 While he notes that most of the manuscript pieces which A[leksandr] M[ikhailovich] Leskov, E[lena] A[lek-
he has brought together here have been published in fac- seevna] Beglova, I[rina] V[asil’evna] Ksenofontova,
simile in a Chinese edition of the Khara-Khoto material V[ladimir] R[oal’dovich] Erlikh. Meoty Zakuban’ia IV–
(Shanghai, 1999), he has now attempted to provide the full- III vv. do n. e. Nekropoli u aula Uliap. Sviatilishcha i ritu-
est reconstruction of this set of laws, with a photo facsimile
al’nye kompleksy / Maeotians of the Trans-Kuban region
of the manuscripts, his Russian translation and extensive
commentaries that indicate the relationship of the supple- in the 4th–3rd centuries BC. The Necropoleis near the aul of
ments to the laws in the earlier code and explain specific Ulyap. Shrines and Ritual Places. 184 pp. + color insert
references. He considered the options of providing the fac- (23 photos). Moskva: Gosudarstvennyi muzei Vosto-
simile only on a disk as an electronic file or simply referring ka, 2013. ISBN 978-5-903417-35-3.
the reader to the Chinese publication, but, thankfully, he
decided on this hard-copy publication to make the material The second of a projected three volume publication of the
more readily accessible in a form that might outlive inevi- excavations of the Ulyap necropolis carried out in 1981-
table changes in technology which might eventually render 1983, this beautifully-produced volume is a fitting tribute
a digital disk undecipherable. For all his great expertise on to Aleksandr Leskov, who directed the excavation, on the
the Tangut material, he admits to not being able to read the occasion of his 80th birthday. The first volume, on the burial
texts copied in “rapid cursive.” Chapter 5 of this set of the complexes, appeared in 2005. A third volume will discuss all
laws is entirely in that cursive; so he has not attempted to of the material artefacts found at the site.
translate it here. He also readily admits that further study
As Aleksandr Naymark wrote of his mentor and colleague
may require some revision of his translations.
on the pages of this journal (Vol. 2/2, December 2004, pp.
12–16), Leskov’s career in the former Soviet Union was
**** marked by spectacular discoveries as well as entanglements
with politicized bureaucracies which ultimately compelled
Dokumenty i materialy po istorii bashkirskogo naroda (s him to emigrate to the United States at the stage in life when
drevneishikh vremen do serediny XVI v.) [Documents many would look to a comfortable retirement. Once here,
and Materials on the History of the Bashkirs (from he worked productively on the complicated history of the
ancient times to the mid-16th century)]. [Comp. F. G. “Maikop Treasure” (now scattered in several museums),
Khisametdinova et al.] Ufa: IIIaL UNTs RAN, 2012. and published the authoritative catalog and study of it in
340 pp. ISBN 978-5-916-08095-7. 2008 (see the book notice in The Silk Road 6/1 [2008], p. 72).
As he notes in his introduction to the volume reviewed here
(p. 14), while many of the spectacular finds from Ulyap
The genre of collected materials on the history of a “peo-
were shown in various exhibitions and an album published
ple” is common, if obviously problematic for the attempt
by Hirmer in Munich in 1990, a publication of the details
to shoehorn materials from a time when the current ethnic
of the archaeological context was still needed. Hence the
identity did not exist into a modern interpretive framework.
current three volumes, the contents of volume 2 but briefly
How much of what is here really relates to the Bashkirs, ex-
described in what follows.
cept by virtue of having been found on their territory or of
imagining a past that serves to buttress the notions of the As Leskov points out in his introductory essay, the dis-
present? That said, the collection can be useful for its var- coveries at Ulyap had a major impact on re-thinking the
ious sections with specific commentaries on passages (ren- connection between the richest kurgan burials (previously
dered into Russian) from historic written sources, folklore known from the southern steppes, the Crimea and the Ta-
and evidence from archaeology. There are chapters on epos, man’ peninsula) and the Greek colonies on the Black Sea
on ancient Iranian sources for the Southern Urals, on Greek littoral. It now became clear that the Kuban was a major
sources, on “small cult objects,” on medieval sources, on center of Maeotian culture. After his brief history of the sur-
representations on historic maps and on traditions that have veys and excavations in the region and at the site, the book
been preserved about the spread of Bashkir settlement. The contains descriptions of the excavation results for each of
black-and-white drawings range over petroglyphs, man- barrows Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 14, seen to be a single ritual
made structures, artefacts (including Central Asian silver complex, in which the density of finds was often breath-tak-
found in the Urals forests; Achaemenid wares). There are ing. The particularly rich barrow No. 5 included a wooden
distribution maps and tabulations of features of kurgans (partially roofed?) structure. Apart from the abundance of
and menhirs. The volume was published as a supplement objects made of precious metals and Classical amphorae
to a recent two-volume history of the Bashkirs. and wide range of less spectacular artefacts, there were
horse sacrifices. After the description of the excavation of
**** each barrow and the detailed inventory of its artefacts, there
is a substantial essay by V. R. Erlikh on shrines in Maeo-
tian culture, starting in the “proto-Maeotian” period in the
8th century BCE and coming down to the 3rd century. His
concluding section discusses the problems of reconstructing
the rituals performed at the shrines. Results of the ongoing
work at other sites is revising some of the initial conclusions
that had been based on the Ulyap excavations. Arguably the

183
Ulyap complex began as a ritual site, with the burials then K. M. Baipakov. Drevniaia i srednevekovaia urbanizatsiia
occurring in proximity to it. Kazakhstana (po materialam issledovanii Iuzhno-Kazakh-
Half of this large format volume is illustrations — many stanskoi kompleksnoi arkheologicheskoi ekspeditsii). Kn.
historic photos taken during the excavations, 23 excellent 1. Urbanizatsiia Kazakhstana v epokhu bronzy-rannem
color photos of artefacts (yes, the famous rhyton with the srednevekov’e. Kn. 2. Urbanizatsiia Kazakhstana v IX–na-
protome of Pegasus unearthed in barrow No. 4 is here). chale XIII v. [Ancient and medieval urbanization of
Kazakhstan (according to materials from the research
by the Southern Kazakhstan Complex Archaeological
****
Expedition. Book 1. Urbanization of Kazakhstan from
Materialy Tokharistanskoi ekspeditsii, Vyp. 9. Posele- the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages; Book 2. Ur-
nie Dabil’kurgan v Severnoi Baktrii. [Materials of the banization of Kazakhstan from the 9th to the beginning
Tokharistan Expedition, Vyp. 9. The settlement of of the 13th centuries] Almaty, 2012-2013. 390 pp. + 76
Dabil’kurgan in Northern Bactria]. Elets: EGU im. I. color plates; 516 pp. + 76 color plates. ISBN 978-601-
A. Bunina, 2013. 120 pp. ISBN 978-5-94809-657-5. 210-062-4; 978-601-7312-25-1.

Obtaining older archaeological reports concerning Central Karl M. Baipakov is one of the most prominent archaeol-
Asia can be a challenge. Even in the recent era of better dis- ogists in Kazakhstan; his work is at least to some degree
tribution and, thanks to the Internet, easier purchase, keep- known to those who cannot read it in Russian. He has pub-
ing track of all the regional publications can be well nigh lished extensively, including volumes on the Silk Road and
impossible. The publications of the Tokharistan Expedi- on urban culture in early Kazakhstan. To a degree the cur-
tion have been appearing in Tashkent and Elets since 2000, rent volumes can be seen as an update and expansion of that
covering work done in the Pashkhurd Valley in southern earlier work. Published on the occasion of the fortieth anni-
Uzbekistan in which a key role was played by Edvard V. versary of the beginning of the Southern Kazakhstan Expe-
Rtveladze. The major site in the region and apparently the dition, these very useful thick volumes pull together much of
focus of the first volumes in the series is Kampyrtepa on the what that ongoing project has accomplished in both broadly
Amu-Darya. This volume deals with excavations in 2010- based archaeological survey and excavation of specific sites.
2013 at Dabil’kurgan, the administrative town away from While at the outset Baipakov emphasizes quite properly that
the river in the center of the region. The authors are to be traditional ideas of “nomadism” as just pastoralism need to
commended for getting at least preliminary results out rela- be discarded in favor of the idea that nomadic society and
tively quickly. The three articles which constitute this slim, economy was complex, readers may come away wondering
small format, but well-illustrated volume are: whether the emphasis here on “urbanization” is always an
appropriate read of what the archaeological record reveals.
• E. V. Rtveladze. “Istoriko-geograficheskii i arkheolog- There is some attention early in the going to definitions of
icheskii obzor Pashkhurdskoi doliny” [Historical-geo- a city and the delineation of stages in a progression toward
graphical and archaeological survey of the Pashkhurd urbanization. However, a good deal of the material here,
Valley}, which provides a good overview and explana- which incorporates but does not always update earlier ex-
tion of its importance especially as a transit zone on the cavation reports, is presented in a somewhat dated interpre-
Central Asian routes leading north from the Amu Darya. tive framework or at very least not re-examined in ways that
• V. S. Solov’ev. “Raskopki na ob”ekte V Dabil’kurgana v would help to build a coherent argument.
2010–2013 gg.” [Excavations on Object V of Dabil’kur-
The books in fact are very much a mixture of the new and
gan in 2010–2013], which details a relatively small but
old, with the review of “New Methods of Documentation”
fruitful excavation that uncovered five rooms and, de-
(Ch. 3) highlighting the GIS-based survey work of recent
spite some later pits through the four strata, enabled the
years that has resulted in the publication of archaeological
team to determine a fairly precise chronology that is very
atlas volumes illustrated extensively with new maps (a few
useful for comparison with other sites in this region. The
of which are reproduced in the color inserts here). For sites
strata date between the 5th and 9th century; of particular
whose excavation began years ago, new material has been
importance was the evidence in the 5th–early 6th century
added if there has been recent resumption of the work. But
layer. Solov’ev brings to bear a lot of comparative mate-
to a considerable degree, as near as I can tell, what we have
rial in discussing the artefacts and chronology.
is sometimes condensed replication of the earlier published
• R. V. Tikhonov. “Arkheologicheskii kompleks kusha- reports, often extensively quoted, where, unfortunately, no
no-sasanidskogo perioda po materialam ob”ekta V” effort has been made to coordinate the labeling on the nu-
[The archaeological complex of the Kushano-Sasanian merous site plans with the references to those same plans
period based on the materials of Object V], which dis- in the current text. As a collection of materials then, where
cusses material excavated in 2012 along one edge of the one cannot easily obtain the earlier reports, these volumes
larger excavation. Among the finds are some interesting are valuable, but they also are somewhat frustrating. Fur-
terracottas. thermore, it is clear that in many instances newer work
published in languages other than Russian by international
**** scholars too rarely has been taken into account. For exam-
ple, much more could have been done in the discussions
regarding the Sogdians.
184
 The books are well illustrated with many black-and-white Catrin Kost. The Practice of Imagery in the Northern Chi-
photos and diagrams and very generous and good quality nese Steppe (5th – 1st Centuries BCE). Bonn Contributions
color inserts. Each volume has a conclusion/summary in to Asian Archaeology, Vol. 6. Bonn: Vor- und Früh-
both Kazakh and in English. Book 1 was published in 300 geschichtliche Archäologie Rheinische Friedrich-Wil-
copies, Book 2 in only 200. Be sure your library obtains cop-
helms-Universitāt, 2014. 401 pp. ISBN 978-3-936490-
ies before they disappear.
32-9.
A third volume has been promised, but apparently its
publication date is as yet uncertain. That volume is one to Since I am listed as co-editor of this volume (with Güde
anticipate, since the excavations of sites in Kazakhstan dat- Bemmann, who in fact deserves the lion’s share of the cred-
ing to the Mongol period seem to be raising so many doubts it), it would be inappropriate for me to attempt to review it.
about how destructive the Mongol invasions of Central Asia Suffice it to say that the book’s production values, including
actually were. abundant high-quality illustrations, are up to the standard
of the other volumes in this series. The book is a much re-
**** vised translation into English of the author’s German disser-
tation. Her introductory chapters explore the cultural con-
K[imal’] A[kishevich] Akishev. Drevnie i srednevekovye texts and meaning of the belt plaque images that she then
gosudarstva na territorii Kazakhstana (Etiudy issledovani- presents in a systematic catalogue. The emphasis here is on
ia) [Ancient and Medieval State on the Territory of the plaques for which a documented archaeological context
is known and whose distribution then is indicated on the
Kazakhstan (Interpretive Essays)]. Almaty: [Institut
30 excellent maps. However, to provide the fullest possible
arkheologii im. Margulana], 2013. 192 pp. ISBN 978- coverage of the different motifs, she includes as well ones
601-7312-28-2. whose precise provenance is unknown. Much of this mate-
rial is familiar, especially through the publications of Emma
One can but wonder whether the decision to publish post- Bunker, who has written a brief preface. However, Kost’s
humously this volume left behind by the noted Kazakh is the first attempt to systematize the various types and de-
archaeologist K. A. Akishev (1924–2003) was an appropri- signs in a manner that can provide a basic reference point
ate tribute to his memory. For decades he was involved in for further discoveries and their analysis.
important excavations and was most famous for unearth-
ing the Issyk “golden man.” He was in charge of Kazakh ****
archaeology from 1955 to 1989.
The current volume contains a rather loose discussion of
evidence for economic, social and political change, framed A[leksandr] G[avrilovich] Grushevoi. Ocherki ekonomi-
explicitly in the kind of Marxist interpretive scheme which cheskoi istorii Sirii in Palestiny v drevnosti (I v. do n.e.—
was expected in Soviet-era scholarship half a century ago. VI v. n.e.) / Essays on Economic History of Ancient Syria
While his chronology may differ from that in some of the and Palestine (1st c. BC—6th c. AD). Sankt-Peterburg:
older publications, his scheme of the inevitable progres- Nestor-Istoriia, 2013. 380 pp. + 8 color plates. ISBN
sion to class society and state formation is liberally sprin-
978-5-90598-803-5.
kled with quotations from Marx and Engels which are not
merely here as window-dressing. The longest and argu-
While one might think there is plenty written already on
ably the most interesting section of the book concerns the
the economy of the Roman East up to the rise of Islam, this
Wusun polity, which in this telling achieved the status of a
book by A. G. Grushevoi, a senior scholar in the Institute of
true state. He draws frequently on the Chinese sources (in
Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Russian translation), for want of other textual evidence, and
demonstrates that there is still much of value to be learned.
does incorporate a lot of general information drawn from ar-
In particular, he draws on evidence from epigraphy and
chaeology. However, the archaeology by Chinese scholars is
papyri to supplement the generally well known from the
not included. He argues quite reasonably that tomb size and
narrative and descriptive texts. He has a particular interest
inventories point to developing social and economic differ-
in the patterns of land ownership and exploitation, arguing
entiation. However, one comes away with the distinct sense
that the hinterlands of urban areas formed long-standing
that the real rationale for the publication of the book was
economic units that require we look closely at regionalism if
that it will guide Kazakhs seeking their roots in a somewhat
we are to understand the larger area’s economic history. He
invented version of the early history of the Eurasian steppe.
is interested in the social organization of local craft produc-
Readers will appreciate the well-printed archaeological tion and trade, where possible focusing on particular fam-
drawings and starkly rendered archival photos from some ilies. There is a section on the spice trade, where his focus
of the excavations in which Akishev played a key role. I am is specifically on what can be learned about prices and the
particularly fond of the one (p. 49) showing the bulldozer market (referring readers to J. I. Miller’s book for a details on
climbing the Besshatyr kurgan, prior to participating in its the products themselves and their sources). One of the val-
disembowlment. The photos of the log burial chambers that ues of the book is his transcriptions and translations of texts.
were down under the huge stone mounds are striking. Included are a section of nice color plates of famous sites,
**** some decent maps, a bibliography and several indexes.
****
185
Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century est in the map would have been sparked. We learn about
Chinese Buddhism, ed. Chen-kuo Lin and Michael Ra- traders and routes in the Far East, Chinese navigation and
dich. Hamburg Buddhist Studies, Vol. 3. Hamburg: cartography, western mapping of China, and much more.
Hamburg University Press, 2014. 565 pp. ISBN 978-3- “The most important Chinese map of the last seven cen-
943423-19-8. turies” (p. xx), it is, of course, the star of the show, even if
it walks offstage to wait in the wings after but a brief ini-
tial bow (in a discussion of what is “wrong” with it at first
The description from the publisher’s website, where one
blush, that being primarily its not really focusing on China
can see the table of contents and either download the entire
but rather on the southeast Asian seas). As the analysis of
book for free in a pdf <http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/
the final chapter eventually reveals, there is every reason to
volltexte/2014/146/pdf/HamburgUP_HBS03_LinRadich_
believe it was a navigator’s rendering of the seas through
Mirror.pdf> or order a hard copy print version <http://
which he moved, but only peripherally the adjoining land
blogs.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup/products-page/publika-
areas, and as such, its perspective is unique and hugely
tionen/125/>:
important. The work done for Brook by Martha Lee (and
generously acknowledged here) in geo-referencing the map
In this book, an international team of fourteen schol-
and then analyzing the techniques of its construction was
ars investigates the Chinese reception of Indian Bud-
crucial to understanding that it is: “a commercial navigation
dhist ideas, especially in the sixth and seventh centu-
chart devoid of imperial designs or claims. Political nations,
ries. Topics include Buddhist logic and epistemology
Ming China included, did not interest our cartographer…”
(pramāṇa, yinming); commentaries on Indian Buddhist
(p. 167).
texts; Chinese readings of systems as diverse as Mad-
hyamaka, Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha; the working Anyone interested in the history of pre-modern Europe-
out of Indian concepts and problematics in new Chinese an intellectual and commercial engagement with the wider
works; and previously under-studied Chinese evidence world, the maritime history of southeast Asia, the cartogra-
for developments in India. The authors aim to consid- phy of China and the era of the late Ming (to name but a few
er the ways that these Chinese materials might furnish topics) will find a great deal in Brook’s book to stimulate
evidence of broader Buddhist trends, thereby problema- further inquiry. Brook emphasizes that there is no rational
tizing a prevalent notion of “sinification”, which has way the map could be used to buttress current Chinese at-
led scholars to consider such materials predominantly tempts to claim sovereignty over disputed islands way out
in terms of trends ostensibly distinctive to China. The in the South China Sea, but then he seems to be enough of a
volume also tries to go beyond seeing sixth- and sev- realist to appreciate they may well try.
enth-century China primarily as the age of the formation
and establishment of the Chinese Buddhist “schools”. Note: A review in The Economist (Jan. 18, 2014), which fo-
The authors attempt to view the ideas under study on cuses on Brook’s book, briefly describes another recent book
their own terms, as valid Buddhist ideas engendered in drawing on Selden’s map: Robert Batchelor, London: The
a rich, “liminal” space of interchange between two large Selden Map and the Making of a Global City, 1549–1689 (Chica-
traditions. go; London: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 2013).

**** ****

Timothy Brook. Mr. Selden’s Map of China. Decoding Cities of the Dead. The Ancestral Cemeteries of Kyrgyzstan.
the Secrets of a Vanished Cartographer. New York, etc.: Photographs by Margaret Morton. Text by Nasser
Bloomsbury Press, 2013. xxiv + 211 pp. ISBN 978-1- Rabbat, Elmira Köchümkulova, and Altyn Kapalova.
62040-143-9. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press,
2014. xviii + 107 pp. ISBN 978-0-295-99398-0.
Readers of this appealingly written volume by a distin-
guished historian of China can expect to be taken on a wild
ride, starting with the author’s having had a map confiscat- With its artfully subdued black-and-white images, this
ed at the Chinese border in 1976 and the incident in 2001 picture book is a pleasure to peruse. Margaret Morton is
where Chinese interceptors forced down an American re- known for her other work photographing “alternative built
connaissance plane over the South China Sea, before finally environments”; her pictures here deliberately blend the
reaching in the final chapter the substantive analysis of the cemeteries into the extraordinary natural environment of
map of its title. Brook admits he had never expected to be Kyrgyzstan. Beyond the photos, there is but limited intro-
exploring some of the byways here. He consciously is using ductory captioning; the only substantial essay is that by El-
the map as a way to provide broad insights into the world in mira Köchümkulova, which in a few pages situates the cem-
which it was produced and through which it then traveled eteries in the context of Kyrgyz culture, including religious
to be deposited and forgotten in the Bodleian Library un- beliefs and practice. To a considerable degree the essay
til dusted off in 2008 by David Helliwell, who brought it to draws on material both from her personal experience and
Brook’s attention. Along the way we learn about its owner, from her University of Washington Ph.D. dissertation. The
the 17th-century English lawyer John Selden, and the context essay whets one’s appetite for seeing the full publication of
of debates over the law of the sea within which his inter- her research as a monograph.

186
 terial are well chosen. It is nice to see Korean and Japanese
**** paintings which were created following Chinese examples.

Ming: 50 Years that changed China. Ed. Craig Clunas; ****

Jessica Harrison-Hall. London: The British Museum
Press; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014.
Adam T. Kessler. Song Blue and White Porcelain on the
312 pp. ISBN 978-0-295-99450-5.
Silk Road. Studies in Asian Art and Archaeology, Vol.
XXVII. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2012. XVI + 587 pp. + 76
This elegantly produced, large format volume accompa- illustrations. ISBN 978-90-04-21859-8 (hardback); 978-
nies the current exhibition (which closes 5 January 2015) at
90-04-23127-6 (e-book).
the British Museum and makes me wish I could be there
to visit it. The exhibition is noteworthy for its emphasis on Those who have the intestinal fortitude to chew on this
the connections between the early Ming and the previous large volume will find the main arguments in it familiar
Yuan Dynasty. That the Ming rulers were busy fighting the from Kessler’s 1993 catalog of the exhibition Empires Beyond
Mongols in order to solidify their own power did not mean the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan. He included in
that cross-cultural fertilization was dead. On the contrary, that exhibition a few pieces of Chinese underglaze blue-and-
there were still plenty of non-Chinese employed by the new white porcelain which had been found in the northern bor-
regime, Mongol fashions appropriate for hunting or mili- derlands and argued that they should be dated prior to the
tary affairs were still in vogue, the kind of expansiveness to Mongol (Yuan) period, even though the consensus of schol-
places far beyond the borders of China which we associate arly opinion has always favored a Yuan (1279-1368) date
with the “Pax Mongolica” was still very much in evidence. for the real beginning of the production of the underglaze
Of course, all that did not last, as is well known, but the blue-and-white. At least one reviewer (Suzanne Valenstein)
first half of the 15th century was a vibrant period which wit- jumped on this claim, declaring it to be “outrageous,” and
nessed a significant impact of Chinese culture on other peo- subsequently scholars have either dismissed or ignored Kes-
ples and had a long-lasting impact in China itself. For this sler’s idea. He has spent the last two decades assembling
exhibition, the British Museum drew extensively on British this overblown response to the slight.
collections but also imported a great many treasures. To
His main contentions include the following:
my mind, most noteworthy are paintings loaned from col-
lections in China (and Taiwan); for example the “Miracles • The dating of “pre-Ming” (the term he uses to avoid call-
of the Mass of Universal Salvation Conducted by the Fifth ing it “Yuan”; I will call it simply “early”) blue-and-white
Karmapa for the Yongle Emperor” with its text in Chinese, porcelain to the late Yuan period by stylistic compari-
Persian, Tay, Tibetan and Mongolian, on loan from the Tibet sons, as has been done by most art historians, is wrong.
Museum, and the “Assembly of Artists and Scholars of Var- • The Yuan rulers (the Mongols) in fact did not value por-
ious Talents and Schools of Former Times,” from the Shanxi celain and never seriously backed its production. Kessler
Museum. As with other paintings, in both cases the catalog even casts doubt on the key point d’appui for standard
shows a number of close-up details. The acknowledged fo- comparisons, the dated vases in the Percival David Col-
cus here is the arts and projects of the court and imperial lection (“even were it to be assumed they are authentic…
family. Some of the most impressive pieces are ones exca- [they] were not made for the Yuan imperial court, but
vated from tombs of the numerous dynastic progeny who dedicated to a Daoist temple” [p. 255]) [see photo next
were farmed out to administer the provinces. page].
The material is grouped around several long essays which • What has been termed Yuan-period blue-and-white was
do quite a good job of contextualizing the objects. Craig developed under the Song (960–1127 and 1127–1279).
Clunas sets the stage in “A Second Founding: Ming China • Unlike the Mongols, the Jin (Jurchen) rulers of north Chi-
1400-1450.” Jessica Harrison-Hall writes about “Courts: Pal- na (1115–1234) greatly admired all things Song, includ-
aces, People and Objects”; David Robinson about “Wu: The ing the porcelain, and thus obtained lots of it and were
Arts of War”; Clunas about “Wen: The Arts of Peace”; Mar- involved in trading it to others (notably the Xi Xia).
sha Haufler about “Beliefs: Miracles and Salvation”; and
Timothy Brook concludes with “Commerce: The Ming in • Where that early blue-and-white has been found in ar-
the World.” While some parts of the story are well known — chaeological contexts in the North (and also at kiln sites),
Zheng He’s voyages, blue-and-white export porcelain, dip- it is in Jin, Xi Xia, or Song contexts; the wares so found
lomatic and economic relations with the Timurids, to name are to be attributed to the Song.
a few — there is also much here which may be new to those • The finds of early blue-and-white in Southeast Asia and
who are not specialists on the Ming. I learned a lot about at sites around the Indian Ocean all must be dated to the
official writing projects, about the patronage of painters, Song period, when the state was involved in promoting
about Zheng He’s multi-faith patronage, about the fact that the maritime trade.
the Xuande Emperor (1426-1435) was himself a noted artist • Supporting evidence for the argument about the Song
(some of whose work can be seen here)… While there have dating is provided by a more accurate reading (at odds
been many illustrations of the relationship between Chinese with currently accepted interpretations) of key terms for
and Middle Eastern arts in this period, the juxtapositions certain kinds of wares (e.g., qingbai; those marked shufu
here and the introduction of other kinds of comparative ma- and taixi).

187
• Technical analysis suggests there is little if any evidence Publications of the M. A. Usmanov Center for Studies of
to support the idea the cobalt used in pre-Ming blue-and- the History of the Golden Horde
white was imported from the West, nor is there reason
to think the Chinese technique of underglaze painting of
pottery came from there. I[l’nur] M[idkhatovich] Mirgaleev. Zolotaia Orda: bib-
liograficheskii ukazatel’. Seriia “Istoriia i kul’tura Zo-
• The early blue-and-white wares in Ming burials are from
lotoi Ordy,” vyp. 18. Kazan’: Institut istorii im. Sh.
the Song, since the Ming despised everything connected
with the Yuan and hence valued that of their predeces- Mardzhani AN RT, 2013. 412 pp. ISBN 978-5-94981-
sors; blue-and-white production under the Ming could 180-1.
only have been a “revival” of the Song traditions. Zolotoordynskaia tsivilizatsiia. Nauchnyi Ezhegodnik.
Should any of the real specialists on Chinese ceramics and 6 vols. to date. Kazan’, 2008-. ISSN 2308-1856
archaeology invest the time it may take to review all this,
“outrageous” is likely to be one of the milder epithets they The study of Tatar history has blossomed since the emer-
will use. Kessler has a talent for undermining the reader’s gence of a meaningfully autonomous Tatar Republic more
confidence at every turn. A good half of his text is undigest- than two decades ago. Anyone studying seriously the Gold-
ed and repetitive quotations, intended to impugn the cred- en Horde (Ulus Jöchi) and many related topics pertaining to
ibility of all who have argued for the traditional dating and the history of Eurasia in the Mongol period probably is well
attributions. In the process he finds petty reasons to snipe aware of the prolific output of the Usmanov Center, which
at their work (John Carswell, of course, comes in for special is under the aegis of the Sh. Mardzhani Institute of Histo-
treatment). On the other side, he seems to think repeated ry of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan.
quotations of vague doubts and unproven assumptions While most of the Mardazhani Institute’s website <http://
by the few such as the art deal- www.tataroved.ru/institut/> is (as yet) only in Russian, it
er Sammy Yukuan Lee, whose is an important resource for keeping up on the publications,
views he wholeheartedly en- which are not always readily available in libraries around
dorses, somehow serve as proof. the world.
Suppositions easily morph into The director of the Usmanov Center, I. M. Mirgaleev, has
certainties. His archaeology compiled a very extensive bibliography of publications
in the first instance consists of about the Golden Horde, while admitting that it will need
walking around some sites and to be supplemented and even for the period it covers cannot
picking up shards. In spite of be considered complete. To a degree he has had to rely on
the fact that there are serious material sent him by colleagues; so not everything has been
concerns that have been raised checked de visu, page numbers and some publication details
about the degree to which Chi- may be missing, and so on. My sense is that publications
nese coin finds can be used for outside of Tatarstan and Russia are less well represented
dating (given the long circula- here than they should be. The entries are organized by year
tion of many issues), he is com- of publication, starting in 1726 and coming down through
fortable citing such evidence 2012 (though clearly for the last year, what is here is just a
to prove an early date for sites beginning). Under each year one first gets publications in
where early blue-and-white has Cyrillic, followed by those with Romanized titles. Looking
been found. beyond this volume, in his introduction Mirgaleev lays out
At very least this is a book the exciting prospect that eventually we will have an elec-
crying out for an editor, since tronic corpus of publications about the Golden Horde, work
all that he has to say could have on which is progressing. His Center is also in the process
been more effectively present- of preparing editions of previously unused sources and/or
ed in short of half the space. new editions of some of the well-known sources.
So far I have found one review Of particular interest for the publication of ongoing re-
of it, by the respected scholar search is the Center’s annual, Golden Horde Civilization,
of early architecture in China, which has been publishing a wide array of valuable schol-
Nancy Schatzman Steinhardt arly articles in large format and with decent illustrations.
One of the blue-and-white (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Soci- While in the most recent number there is one article in En-
porcelain temple vases in the ety 25/1 (2015): 184-87). She is glish, the rest so far is in Russian. Clearly though there is
Peercival David Collection, open-minded about what the a serious attempt being made to include publications by
dated 1351. British Museum, specialists ultimately may con- scholars outside of Russia and Tatarstan. Both Russian and
PDF,B.614. Photograph by clude concerning Kessler’s in- English tables of contents and English resumés of the arti-
Daniel C. Waugh. your-face assertions. cles are provided. One can access the table of contents for
each volume from the link <http://www.tataroved.ru/in-
stitut/cizc/sb/>, where the English titles of the articles fol-
**** low upon the listing of them in Russian. The translations are
sometimes a bit awkward, but it should be easy enough to
figure out whether the content may be worth your trying to

188
obtain a copy and have it translated (if you do not read Rus- seleniia narodov v svete arkheometallograficheskikh danny-
sian). I think anyone working on the Mongols would ignore kh (po materialam pamiatnikov Volgo-Kam’ia i Pooch’ia)”
this annual at his or her peril. I just discovered in fact that [Ethno-cultural interactions in the era of the Great Migra-
I should have cited one of the articles in something I had tions in the light of archaeometallographic data (based on
recently submitted for publication. the materials of monuments of the Volga-Kama and Oka
river regions)] (65–73)
**** E. V. Kruglov. “O ‘kurganakh s rovikami’, pogrebeniiakh
tipa ‘Sokolovskoi balki’ i nekotorykh inykh drevnostiakh
Gorod i step’ v kontaktnoi Evro-Aziatskoi zone. Materialy khazarskogo vremeni (k postanovke problemy)” [On the
III mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii, posviatshchen- “barrows with moats,” burials of the “Sokolovskaia balka”
noi 75-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia professora G. A. Fëdoro- type, and several other antiquities of the Khazar period (to-
va-Davydova (1931–2000) [City and steppe in the Eur- wards the formulation of the problem)] (74–83)
asian contact zone. Materials of the 3rd international M. S. Gatin. “’Ostforschung’ i izuchenie Zolotoi Ordy v
scientific conference dedicated to the 75th anniversa- Germanii v gody natsizma (1933–1945)” [“Ostforschung”
ry of the birth of Professor G. A. Fëdorov-Davydov and the study of the Golden Horde in Germany in the Nazi
(1931–2000)]. Otv. red. V. G. Rudakov. Trudy Gosu- years (1933–1945)] (84–91)
darstvennogo istoricheskogo muzeia, Vyp. 184. Mosk- Kh. Iu. Minnegulov. “O literature Zolotoi Ordy” [On the
va, 2013. 200 pp. ISBN 978-5-89076-168-2. literature of the Golden Horde] (92–97)

Honoring the memory of the important archaeologist and T. M. Dostiev. “Goroda i gorodskaia kul’tura Azerbaid-
art historian G. A. Fëdorov-Davydov, who wrote significant zhana v epokhu Il’kanidov” [Cities and urban culture of
works on the history of the Qipchaq steppe and especially Azerbaijan in the Ilkhanid period] (98–101)
the Golden Horde (Ulus Jöchi). Large format with many il- A. A. Kudriavtsev. “Srednevekovyi severokavkazskii
lustrations. The table of contents: gorod v istorii Zolotoi Ordy (po materialam Derbenta XIII–-
V. M. Kishliaruk. “Vliianie klimata na zemledelie posele- XV vv.)” [The medieval North Caucasus city in the history
nii Nizhnego Pridnestrov’ia vo vtoroi polovine I tysiache- of the Golden Horde (based on the materials of Derbent in
letiia do n. e.” [The influence of climate on the agriculture of the 13th–15th centuries)] (102–09)
the settlements of the Lower Dnieper region in the 2nd half of
M.-Sh. Kdyrniazov. “Khorezm v epokhu Zolotoi Ordy”
the 1st millennium BCE] (7–16)
[Khorezm in the era of the Golden Horde] (110–14)
E. A. Kudriavtsev. “Transformatsiia pogrebal’nykh sooru-
zhenii naseleniia Tsentral’nogo Predkavkaz’ia v skifskoe D. N. Masliuzhenko. “K probleme khronologii nasledo-
vremia v kontekste vzaimodeistviia i vzaimovliianiia osed- vaniia ulusa Shibana v sostave Zolotoi Ordy (seredina XIII–
lo-zemledel’cheskikh i kochevykh kul’tur (po materialam seredina XIV v.)” [On the problem of the chronology of the
Tatarskogo gorodishcha)” [The transformation of mortuary succession in the ulus of Shibani as a component of the Gold-
constructions of the population of Central Ciscaucasia in en Horde (mid-13th–mid-14th centuries)] (115–20)
Scythian times in the context of the interaction and mutual A. N. Maslovskii. “Kochevniki v zolotoordynskom Azake”
influence of the settled agricultural and nomadic cultures [Nomads in Golden Horde Azak] (121–27)
(based on the materials of the Tatar settlement site)] (17–23)
V. M. Dëmkin, A. O. Alekseev, A. S. Iakimov, T. S. Dëmki-
D. A. Stashenkov. “Pamiatniki skifskogo kruga v Sred- na. “Paleoekologicheskie usloviia nizhnevolzhskikh stepei
nem Povolzh’e” [Monuments of the Scythian sphere in the v XIII–XIV vv.” [Palaeoecological conditions of the lower
Middle Volga region] (24–36) Volga steppes in the 13th–14th centuries] (128–32)
V. I. Mamontov. “K voprosu o sarmatskikh plemenakh Iu. A. Zeleneev. “Etnokul’turnye osobennosti gorodskogo
volgogradskogo levoberezh’ia Dona” [On the Sarmatian i kochevogo naseleniia zolotoordynskogo Povolzh’ia” [Eth-
tribes of the Volgograd left bank of the Don] (37–43) no-cultural features of the urban and nomadic population of
L. N. Plekhanova. “Izmenchivost’ klimata stepnogo Zau- the Golden Horde Volga region] (133–35)
ral’ia na rubezhe pozdnesarmatskogo i gunnskogo vremeni S. A. Koten’kov and O. Iu. Koten’kova. “Novye dannye po
(IV v. n.e.)” [Climate change of the steppe region beyond istorii zolotoordynskikh gorodov v Astrakhanskom krae”
the Urals at the boundary between the late Sarmatian and [New data on the history of Golden Horde cities in the As-
Hunnic times (4th century CE)] (44–52) trakhan’ District] (136–41)
B. B. Dashibalov. “Ob osedlosti rannnikh mongolov” [On L. F. Nedashkovskii. “Selitrennoe gorodishche i poseleniia
the sedentarism of the early Mongols] (53–57) ego periferii” [The Selitrennoe settlement site and the settle-
M. S. Gadzhiev. “Gradostroitel’naia i fortifikatsionnaia ments of its periphery] (142–44)
deiatel’nost’ Sasanidov na Vostochnom Kavkaze” [Sasanian E. M. Pigarëv. “Issledovaniia Selitrennogo gorodishcha v
city building and fortification activity in the Eastern Cauca- 2006 g.” [Studies of the Selitrennoe settlement site in 2006]
sus] (58–64) (145–46)
V. I. Zav’ialov, L. S. Rozanova, and N. N. Terekhova. R. A. Singatulin. “Uvekskoe gorodishche: nekotorye ito-
“Etnokul’turnye vzaimodeistviia v epokhu Velikogo pere- gi kompleksnykh geologo-arkheologicheskikh issledovanii

189
2001–2006 gg.” [The Uvekskoe settlement site: some results A. Ia. Kakovkin. “Koptskaia tkan’ V v. s izobrazheniem
of the complex geo-archaeological studies of 2001–2006] redkogo fantasticheskogo sushchestva” [A Coptic textile of
(147–50) the 5th century depicting a rare fantastic creature] (37–42).
O. V. Orfinskaia, V. P. Golikov, O. B. Lantratova, V. G. Ru- A. Ia. Kakovkin. “Patriarkh Iosif—‘otrasl’ plodonosno-
dakov. “Tekstil’ iz zakhoroneniia zolotoordynskogo perio- go dereva…’” [Joseph the Patriarch, “a branch of a fruitful
da na mogil’nike Maiachnyi bugor-I” [Textiles from Golden tree…”] (43–52).
Horde period burials in the Maiachnyi-bugor I cemetery]
A. Ia. Kakovkin. “Identifikatsiia epizodov na koptskikh
(151–62)
fragmentirovannykh tkanykh klavakh VIII–IX vv. iz mu-
N. F. Lisova. “Zoomorfnyi ornament na zolotoordynskoi zeev Lunda, L’vova i N’iu-Iorka” [Identification of scenes
bytovoi polivnoi keramike” [Zoomorphic ornament on or- on Coptic textile clavi fragments of the 8th and 9th centuries
dinary Golden Horde glazed ceramics] (163–72) from Museums of Lund, L’vov and New York] (53–57).
V. Iu. Koval’. “Faiansy ‘minei’ (k diskussii bez temy)” O. V. Osharina. “Izobrazhenie ‘Poleta Aleksandra Make-
[“Minai”-wares (toward a discussion without a theme)] donskogo’ na koptskoi tkani iz sobraniia Ermitazha” [A de-
(173–82) piction of the “Flight of Alexander of Macedon” on a Coptic
E. A. Begovatov and A. V. Pachkalov. “Novye nakhodki textile from the Hermitage collection] (58–66).
dzhuchidskikh monet v Respublike Tatarstan” [New dis- A. A. Ierusalimskaia. “O simvolike sasanidskogo med-
coveries of Jöchid coins in the Republic of Tatarstan] (183– al’ona s bordiurom iz tak nazyvaemykh perlov” [On the
96) symbolism of the Sasanian medallion with the so-called
G. Iu. Starodubtsev. “Nakhodki monet Zolotoi Ordy na pearl border] (67–75).
Gochevskom arkheologicheskom komplekse” [Finds of
A. N. Tepliakova. “Redkii golovnoi ubor s Severnogo Ka-
Golden Horde coins in the Gochevsk archaeological com-
vkaza” [A rare headdress from the North Caucasus] (76–83).
plex] (197–98)
A. A. Ivanov. “Drakon v iskusstve Kubachi” [The Dragon
in Kubachi art] (84–94).
****
P. B. Lur’e. “K tolkovaniiu siuzhetov i nadpisei
pendzhikentskogo zala s Rustamom” [On the interpretation
Ermitazhnye chteniia pamiati V. G. Lukonina (21.01.1932–
of the subjects and inscriptions of the Panjikent Rustam hall]
10.09.1984). K 80-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia. 2007–2012 / (95–102).
In Memoriam V. G. Lukonin (21.01.1932–10.09.1984). To
K. F. Samosiuk. “Rekonstruktsiia siuzheta fragmenta svit-
Mark the 80th Anniversary. 2007–2012. Trudy Gosudarst-
ka Vimalakirti iz Khara-Khoto” [Reconstruction of the sub-
vennogo Ermitazha, LXXII. Sankt-Peterburg: Izd-vo. ject of a scroll fragment of Vimalakirti from Khara-Khoto]
Gos. Ermitazha, 2014. 242 pp. + 20 color plates. ISBN (103–14).
978-5-93572-540-2.
M. G. Kramarovskii. “Dva tipa rannei mongol’ski filigra-
The latest in an ongoing irregular series of volumes with pa- ni XIII v. po nakhodkam v Mongolii i Kitae” [Two types of
pers honoring the late head of the Oriental Division of the early Mongolian filigree of the 13th century, based on finds
Hermitage Museum, the ancient and medieval Iran special- in Mongolia and China] (115–20).
ist Vladimir Grigor’evich Lukonin. There is a table of con-
M. L. Men’shikova. “Novye atributsii kitaiskikh reznykh
tents and summaries in English. A list of the papers given at
lakov” [New attributions of carved Chinese lacquerware]
the Lukonin “readings” for 2007–2012 is appended, with ci-
(121–28).
tations of where some of them have already been published.
The table of contents: M. L. Men’shikova. “Russkii mongol ili frantsuzskii ki-
taets?” [A Russian Mongol or a French Chinese?] (129–35).
V. K. Afanas’eva. “Pechati vremeni Enkheduany i
skul’pturnaia golova ‘Sargona Akkadskogo’” [Seals from Iu. I. Elikhina. “Tibetskaia bronzovaia statuetka Vairocha-
the time of Enheduanna and a sculpted head of ‘Sargon of ny XV v. K voprosu ob avtorstve pamiatnika” [A 15th-centu-
Akkad’] (7–11). ry Tibetan bronze statue of Vairochana. On the question of
the piece’s maker] (136–42).
V. K. Afanas’eva. “Pechat’-amulet DV-15774, Ili kto takaia
Tsarevna-Liagushka” [The amulet-seal DV-15774, or Who is Iu. I. Elikhina. “Tangka s izobrazheniem gor Utaishan’” [A
the Frog-Princess] (12–15). thangka depicting Mt. Wutaishan] (143–51).
V. K. Afanas’eva. “Bulava ili zhezl? Problemy attributsii i A. A. Egorova. “Inozemnaia keramika v Iaponii kontsa
interpretatsii” [A mace or a scepter. Challenges of attribu- XVII–nachala XVIII v. i slozhenie stilia Ogata Kendzana
tion and interpretation] (16–18). (1663–1743)” [Foreign ceramics in Japan at the end of the
17th–beginning of the 18th centuries and the formation of
N. V. Kozlova. “Chinovnik Lugirizal’—nachal’nik chet-
Ogata Kenzan’s (1663–1743) style] (152–60).
vertoi brigady v dokumente DV-15267. Otmena voprosi-
tel’nogo znaka” [The official Lugirizal, a foreman of the A. M. Bogoliubov. “Karta Iaponii Daikokiuia Kodaiu”
fourth working team in document DV-15267. A question [The Daikokuya Kodayu map of Japan] (161–65).
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192
 Plate I

[Lingley, “Silk Road Dress,” p. 5.]

The northern wall of the tomb of Xu Xianxiu

in Taiyuan.
After: Taiyuan wenwu 2005, Pl. 15.
 Plate II

[Voroniatov, “Connections,” p.27]

Gold vessel from Olbia on the Northern Black Sea littoral.

Photograph courtesy of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
 Plate III

[Compareti, “Some Examples,” p. 41]

Buddha adorned with the chamail. Ghorband Valley, Fondukistan

Monastery, Niche D. 7th c. CE. Collection of the Musée Guimet,
Inv. no. MG 18960. Photograph Copyright © Daniel C. Waugh.
 Plate IV
[Compareti, “Some Examples,” p. 43]

Fragments of murals from Bamiyan, depicting a boar’s head. Collection of the Musée
Guimet, Inv. nos.: MG 17972 and 17973. Photographs Copyright © Daniel C. Waugh.
 Plate V
[Azarpay, “The Afrasiab Murals,” p. 53]

The senmurv motif used as a textile pattern on the robe of the Sogdian king, Varkhuman, in the
North wall mural, Hall 1, at Afrasiab. Recently photographed detail, courtesy Matteo Compareti.
 Plate VI
[Daryaee and Malekzadeh, “Performance of Pain,” p. 57]

The killing of Siavash. Illustration to the Shahnameh, dated AH 1065/CE 1654-65. Islamic Manu-
scripts, Garrett no. 57G. Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections,
Princeton University Library. Copyright © Princeton University Library, reproduced with permission.
 Plate VII
[Yazdani et al., “Safavid Carpets,” p. 108]

Sindukht and Rudabeh. Miniature from the Shāhnāma of Shah Tahmasp.

After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005, p. 254.
 Plate VIII
[Yazdani et al., “Safavid Carpets,” p. 108]

Kava tears Zahhak’s scroll. Miniature from the Shāhnāma of Shah Tahmasp.
After: Miniature Masterpieces 2005, p. 234
 Plate IX
[Waugh, “The David Collection,” p. 134]

“The Prophet Muhammad Before the Angel wisth Seventy Heads.” Miniature from a copy of al-Sarai’s Nahj al-Faradis (The Paths of Paradise).
Signed: “work of the slave Sultan ‘Ali al-sultani (in royal service).” Iran, Herat; probably 1466.
Folio size: 41.1 × 29.9 cm. Inv. no. 14/2012r. Source: <http://www.davidmus.dk/assets/3114/Copyright_David-Collection_Copenhagen_14_2012_
side-A_web.jpg> © The David Collection, Copenhagen. Photo: Pernille Klemp. Reproduced with permission.
 Plate X
Waugh, “Arts of China,” p. 138.

Vase. Chinese, late 16th – early 17th century. Tomb attendant. Chinese, late 7th century.
Porcelain with molded and underglaze-blue Earthenware with glaze, gilt, and paint. 27 1/2
decorations. 22 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (57.2 x 24.77 cm). x 11 x 10 5/8 in. (69.85 x 27.94 x 26.99 cm).
Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial
Collection, 54.120. Collection, 35.6.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum Photograph © Seattle Art Museum
 Plate XI
Waugh, “Arts of China,” p. 140.

Bed curtains, Chinese, 1735–1796 (Qianlong period). Silk and gold thread, 107 x 70 3/4 in. (266.7 x
179.71 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 33.159.2.
Photograph © Seattle Art Museum
 Plate XII
Waugh, “Arts of China,” pp. 142, 144.

(top) Painted bowl, Chinese, 3rd century BCE. Wood with lacquer, 10 x 2 7/16 in. (25.4 x 6.19 cm). Seattle Art Museum,
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 51.118.
(bottom) Cup, Chinese, late 7th to early 8th century. Silver, with chased patterns of lotus, vines, and birds. H: 2.5 in. (6.3
cm.); D: 3 in. (7.62 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 42.5.
Photographs © Seattle Art Museum
 Plate XIII
Waugh, “Arts of China,” pp. 141, 146.

(top) “Landscape of dreams,” by Shao Mi 邵彌, 1638. One of ten album leaves: ink and color on paper. Overall: 11 7/16 x 17 in. (29 x 43.2
cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 70.18.2.
(bottom) “A branch of the cold season,” by Yang Hui 楊輝, ca, 1440. Ink on paper. Overall: 30 5/16 x 56 1/16 in. (77 x 142.4 cm); image: 12 3/16 x 25 in.
(30.9 x 63.5 cm). Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 51.132.
Photographs © Seattle Art Museum
 [Waugh, “Re-Imagining,” p. 160]
Plate XIV
Summary of distribution data on metals over the 3000-1500 BCE period.
Source: <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/5/FIG5-52_summary_metals.jpg>.
Also, Wilkinson, p. 223
 Plate XV
[Waugh, “Re-Imagining,” p. xxx]

Summary of data on flows of stones, metals and textiles fir periods 2900–2600 and 2600–2300 BCE.
Source: <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/7/FIG7-2_2900-2600.jpg>; <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/
staticfiles/7/FIG7-3_2600-2300BC.jpg>. Also, Wilkinson, pp. 293, 296.
 Plate XVI
[Waugh, “Re-Imagining,” p. xxx]

(top) The relationship between Kura-Arax assemblage (at their greatest extent) and the accessibilityto copper sources known to modern geology
(archaeotopogram type A2). (bottom) The relationship between BMAC/Namazga VI-related material culture, the central BMAC zone and
areas of high accessibility to tin sources (archaeotopogram type A2).
Source: <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/staticfiles/7/FIG7-8_cu_KuraArax.jpg>; <http://tobywilkinson.co.uk/threadsofeurasia/
staticfiles/7/FIG7-9_sn_BMAC.jpg>. Also, Wilkinson, pp. 312, 313.