Author Archives: Susan Whitfield

Forthcoming posts: Stein’s Friends and Exhibitions – UPDATE 1 October 2025

Quick update to below: I am currently writing a paper on Stein’ circle of female friends and will give publication details shortly. I realise it has been a while since I posted anything. I have several posts in progress and … Continue reading

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Revisiting Amluk Dara

Amluk Dara, literally ‘wild persimmon hill’, is used to name a Buddhist stupa and monastic complex in the Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan. It was visited, drawn, photographed and partially excavated by Aurel Stein during his tour to Swat in … Continue reading

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Nara to Norwich

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture (SISJAC), the Nara to Norwich online exhibition is now complete. The 142 exhibits illustrate the introduction of new religions at the ends of the … Continue reading

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New Online Journal: Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage

Delighted to see the inaugural issue of the new journal, Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage edited by colleagues at UCL, Institute of Archaeology. Also relieved that it has provided a home for an article of mine long in the making, … Continue reading

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Pet Monkeys in Khotan?

Probably the most numerous and unusual finds from the first millennium Silk Road kingdom of Khotan are small terracotta figurines. And while they include animals—such as the Bactrian camel and horse—that would have been familiar travellers on the Silk Road … Continue reading

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The Painting Left Behind

Silk painting from Dunhuang, mistaken as a copy and sent by letter post to India. Continue reading

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Central Asian Collections in Munich

Francke and Körber: 1914 expedition to Central Asia: Kashgar, Yarkhand, Khotan and Ladakh. Continue reading

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Early Exhibitions of the Collections of Aurel Stein, Part 5: 1922: Indian and Persian Paintings, British Museum.

After 1919, parts of the newly acquisitioned Stein collection in the British Museum started to be exhibited in permanent and temporary exhibitions. This series concentrates on the latter, but we have a few hints of the former in this period … Continue reading

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Nara to Norwich: Online Exhibition

Great to work with colleagues on this online exhibition, exploring arts and beliefs at the ends of the Silk Roads: Nara to Norwich. Continue reading

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Early Exhibitions of the Collections of Aurel Stein, Part 4: 1918, Royal Geographical Society, London

@RGS_IBG 1918 exhibition of Aurel Stein’s 3rd expedition #SilkRoad #photographs. Continue reading

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