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Author Archives: Susan Whitfield
A Trio of Mismatched Camels
A stone relief carving by a leading sculptor in 19th century Britain shows three camels—and the bones of a fourth—laden with goods being led by a man dressed in Bedouin robes. The frieze has been noted in several books and recent blog posts but few have mentioned a striking feature: the central camel is clearly a Bactrian, a two-humped camel from central Asia. How do we explain this anatopistic beast? Continue reading
Routes from the Swat: Buddhism in Khotan
In AD 480 the Chinese pilgrim Faxian reached the central Asian oasis kingdom of Khotan, source of jade and a thriving centre of Buddhism. Even though Buddhism was well established in his homeland, China, he was struck by the evidence … Continue reading
Posted in Aurel Stein, Buddhism, Silk Road archaeology
Tagged archaeology, Buddhism, Khotan, Marc Aurel Stein, Pakistan, Silk Road, stupa, Swat
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Early Exhibitions of the Collections of Aurel Stein, Part 3: 1914, King Edward VII Galleries
On 7 May 1914, the British Museum opened the new north wing of the Museum, the King Edward VII Galleries.1 The opening exhibition in the ground floor galleries showed paintings, manuscripts and other artefacts acquired by Aurel Stein (1862–1943) on … Continue reading
Posted in Aurel Stein, British Museum, Exhibitions
Tagged archaeology, architecture, art, British Museum, Buddhism, Dunhuang, Exhibitions, Laurence Binyon, Silk Road, Stein
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New Book: Silk Roads: Peoples, Cultures, Landscapes
CONTENTS EXCERPT FROM INTRODUCTION There was no ‘Silk Road’. It is a modern label in widespread use only since the late 20th century and used since then to refer to trade and interaction across Afro-Eurasia from roughly 200 BE to … Continue reading
Posted in Silk Road art and history
Tagged archaeology, architecture, art, Buddhism, sericulture, Silk Road
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The Rectification of Names: Caves, Grottos or Rock-Cut Temples?
“If the names are not correct, language is without an object.” Confucius, Translated by Simon Leys. The Analects of Confucius: London and New York: W. W. Norton 1997: 13, 3. In her 2013 essay, Phyllis Granoff argued that the term … Continue reading
Posted in Rectification of names, Silk Road art and history
Tagged Ajanta, Buddhist, cave, Dunhuang, grotto, rock-cut temple
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Lost in the Desert: Stein at Dura-Europos
Aurel Stein at Dura-Europos, 1929. The British Library, Photo 392/42* Over the winter of 1928-9, the city of Dura-Europos on the Euphrates was being excavated by a team led by Maurice Pillet (1881-1964), which included a Yale academic, Clark Hopkins … Continue reading
Posted in Aurel Stein
Tagged aerial surveys, archaeology, dura europos, Silk Road, Stein
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Silk Road Summer School
4-day Silk Road course in central London Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged archaeology, art, lecture, Silk Road, Stein, summer school
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Early Exhibitions of the Collections of Aurel Stein: Part 2: 1911: The Festival of Empire
The Festival of Empire opened at the Crystal Palace in north London on 12 May 1911 to celebrate the coronation of George V (r. 1910–1936). The Indian pavilion was one among the many exhibition spaces built to celebrate British imperial … Continue reading
Posted in Exhibitions, Uncategorized
Tagged archaeology, British Museum, Dunhuang, Exhibitions, Laurence Binyon, Marc Aurel Stein, Silk Road, Stein
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Slaves on the Silk Road
Slaves, like silks, were Silk Road goods, to be bought, used and sold for profit, and often transported long distances by land and sea to trade in foreign markets. While no slaves from this time survive to tell their story … Continue reading
The Mozac Hunter Silk
Although several scholars have tried to displace silk from its key role in trade assumed by the term Silk Road and have argued for the equal if not greater influence of other goods, the importance of silk is not so … Continue reading
