- Hardcover: 360 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (April 23 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0691088519
- ISBN-13: 978-0691088518
- Product Dimensions: 31.2 x 25.7 x 3.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 2.1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #673,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Ancient Sichuan is the catalog of a spectacular exhibition organized by the Seattle Art Museum. Recent discoveries from Sichuan Province are revolutionizing the history of ancient China, showing that the traditional cradle of Chinese culture, along the Yellow River, had sophisticated competition from distant regions 3,000 years ago. Stately bronze trees and huge bronze heads--some with gold-foil masks, some with strange alien eyes on foot-long stalks--are the centerpieces of the show. Dating from the 12th century B.C., these exotic objects, found with elephant tusks and ritual jade weapons in two vast sacrificial pits, are artifacts of a previously unknown culture whose existence took archaeologists by surprise. These pieces alone would be sufficient for a groundbreaking exhibition, but the show and this beautifully designed catalog take the distinctive nature of local Sichuan culture into Han times, 1,000 years later. Lively ceramic sculptures of entertainers and erotic scenes on wall tiles demonstrate the creativity and exuberance of ancient Sichuan society. Essays by leading scholars in the field compellingly describe the context and significance of the often breathtaking objects. A wealth of comparative material, photographs, and drawings explains how original and different Sichuan culture was from what has long been considered the Yellow River Bronze Age mainstream. With the finds illustrated in Ancient Sichuan, the cradle of Chinese civilization begins to look like a large double bed. --John Stevenson
From Library Journal
The name China means "the Center Country," and for most of the 20th century, theories concerning the history of China postulated a central culture based on the Yellow River valley and radiating out into the vast territories of what we know as modern China. Recently, brick makers digging a clay pit in a small village in the isolated Sichuan basin discovered a fabulous cache of bronze, jade, and ivory relics from an early civilization unlike any other in Chinese history. As a result, it is now theorized that the interaction of numerous coequal cultural groups may have contributed to the rise of a central Chinese identity. This thesis stands behind a visually stunning exhibition of bronze and stone artifacts from Sichuan organized by the Seattle Art Museum. This book's fine design and gorgeous photography will interest readers who may not be as tempted to plunge into the dense but readable essays delineating the history of Sichuan and the precise archaeological details of the excavations. The artifacts in this exhibition, particularly the gigantic bronze tree, the oddly stylized human masks, and the erotic bricks, are unlike any of the more familiar Chinese art objects illustrated in numerous other books. Essential for academic libraries and recommended for public collections. David McClelland, Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ancient Sichuan : Treasures from a Lost Civilization,
By Maryellen Read (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization (Hardcover)
A fabulous book! I'd give it 10 stars!For the record, I am educated, very interested in archaeology, but not a professional archaeologist. I found this book to be clearly written and informative, but not overwhelming with abstruse detail. Content-wise, these bronze heads and masks are weird and wonderful, alien, unlike typical Chinese bronze finds--unlike anything else in the world really. Somewhat reminiscent of Aztec or Olmec heads. The composite bird-human figures are intriguing, the google-eyed-trunk-antenna human(?) masks totally awesome. I would have liked more definite identification of "core-materials," types of stone, and black paint (on eyebrows and eyes of masks and heads) more maps to show where the gold, lead and casting materials came from. It would be really interesting to see a map showing possible related art styles/influences to the Sanxingdui site (text p. 32). The photography is brilliant, and the adjacent, clearly drawn illustrations of different views and details of the objects are terrific. The layout of the text and illustrations: with notes in the second column, diagrams, and photos all together on the same spread makes it easy to get all the information. (No flipping back and forth to the back of a book for details and asides.) I would love to see a publication relating what was happining in adjacent contemporary culures to the Sanxingdui bronze head culture. For instance, did any army have headgear similar to the bronze head on p. 95? Is there nothing left of the material that was slotted through the back of this and other heads (dna analysis?)? All in all a great book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ancient Sichuan : Treasures from a Lost Civilization,
By Maryellen Read - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization (Hardcover)
A fabulous book! I'd give it 10 stars!For the record, I am educated, very interested in archaeology, but not a professional archaeologist. I found this book to be clearly written and informative, but not overwhelming with abstruse detail. Content-wise, these bronze heads and masks are weird and wonderful, alien, unlike typical Chinese bronze finds--unlike anything else in the world really. Somewhat reminiscent of Aztec or Olmec heads. The composite bird-human figures are intriguing, the google-eyed-trunk-antenna human(?) masks totally awesome. I would have liked more definite identification of "core-materials," types of stone, and black paint (on eyebrows and eyes of masks and heads) more maps to show where the gold, lead and casting materials came from. It would be really interesting to see a map showing possible related art styles/influences to the Sanxingdui site (text p. 32). The photography is brilliant, and the adjacent, clearly drawn illustrations of different views and details of the objects are terrific. The layout of the text and illustrations: with notes in the second column, diagrams, and photos all together on the same spread makes it easy to get all the information. (No flipping back and forth to the back of a book for details and asides.) I would love to see a publication relating what was happining in adjacent contemporary culures to the Sanxingdui bronze head culture. For instance, did any army have headgear similar to the bronze head on p. 95? Is there nothing left of the material that was slotted through the back of this and other heads (dna analysis?)? All in all a great book. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seminal Sanxingdui exhibition guide,
By Dawn Carelli - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization (Hardcover)
This volume was the accompaniment to one of the most fascinating exhibitions of Chinese archaeology in recent years. As such, it represents the show in a gorgeous and informative manner. The objects are stunningly photographed, the printing is beautifully done (which is critical in any art book, as poor color reproduction or a sloppy print run can destroy the sense of the artworks), and the text is edited by Robert Bagley of Princeton, who is not only one of the premiere scholars of early Chinese art and archaeology but a tremendous author in every respect--extremely readable as well as erudite.The exhibition brought us many objects that are more readily identifiable as early Chinese, but its stars were the bizarre metal masks (mostly of bronze) that COULD lead certain gullible souls to believe in extraterrestrial visitation to Sichuan. All of the artifacts are interesting; some are beautiful; others are entertaining; one is even erotic; many are quite puzzling. There is much to be discovered and interpreted regarding the culture that produced the Sanxingdui artifacts, but for anyone with an interest in early Chinese art and cultures, this book can give a tantalizing glimpse of a past that has only begun to reveal its secrets. |
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