ARH 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Sogdia, Chinese Clothing, Waterskin
16 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Thesis: this chapter focuses on the distinct study of artifacts and their cultural interaction. Specifically, how objects become domesticated and normalized over periods of time. Thesis: the change of xianbei and chinese clothing, from a symbol of ethnicity to a symbol of gender in chinese culture, offers itself as a representation of dress through art, and ultimately drove ethnicity to be identified by physiognomy. People travelled along the silk road (trade routes) Objects/art can relate back to the cultural exchange of the time. Byzantine and sasanian coins were common finds in chinese tombs. The vessel belongs to western/central asian metalwork. The script/languages reveals a story behind its travels. Bian hu vessels form suggests the shape of a waterskin - used by travellers by the silk road. All five figures are dressed in similar garments. The representation of the object is to evoke the prestige of the exotic in medieval china.
