Overview

This archaeological and art-historical study is woven around rock art and ancient metallic articles attributed to Tibet. The silver bowls, gold finial, and copper alloy spouted jars and trapezoidal plaques featured are assigned to the Iron Age and Protohistoric period. These rare objects are adorned with zoomorphic subjects mimicking those found in rock art and embody an artistic zeitgeist widely diffused in Central Eurasia in Late Prehistory. Diverse sources of inspiration and technological capability are revealed in these objects and rock art, shedding light on their transcultural dimension. The archaeological and aesthetic materials in this work prefigure the Tibetan cosmopolitanism of early historic times promoted through the spread of Buddhist ideas, art and craft from abroad. The metallic articles and petroglyphs of this study are markers of relationships between Tibet and her neighbours. These transactions enabled a fusion of Tibetan innovation and foreign inventiveness, a synthesis of disparate ideas, aesthetics and technologies in the objects and rock art presented.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Vincent Bellezza
Publisher:   BAR Publishing
Imprint:   BAR Publishing
Weight:   0.734kg
ISBN:  

9781407354316

ISBN 10:   1407354310
Pages:   184
Publication Date:   28 May 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures List of Tables Introduction Overview The contents of the study Geographic scope Chronology and localisation Pursuant technical matters Provenance 1. Two Tibetan silver bowls of the Late Prehistoric era: The spread of vessels in precious metals and lion art of West Asia to the Plateau The silver bowls in the Pine collection Other Tibetan silver and gold vessels and the lion The cultural and historical origins of the silver bowls in the Pine collection 2. A Tibetan gold finial of the Late Prehistoric era: Transcultural movements discerned in the most incorruptible of metals The gold finial in the Pine collection Other Tibetan gold objects of the pre-Imperial era The cultural and historical origins of the gold finial 3. Tibetan copper-alloy jars of the Late Prehistoric era: Tracing a northern arc of cultural connectivity through form and function Tibetan copper-alloy bird-spouted jars in private collections A bird-spouted ceramic jar from Iran 4. Tibetan copper-alloy trapezoidal plaques of the Late Prehistoric era: Tigers and geometric patterns in the interregional matrix A trapezoidal plaque attributed to Tibet in the Pine collection A Tibetan trapezoidal openwork plaque in a private collection Other Tibetan trapezoidal openwork plaques and their cultural significance 5. To and from Iran: Scythic links with the north and east The Achaemenid empire and its steppe connections The Scythian carriers of culture in the eastern part of Central Asia Saka agency in the expansion of zoomorphic art in North Asia 6. To Tibet: Bearers of the Eurasian Animal Style in Northern Pakistan and North Inner Asia Saka art in the Pamirs and Northern Pakistan The Saka in the multicultural Tarim Basin The Northern Zone connection Cultural crosscurrents extending to the Eastern Steppe 7. In Tibet: Transfer of the Eurasian Animal Style to the Plateau and parallel processes affecting China Eurasian Animal Style rock art in Tibet Parallel developments in the east Conclusion Mechanisms of transmission in the Inner Asian network of exchange Bibliography Index

Reviews

{\rtf1\fbidis\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Calibri;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Verdana;}} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\ltrpar\sa160\sl252\slmult1\f0\fs22\lquote I have never encountered a work of this depth on these regions of East and Inner Asia. What is more, Bellezza demonstrates a deep knowledge of the existing research literature from the past 40+ years and is able to weave his citations and observations together effectively to make a very important argument linking the Tibetan cultural sphere into the larger Inner Asian region. This is a rare, significant, and welcome contribution to academic research on ancient Tibet.\rquote Professor William Honeychurch, Yale University\par \lquote There is a broad range of scholars who would find this volume of interest, including Tibetologists, art historians of Central and East Asia, archaeologists, and historians.\rquote Professor Mark Aldenderfer, UC Merced \par \pard\ltrpar\f1\fs17\par }

{\rtf1\fbidis\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Calibri;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Verdana;}} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\ltrpar\lang1033\f0\fs22\lquote Die durch Artefakte und arch\'e4ologische Spuren belegte Einbindung des pr\'e4historischen Tibet in einen gr\'f6\'dferen zentralasiatischen Kulturraum ist der gro\'dfe Verdienst von John Bellezza.` Michael Buddeberg, Preetorius Stiftung, Issue 170, October 2020\par \par \lquote With this publication BAR Publishing house, based in Oxford, has added another little jewel to its already rich and high-quality catalog of books dedicated to the archeology and history of central and eastern Asia. (\'85) I\rquote m always amazed by the quality and quantity of his literary production, his brilliant mind, and the vast quantity of his new works.\rquote Giorgio Dallorto, The Mirror, Issue 149, September 2020\par \lang2057\par \pard\ltrpar\sa160\sl252\slmult1\lquote I have never encountered a work of this depth on these regions of East and Inner Asia. What is more, Bellezza demonstrates a deep knowledge of the existing research literature from the past 40+ years and is able to weave his citations and observations together effectively to make a very important argument linking the Tibetan cultural sphere into the larger Inner Asian region. This is a rare, significant, and welcome contribution to academic research on ancient Tibet.\rquote Professor William Honeychurch, Yale University\par \lquote There is a broad range of scholars who would find this volume of interest, including Tibetologists, art historians of Central and East Asia, archaeologists, and historians.\rquote Professor Mark Aldenderfer, UC Merced \par \pard\ltrpar\f1\fs17\par }

Author Information

John Vincent Bellezza PhD is an archaeologist and cultural historian specializing in the pre-Buddhist heritage of Tibet. Author of twelve books and numerous articles, Bellezza has over many years comprehensively charted archaic monuments and rock art in Upper Tibet and has worked extensively on Old Tibetan mytho-ritual texts.

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