Renew, Reuse, Recycle

One thing that strikes me again and again is how much obvious recycling of materials you find on the Silk Road. Parchments were folded to make grave-shoes, leftover bits of silk were tacked onto existing garments, embroideries were folded and turned into bags, then unfolded and cut out to make dress yokes. This is one of my favorite examples of this:

Female Dancer: Turfan under the Tang Dynasty, 689 or 633; Wood, silk, clay, and paper; H. 30 cm.

Description: "With her hair piled up high and her face immaculately made-up, this delicate dancer was also excavated from the joint tomb of Zhang Xiong and Lady Qu. Her outfit reflects Central Asian influence: a fine yellow shawl over a striped dress with a blouse featuring two pearl roundels. The high-fired delicate features of the figure suggested tot he excavating archaeologists that she had been made in a major metropolitan center, and they were delighted when they discovered that her arms were made from cancelled pawn tickets from the Tang capital of Chang'an. In addition to the pawnshop documents, archaeologists recovered slips documenting over six hundred small loans that ordinary urban dwellers made to purchase medicine, clothing, beans, and wheat bran."

Source: Li Jian (ed.). The Glory of the Silk Road: Art from Ancient China. The Dayton Art Institute, 2003. P.99

Historical Cross-Dressing

I realize I've been posting alot of Silk Road items lately, but its a new fad of mine, so you'll all just have to bear with me. I found this particularly interesting! Apparently, in 8th century China it not only became fashionable, but acceptable, for women to cross-dress. It was also fashionable, I happily add, for women to have a bit of 'substance' to them!

Here is the description:

"Attendents

Tang dynasty, mid 8th century, painted earthenware; H. 52.5 cm,; 51cm

Unearthed in 1958 from the tomb of General Yang Sixun (d.740) Xi'an. The National Museum of Chinese History.

These two figures were among the numerous attendents, such as the marble warrior (cat.no.94) found in the general's tomb. The style of these attendents represents the fashions of the mid-eighth century, which favored a robust figure and a long flowing gown. According to the Tang Histories , by the Kaiyuan era (713-41) women could be found in the streets dressed in men's apparel. The similarity between the clothing and the hairstyles of these two figures is striking. Even the woman's high coiffure closely resembles the headscarf worn by the man."

Source: Li Jian (ed.). "The Glory of the Silk Road: Art from Ancient China". The Dayton Art Institute, 2003. P. 182.

Barbie biker gloves

These 6th-9th century gloves were found in the same place as the cloth with the embarrassed faces :-) To the left is the original, below are pics (sorry the picture quaility isn't that great) of my very well-worn reproductions, that my friend Katerina made for me.

Here is a translation of the description:

"Gloves

Found in Moscevaja Balka, 1974, Inv. Nr. Kz6716

Length: 18 cm

Leather

It's difficult to tell if these gloves belonged a child or a woman, as the leather is too dried and degraded. The work is exceptionally meticulous: The fine leather (lamb) was originally white. The cut fingers were sewn individually onto the backs and palms of the hands. The insets on the palm-side are in line with the knuckles, while on the back of the hand they sit deep in. The leather on the fingers is sewn with a fan-shaped decorative border over the knuckles; set in the middle are round pieces of red leather, which are set in like incrustations. [...]"

Source: Ierusalimskaja, Anna A., Birgit Borkopp. "Von China nach Byzanz: Frühmittelalterliche Seiden aus der Staatlichen Ermitage St. Petersburg". Bayerischen Nationalmuseum und der Staatlichen Ermitage. München, 1996.

I've had days like that, too

How funny are these little guys! They were part of a dress found near the Black Sea, and were to be traded on the Silk Road. The little 'ears' on top of their heads are to show that the faces are not from ordinary humans, but it's unclear whether they are representing an animal or a mask of some kind.
From a border of a Women's dress, 6-9th century. A translation of the description is:
"Found in Moscevaja Balka by E.A. Milovanov, 1968. Inventory Nr. Kz6740. Height: 24.5 cm. Width: 31.5 cm. Linen, Silk."

Source: "Von China nach Byzanz: Frühmittelalterliche Seiden aus der Staatlichen Ermitage St. Petersburg." Anna A. Ierusalimskaja und Birgitt Borkopp. Bayerisches National Museum, München 1996. P.27