bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La citadelle de Hawrat Bargha dans le sultanat d'Oman
Authors: Kervran Monique
Published: July 2010

The fortress of Hawrat Bargha situated approximately twenty kilometers southwest of Sohar, has been considered, in the nineteenth century, as a fortification established by the Persians during the sixth century AD, in order to control the Batina coast of Oman. Although ceramics very much later than this date had been found within the walled area of the fort, the tradition of its pre-islamic date has persisted.

Stratigraphic excavations conducted early in 1986 at Sohar have established a more precise datation for the construction and occupation of the fortress. During the second half of the 13th century AD, the Nabhânid kings of Oman who governed

the Batina, had to face several invasions, coming from the south of Iran, in particular, those of the twelfth king of Hormuz, Rokn al-dîn Mahmud. The Nabhanids prepared fortifications in order to provide refuge for the rich agricultural regions at the foot of the mountains. Hawrat Bargha is an example of these constructions ; spectacular in its dominent location as well as its water management systems.

The history of these Nabhânid kings was purposely obliterated in the chronicles of the succeeding dynasty of Ibadi Imams, leaving the heritage of the only ornamented mosques of the Nabhanids and the fortifications such as Hawrat Bargha.
Le monastère de gTam zhing (Tamshing) au Bhoutan central
Authors: Imaeda Yoshiro , Pommaret Françoise
Published: July 2010

The gTam zhing lHun grub chos gling monastery is situated in the Chos 'khor valley in the Bum thang region of Central Bhutan. It was founded by the famous gter ston « treasure- discoverer» Padma gling pa (1450-1521) at the very beginning of the sixteenth century. Since 1959, it became the residence of the two lineages of reincarnation of Padma gling pa tradition : the Pad gling gsung sprul, reincarnation of Padma gling pa, and the Pad gling thugs sras, that of Zla ba rgyal mtshan ( 1499-?), son of the gter ston. Thus it is an important centre of teachings of Padma gling pa tradition of the rNying ma pa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Moreover, this small monastery presents a particular interest in the general history of Tibetan art. In fart some paintings of the ground floor date from the very foundation of the monastery and miraculously escaped from being retouched or repainted. There is a certain similarity of style between them and those of gTsang in Tibet, particularly those of rGyal rtse which are chronologically and geographically very close. One can admire for the first time the hitherto little studied iconography which is peculiar to the great « treasure-discoverer » of Bhutanese origin.
The Ming - Qing Transition in chinese Porcelain.
Authors: Medley Margaret
Published: July 2010

Dans l'histoire de la porcelaine chinoise, la période de transition peut, à présent, sur la base de facteurs sociaux, économiques et politiques, être située dans la période qui va de la mort de l'empereur Wanli, en 1619, à la presque totale destruction des manufactures de Jingdezhen, du fait de la rébellion des Trois Feudataires, en 1674. Au cours de la première partie de cette période, une évolution stylistique peut être déterminée grâce à l'existence de pièces datées.

Les éléments fondamentaux du décor, pour les « bleu et blanc » tout au moins, apparaissent déjà vers 1625, date d'un brûle-parfum du British Museum, et on peut les suivre, en même temps que l'évolution des formes, jusque dans les premières années de la dynastie des Qing, après 1645. Les pièces

datées de cette dynastie apparaissent à partir de 1651, date à laquelle les premières commandes impériales sont passées aux manufactures.

Le changement devient assez rapide entre 1660 et 1670. En 1666, date d'une pièce importante qui se trouve dans une collection privée, le style Kangxi émerge nettement. Les pièces polychromes, cependant, sont plus difficiles à dater. En 1674, avec la dernière pièce datée avant la destruction des fours, on constate que le style Kangxi a suffisamment mûri pour devenir le tremplin des développements qui se situent durant les vingt dernières années du siècle et qui conduiront aux grandes réalisations du règne de Yongzheng.
Aux origines de l'hypocauste coréen (ondol)
Authors: Macouin Francis
Published: July 2010

Recent archaeological survey has offered the possibility of retracing, schematically, the formative stages of home heating through the floor, a Korean tradition known as ondol. In the north-western parts of the peninsula, elbow-shaped smoke- outlets connected to fire-places, laid out and buried in the floor, have been found in the remains of certain habitations which date back to the iron-age.

In the Koguryô and Paekche kingdoms, these canalisations sometimes split into two, were laid out along-side walls of the homes, thus allowing smoke to escape through them to the outside. This system which largely improved heating in the home, was perhaps also serving as seating places since that period. The canalisation is found in ordinary semi-subterranean homes as well as in important constructions such as that of Dongtaizi (near Ji'an) which could be considered as a place of worship.

Its use continued in the Bohai kingdom during which an U-shaped canalisation was developed and perpetuated by the Jurchen and the Manchus. At the beginning of the Koryô kingdom, the system developed further. A number of outlets were connected to the same fire-place and over the greater part of the floor of a room. It is estimated that the Korean heating system acquired its characteristics mainly in the middle of the Koryô era.

Installations similar to the first canalised fire-places have been discovered among the people of Xiongnu and it appears that the primitive forms found in eastern Manchuria and northern Korea form the basis of the Chinese kang whose use spread out perhaps from the Jin dynasty.
Les peintres moghols et le thème de Tobie et de l'Ange
Authors: Okada Amina
Published: July 2010

Moghul Painters and the theme of Tobias and the Angel.

The Moghul painters — especially the artists at work in the reign of Emperor Akbar / 1556-1605 / — copied and adapted the European engravings brought to Moghul India by the Jesuit missionaries and as they did so, they gave prominence to certain themes which they untiringly repeated and interpreted ever more freely. One of these curiously recurrent themes is that of Tobias and the Angel to which the brush of the Moghul masters invariably lent a hybrid appearance, far removed from its initial iconographie representation but recognizable none the less. We know of several versions of these Moghul variations on the theme of Tobias and the Angel — though some have not always been identified as such — most of them painted at the end of the . 16th century. The Guimet Museum possesses two illustrations

of this theme, signed by the painter-illuminator Hosein, who worked in the reign of Akbar and was schooled in the Persian tradition. Scrutiny of these two miniatures and comparison of them with other illustrations of the same period, also derived from the story of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael, show that the painters of Akbar's time, in their free adaptation of European engravings, drew as much if not more inspiration from the versions done by their fellow-artists from a European original, than from the original itself. This interplay of aesthetic correlations reveals the climate of intense emulation and fruitful exchange prevailing in the imperial painter's workshop, where the artists, eager to assess their own and each other's achievements, were constantly comparing their works.
Sculptures of Indapaigarh
Authors: Asher Frederick M.
Published: July 2010

Les sculptures d'lndapaigarh

Le monastère bouddhique du site appelé de nos jours Indapaigarh, à trois kilomètres au sud de Jamui, dans le district de Munger (Bihar), fut remarqué pour la première fois en 1811, mais n'a jamais été fouillé. Le vaste site, clos de murs, révèle les fondations de plusieurs constructions en brique et d'un grand stûpa, également en brique, situé à l'extrémité sud, comme à Nâlandâ. Quelques fouilles sauvages pratiquées par les habitants des villages voisins ont mis au jour douze sculptures toutes conservées dans le nouveau musée de Jamui. Parmi celles-ci neuf sont en pierre et représentent le Buddha ; on peut les dater du VIIe siècle. Aucune sculpture ne représente un Bodhisattva, ce qui est à noter, puisqu'à Bodhgayâ, dont les sculptures de même époque ont stylistiquement beaucoup de points communs avec celles d'lndapaigarh, parmi les nombreuses statues retrouvées, il y a peu de statues de Bodhisattva. Le site d'lndapaigarh a aussi révélé une très belle tête en terre cuite, probablement celle d'un Buddha, que l'on peut dater plus tôt. Deux autres sculptures en pierre sont nettement plus tardives et datent probablement du XIe siècle. L'une est le socle d'un personnage debout, l'autre une image de Bhairava proche des représentations habituellement recontrées dans d'autres sites voisins.
Le monastère de bSam-yas : sources architecturales
Authors: Chayet Anne
Published: July 2010

bSam-yas monastery : architectural sources.

bSam-yas is considered as the oldest Buddhist monastery in Tibet, built by King Khri-srong Ide-btsan at the end of the Vlllth century. The Records of the Tang dynasty do not mention the monastery and there are but a very few references to it in the ancient Tibetan sources before Xllth century.

The basic figure of the plan is the square : the central temple being included in a square divided into nine, and both the plan and the elevation are organized on the base of number three and multiples. The central temple is three stories high, square shaped

and surrounded by two cross-shaped buildings. The monastery, including twelve minor temples and various buildings, is enclosed within a circular wall.

bSam-yas is traditionaly considered as a manrfala, and as a representation of the Sumeru. The architectural model is often proposed as Indian, but square and cross-shaped patterns existed in Tibet before the coming of Buddhism and Indian influence. Plans found as far as Iran or China can be compared with those of the mawdala and of bSam-yas.
Les traditions Longshan de la région du cours moyen du fleuve Jaune
Authors: Xizhang Yang
Published: July 2010

The Middle Yellow River Valley Longshan Cultures.

Translated from Chinese, this article presents certain neolithic cultures in China that, as of yet, are not too well known in the West. This general survey of the Middle Yellow River Valley Longshan cultures, made by Yang Xizhang, a member of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, first appeared in 1984 (in Xin Zhongguo de kaogu faxian he yanjiu — Archaeological Excavation and Researches in New China, 1984, p. 68-85).

After mentioning the main archaeological achievements which have taken place in this vast area since the Liberation, the author makes a detailed presentation of its principal cultures and sites. Their datations stretch between ca. 2800 and 2000 B.C., and the cultures belong to two successive phases. The first one, the so-called Miaodigou II culture, has been identified as a transitional phase between Yangshao and Longshanoid types. The second phase has been subdivided into three cultures : the Henan Longshan Culture, the Shaanxi Longshan Culture and the Taosi Culture. The major sites of Miaodigou II Culture are densely located in two areas, one centered on Tongguan district, the other one around Luoyang-Zhengzhou. Thanks to the many stone implements and animal skeletons which have been discovered, it now becomes possible to have a firm knowledge of agriculture, domestication (pig, dog and possibly cattle and sheep), and economical basis of that culture.

Ceramics are manufactured mainly by the coiling technique and occasionally retouched by rotation. A majority of them are gray, coarse and sandy ; some are fine gray. They are decorated principally by basket impressions or by appliqué, while some others are painted.

Five different cultures belong to the Henan Longshanoid type : they are the Wangwan Culture, the Hougang Culture, the Wangyoufang Culture, the Sanliqiao Culture and the Xiawang- gang Culture. Differences between these five cultures — some of them are occasionally grouped together — are mostly based on ceramic types. The Shaanxi Longshanoid type, identified for the first time in Kexingzhuang, is sometimes called Kexingzhuang II Culture. Many remains of semisubterranean houses with one or two rooms, of pocket-shaped storage pits, stone and bone implements and so on have been found on this site and other sites along the Wei-shui River. Some of the ceramic vessels are related to the Qijia Culture's ceramics, but others to Henan Longshanoid type. Because of their specific characteristics, the remains of the Taosi type seem to be limited to the Fen River Valley sites and have to be set apart from the two other types mentioned before. The last part of the article is devoted to society and economics of the Middle Yellow River Valley Longshan cultures.
Sacrificial pits of the Shang period at Sanxingdui in Guanghan county, Sichuan Province
Authors: Bagley Robert W.
Published: July 2010

Fosses sacrificielles de l'époque Shang à Sanxingdui dans le district de Guanghan, Sichuan.

En juillet et en août 1986, les archéologues de la province du Sichuan ont fouillé deux remarquables fosses sacrificielles en un lieu appelé Sanxingdui dans le district de Guanghan. Les fouilleurs ont attribué les deux fosses au XIIIe ou au XIIe siècle avant notre ère (la première moitié de l'époque d'Anyang) ; la fosse n° 1 serait antérieure d'environ une génération à la fosse n° 2. Les fosses paraissent contenir les vestiges de cérémonies au cours desquelles les offrandes sacrificielles ont été d'abord brûlées puis enterrées. Plus de trois cents objets ont été mis au jour dans la fosse n° 1, plus de quatre cents dans la fosse n° 2. La fosse n° 1 contenait des objets en or, en bronze et en jade et de nombreux cauris, treize défenses d'éléphants, et plus de trois m3 d'ossements d'animaux carbonisés ; parmi les bronzes, on a trouvé un certain nombre d'extraordinaires têtes humaines grandeur nature. Le contenu de la fosse n° 2 était similaire, mais plus riche : le rapport mentionne soixante-dix défenses d'éléphants, plus de quarante têtes en bronze, plus de dix visages en bronze (certains fort étranges), et un personnage grandeur nature en bronze debout sur un piédestal en bronze. Il semble

bien que les têtes en bronze aient été fondues sur place ; mais les autres objets provenant des deux fosses font penser que les habitants de Sanxingdui étaient en contact avec des régions situées loin à l'Est, en aval du Yangzi et aussi avec l'État des Shang dans la vallée du cours moyen du fleuve Jaune (et les découvertes faites sur d'autres sites proches de Sanxingdui révèlent également l'existence de contacts avec les populations Zhou de la vallée de la Wei). Les deux fosses sacrificielles ne représentent que les vestiges les plus spectaculaires d'un site ancien très étendu à Sanxingdui dont les restes couvriraient dix km2 et comprennent les remparts massifs d'une ville. En outre, les fouilles conduites à Sanxingdui et sur un site à une quarantaine de kilomètres de là, à Chengdu, ont révélé une succession ininterrompue de cultures locales dans le bassin du Sichuan depuis la période néolithique jusqu'à la dynastie Han. Comme la culture Shang de Sanxingdui paraît l'ancêtre de la culture Shu bien connue de l'époque des Zhou orientaux, les archéologues la désignent sous le terme de « culture proto- Shu ».
La céramique chinoise de Qalʽat al Ṣuḥâr
Authors: Pirazzoli-t'Serstevens Michèle
Published: July 2010

The Chinese ceramics from Qal'at al- Suhâr

The site of Qal'at al-Suhâr on the coast of the Sultanate of Oman, has been excavated by the French archaeological team in Bahrain and Oman conducted by Monique Kervran from 1980 to 1982. The fortress was built in the 13th-14th century above a residential quarter of 9th- 1 1 th century Suhâr. The fort was later constantly altered and partly rebuilt right up until the present century.

The Chinese material presented here comes from surveys (1980), the excavation of the fort itself, stratigraphie soundings made perpendicular to the outside of the wall. The sherds have been grouped in series and only some pieces, representatives of each series, are illustrated and described in the catalogue. A

study of the Chinese ceramics excavated shows that the Chinese sherds are very abundant, varied and of a rather high quality (white and qingbai wares, Yue ware, Changsha, Xicun...) for the period of the second half of the 9th century until the beginning of the 12th century, which corresponds to the most flourishing period of Suhâr, when the port, like Sîrâf, traded with China, India and the Oriental coast of Africa. Very few specimens were found from the 14th century (celadon and qingbai) to the beginning of 17th century (kraakporselein) . The site yielded a huge quantity of coarse export ware, mainly 19th century. The gap (12th- 18th century) noted in the Chinese material could correspond to the decline of Suhâr's international status.
Démons et merveilles : vision de la nature dans une peinture liturgique du XVe siècle
Authors: Gyss-Vermande Caroline
Published: July 2010

Démons et merveilles : the Vision of Nature in a fifteenth Century Painting.

The Musée Guimet has in its possession an important collection of Chinese paintings (150 items), purchased in Peking in 1900 by Paul Pelliot for the École Française d'Extrême-Orient. These paintings were deposited in the Louvre in 1904. They include three sets of liturgical scrolls which despite being incomplete, are of the greatest importance. First, there is a set of thirty three paintings dated 1454 (Series A). A second set of seventy four paintings dates apparently from the nineteenth century (Series B). The third series is composed of seven scrolls (out of an original set of ten), depicting the ten courts of hell (Series C).

None of these paintings were intended for purely " decorative " uses. On the contrary, they were meant to be hung in a prescribed sequence, in a ritual context. This fact has hitherto not been noted, since the religious paintings kept in western museums are usually detached from the liturgical series of which they originally formed part. Thus, even incomplete

sequences of religious paintings are invaluable in the work of reconstructing the true function of liturgical art.

The scrolls in sets A and B were created in conjunction with one of the largest of modern Chinese rituals, the Fast of Water and Earth (shuilu zhai) : a comprehensive, seven-day liturgy of universal salvation.

In the present article, I study one painting from Series A, (N° EO 684 in the Pelliot collection), representing the " Deities of Nature ". In this scroll we find figures of the most diverse origins in close association : The " General of Desert Places " (an Indian god co-opted by Tantric Buddhism), spirits from ancient Chinese religion, and local deities of modern China. This composition is of great iconographie richness and stylistic magnificence. It illustrates in striking fashion the vast theological work of harmonization and synthesis undertaken by liturgists in concert with painters, in the all-embracing context of the Fast of Water and Earth.
Restitution des palais européens du Yuanmingyuan
Authors: Durand Antoine
Published: July 2010

The European Palaces of the Yuanmingyuan ideal restored.

Built for the most part between 1747 and 1759 by Jesuits working for the Qianlong Emperor, the European Palaces of the Yuanmingyuan, burnt in 1860, are now the object of an extensive study undertaken in Paris by the Mission Palais d'Été. An important part of the work consists in a restoration of the site, based on 18th century engravings, early 20th century architectural studies, and old photographs. This article presents the method used for the restorations, and the results obtained at this point.
Une tête angkorienne de Harihara
Authors: Boisselier Jean
Published: July 2010

The importance of Harihara worship in pre-Angkorean Cambodia is well known. As far as Angkorean Period is concerned, in spite of several epigraphical testimonies, two images of that god only were known up to a recent date. The head which we are presenting here allows us to contribute to fill that gap. Datable from the third quarter of the tenth century (Pré Rup style) , it is to be placed chronologically in between the two already known images. While being a very good sample of Pré Rup style, it shows however an obvious faithfulness to the previous iconographie tradition.

The exact origin of the image is unknown. We have tried to ascertain it, using the few scanty clues which were at our disposal. The head has been found in the years 1883-1885, which correspond to a dark and agitated period, it would appear that it came from Oudong, where are known ancient royal palaces as well as numerous buddhist temples ; there, until now, are found quite a number of Khmer images from various periods.

Going through epigraphy to look for some more information, we have discovered that a Prasat Komphus inscription contemporary with the head we are publishing and written by a brahmine of Indian stock, could add usefully to our knowledge of Pré Rup style Harihara-s : thus the god attributes listed here are the same than those held by the Bakong Harihara (dated AD 881).
Chu Influences on the Development of Han bronze vessels
Authors: Rawson Jessica
Published: July 2010

On a souvent remarqué que des changements sont intervenus dans le répertoire des vases en bronze au début des Han. Dans cet article sont étudiés certains de ces changements vus sous l'angle de l'influence que l'ancien royaume de Chu exerçait encore à l'époque Han.

Un certain nombre de types de vases parmi les plus importants dérivent de laques méridionaux, y compris les coupes à oreilles pour le vin et les vases cylindriques connus sous les noms de zun et de zhi. Ces laques furent adoptés par Qin après qu'il eut conquis Chu, et progressivement englobés dans les répertoires des dynasties Qin et Han des régions métropolitaines.

Trois types de vases trouvés dans les tombes Han de Mancheng, le boshanlu, le vase hu à haute encolure munie d'une anse en forme de chaîne, et des coupes jumelles cylindriques que supporte un oiseau perché sur un félin, trouvent tous une source directe à Chu. Il n'y a que peu de raisons, sinon aucune raison, de penser que ces bronzes étaient populaires à Qin. Au contraire, ils semblent avoir été adoptés par les Han, s'essayant à imiter les coutumes de Chu.

En plus de ces catégories de vases, les Han semblent avoir tiré de Chu une part de l'intérêt qu'ils portèrent aux figures à caractère sculptural et servant de supports de vases, à l'usage des incrustations d'or et d'argent, à la dorure. Ces techniques qui semblent réservées au décor des vases appartenant aux types les plus importants, ont servi à distinguer ces bronzes de pièces décorées moins somptueusement. La distinction de plusieurs catégories différentes dans le répertoire même des vases en bronze reflète des soucis d'ordre religieux et social.
Pétroglyphes archaïques du Ladakh et du Zanskar
Authors: Francfort Henri-Paul , Klodzinski Daniel , Mascle Georges
Published: July 2010

The authors have collected a number of rock engravings in Ladakh and Zanskar. A selection is published here, dating from Bronze and Iron Age. Beside the expected parallels engraved in Upper Indus Valley (Karakorum Highway) and Western Tibet there is also evidence for relations with Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Altai, Mongolia). The images of the Bronze Age cultures of Okunevo (2nd mill.), Karasuk (end of 2nd mill.) and of the Iron Age Saka animal style ("Early Nomads") are clearly represented. Unexpectedly, some petroglyphs exhibit specific analogies with particular material from China: a Western Zhou burial and a number of figures on bronzes of pictorial style. The petroglyphs of the upper reaches of the Indus include therefore representations inspired by Achaemenid, Central Asiatic and Chinese arts.

The historical reasons and mechanisms for such links cannot be completely explained; further field research is necessary towards the elaboration of a corpus of petroglyphs from Central Asia.
Les premières inscriptions turques (VIe-Xe siècles) en Mongolie et en Sibérie méridionale
Authors: Bazin Louis
Published: July 2010

The author recalls the discovery from 1720 onwards of the Old Turkish (circa 8th-10th c.) tombstone inscriptions of the Upper Yenisey, and of those of Mongolia from 1889 onwards, then their deciphering by Thomsen and Radloff at the end of the 19th century. He describes the progress (inventory and interpretation) of epigraphy and elucidates by translations the contents of some texts. He emphasizes the linguistic and historical interest of the corpus, on part of which Chinese sources shed light. Mentioning the recent discovery in Mongolia of an official Turkish inscription (c. 580) in the Sogdian language and script, he discusses the date of the introduction of writing among Turkish speaking peoples, while distinguishing the cursive script of Sogdian origin (no doubt adopted in the second half of the 6th c.) from the graphic system of the inscriptions (created by the Turks shortly before 700).
Note sur des sculptures sur bois de Luang Prabang représentant des scènes du Rāmāyaṇa
Authors: Giteau Madeleine
Published: July 2010

The sceneries of Ramayana sculpted on the wooden parts of the monasteries in Luang Prabang, do not depict the real Lao version of the Ramayana, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, but either the Valmiki Ramayana or the Ramakerti "Glory of Rama" (Khmer Reamker of the 16th or 17th century, more recently the Thai Ramakian). A sculpted beam in Vat May temple in Luang Prabang, describes the first episodes of the Ramakian; through very altered interpretations of the Indian myths, the artist told about the origin of the main characters in the epic.

In Vat Xieng Thong monastery, a chapel erected by the last Laotian king to shelter the royal funeral furniture, is decorated with wall panels and wooden sculpted and guilded corbels. The panels depict the heroic exploits of Rama and are close to the Valmiki tradition whereas on the corbels, the sculptor was inspired by the Ramakerti. Isolated episodes ornament the folding panels and flash-screens of the lighting brackets of several sanctuaries. The pictures thus represented must glorify Rama but they often give the leading role to his allied, his brother Laksmana or the monkeys, especially Hanuman.

The sculptor of Vat May is an image-carver who retained mostly the anecdotical side of the legends which he told with the animation of a story-teller. In Vat Xieng Thong, the artist, rejecting all realistic scenery, sought to adapt his compositions -to the surfaces he had to decorate and to the texts which inspired him; that is why he knew how to impregnate his heroes with the buddhistic atmosphere that is proper to the Ramakerti.
Innovations techniques et diversification des commandes : l'artisanat du laque en Chine aux Ve-IVe siècles avant J.-C.
Authors: Thote Alain
Published: July 2010

Tomb No. 1 at Leigudun, Suizhou, in Hubei province, where more than two hundred lacquer pieces have been excavated, provides an excellent example of the existing techniques during the 5th century B.C.: lacquer could be applied on wood as well as on metal, leather and silk threads. But most of the pieces were carved in a single wood block or were composed of many carved wood blocks which were joined together with the tenon and mortise method. During the fourth century B.C., various lacquer techniques were created while the existing techniques improved considerably. More efficient tools allow wood to be cut in very thin sheets and to be curved. It becomes possible to make light cylindrical vessels or containers, which in some cases are strengthened with metal mounts. Another technique which is called jiazhu consists of making a core with cloth on which many layers of lacquer possibly mixed with charcoal or mud powder are applied. For chemical and physiological reasons, only a few pigments can be mixed with lacquer. As a result, lacquer objects are mostly decorated in black and red (cinnabar), and for some pieces in yellow and gold. But, during the 4th century B.C., the craftmen succeeded in using other pigments mixed with glue and lacquer. This fact is documented by a few luxurious pieces which apparently are not of pure funerary use. The archaeological material from the hundreds of tombs discovered in the area of the capital of Chu, near Jiangling, provides an excellent account of the Chu lacquer production until the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. It reveals that from the 4th century B.C. onwards, lacquerware became an exceptional decorative art which could in many cases compete with major arts like painting for example.
Quelques caractéristiques de la peinture des lettrés en Corée, comparées à la Chine
Authors: Ann-Baron Ok-sung
Published: July 2010

The XVIIIth century during which deep social cultural changes took place in the Korean society, reaches the apogee of the Korean literati painting. The art of that time is to be particularly distinguished by its remarkable originality with regard to the other periods of its long pictural history. In opposition to the points of view, traditionnally Chinese in the literati painting, the Korean art saw its evolution in ite own cultural conditions, through its purely Korean, artistical conceptions and languages.

In the field of the literati painting, the artistic creation of the professional painters is as important as the one of the literati, which is not the case in China.

In order to give a better description of the Korean painting of the time, I used the distinction between the Southern and Northern schools in an historical comparison with China. Whereas in China the development of both schools was parallel although being opposed to each other, in Korea, the evolution was different — both styles instead of being opposed were going to interpenetrate themselves, an eclectic style followed to reach an extreme wealth.

I tried too to make you discover the Korean painting theories through eminent art critics. The supreme value of beauty pursued by the literati painters as well as by the professionals, was connected to the aesthetics of the literati according the ideal of neo-confucianism. This part of my work (lid part) together with the properly comparative one (IVth part) was focussed on aesthetics (through various theories) and on the pictural analysis of the "painting" itself.

As a matter of fact, nothing but a thematic analysis can reveal the characteristics proper to each painting. The composition, the combination laws, the preferences of some motives, the patterns were analysed in a comparative perspective. We tried to support the comparison, using two systems of representations recommended by the Korean and Chinese painters. Always object of reference, China, equally in the scope of this painting, holds an outstanding position, but owing to the contribution of the literati in the XVIIIth century, the Korean painting succeeds to free itself and to make its own conceptions evolve, conceptions where the cultural particularisms of Korea are reflected.
Un nouveau kourgane à « tombe gelée » de l'Altaï (rapport préliminaire)
Authors: Polosmak Natalia
Published: July 2010

In the summer of 1990, the Southern Altay Section of the Institute of Archaeology of Novosibirsk excavated a "frozen tomb" at Ak-Alakha (2500 m above sea level). The burial pit (5 x 5 m) and the funerary chamber were preserved. Nine sacrificed horses were found, with their horse trappings similar to Pazyryk. A man and a woman were buried in two wooden sarcophagi. Felt and fur dresses as well as daggers, bows and arrows were deposited in the sarcophagi. A carved piece of quiver depicted two tigers attacking a boar. The high and complex headdresses in felt, were decorated with birds and deer in wood gilted with gold foil. The saddles were decorated with ornaments representing fish. The representations of Ak-Alakha are similar to the royal kurgans of Tuekta, Bashadar and Pazyryk art, but belonged probably to people of the small nobility of a higher class than the deceased of Ulandryk, Justyd and Bashanta.
Les Messagers divins et leur iconographie
Authors: Gyss-Vermande Caroline
Published: July 2010

The Messengers (shizhe) constitute a category of divinities represented in all the liturgical compositions connected with the Fast of Water and Earth (Shuilu zhai). This important syncretic ritual of universal salvation, which developed in China during the Sung period (10th- 13th century), is still practised to-day. On this occasion, large sets of vertical scrolls are hung around the sacred area. These scrolls illustrate an oecumenical pantheon which associates buddhist and taoist divinities, spirits of ancient china, and gods imported from faraway countries. The representations of all strata of human society complete this image of a universe hierarchically structured.

The Divine Messengers, while not constituting a central theme in the iconography of the Shuilu zhai, nevertheless present a particular interest. Dressed as imperial couriers, these young soldiers come and go carrying messages to the numerous administrations of Heaven and Hell. We again find these divinities in the very heart of the ritual activities where paper statues representing the messengers riding horses are loaded with documents and then burnt during the course of the Shuilu zhai. The Divine Messengers play a major role in highlighting the link between liturgical action and iconographie canon. Furthermore, archeology and textual sources testify to the deep roots of the theme of the Divine Messengers in Chinese cultural History.
A propos des origines du « style animalier »
Authors: Sher Jakov A.
Published: July 2010

The Author, who is Professor of archaeology and a specialist of rock art in Central Asia examines the various theories about the origin of the scytho-siberian animal style. Prof. Sher refutes the theory of Middle Eastern origin, principally based on the discovery of the so-called « Ziwiye hoard ». Furthermore, the scientific excavation of the kurgan Arzhan (Tuva) offers strong evidence for an early datation (between 12th and 9th centuries B.C.) for the representations of the first period of this animal style, contemporary to the Karasuk culture (Late Bronze, Early Iron Age). These representations, on rock, as well as on stelae (the « deer stelae ») and artefacts, are rooted in the Early Bronze Age representations of the Okunevo and Afanasevo cultures in the Minusinsk basin and neighbouring areas. Prof. Sher traces some stylistic elements and their evolution from South Siberia towards Central Asia and further West, where they meet Middle Eastern influences.
Rapport préliminaire sur la céramique importée à Banten Girang
Authors: Dupoizat Marie-France , Harkantiningsih Naniek
Published: July 2010

The Sultanate of Banten which included the western part of Java and the south of Sumatra, was from the XVIth century, one of the main muslim states of the Archipelago. Pepper production and trading made for the prosperity of the sultanate which capital named Banten was a thronged and extended city. Due to the lack of written sources prior to the XVIth century, the prevailing opinion was that the growth of this area had only started with the settling of the muslim dynasty. Actually, the muslim ruler took possession of a prosperous state which capital was Banten Girang with close trade relationships with South China. The results obtained through surveys and excavations with those of surface collecting gives a view of the chronological distribution of imported ceramics in Banten Girang: 1 per cent are dated IXth-Xth century, 65 % from the XIth to the XIVth (with more than 40 % of the whole amount from XIIth-XIVth century). Ming pieces of the XVth and early XIVth century are present along with Vietnamese ceramics (2 %), Siamese wares (5 %) and later dated « Kitchen Qing » ceramics (14 %).
Redécouvrir les verres du trésor de Begram
Authors: Delacour Catherine
Published: July 2010

During the years 1936-1937, Joseph Hackin, then D.A.F.A.'s president and his staff, discovered inside the ancient town of Begram — Afghanistan — , two sealed rooms filled with a fantastic amount of bronze, rare stones, lacquer and glass vessels, together with ivory sets to be nailed on pieces of furniture. The whole was thought to be a treasure and to belong to Kanishka, the famous king ot the Kushan dynasty supposed to have been living in the second century A.D. The objects unearthed were partly alloted to Kabul, partly to Paris. However, in spite of the two major publications issued in 1939 and 1954 (the second World war occurred in-between), not much has been made since to ascertain these first interpretations. The present article is devoted to a new approach of one of the three types of designs displayed on the Begram collection of glasses held in musée Guimet, i.e. the cut and engraved type. The diamond cut, high relief cut and linear or figurative engraved glasses are carefully examined and compared to their extant parallels so as to make out both their date and place of production. The first data gathered well seem to point to the second half of the first century A.D. which is rather earlier than imagined first, and, to Egypt. Further informations, we hope, will complete and confirm these investigations once the painted and peculiar glass threads' decorated vessels have been studied.
La statue de Brār (Kaśmīr) retrouvée
Authors: Diserens Hélène
Published: July 2010

In 1896, Alfred Foucher came across a statue on the banks of the Papaharana-Naga at Brar in Kasmir. He recognised it as being of Kasmiri origin but was also intrigued by certain Greek characteristics. The statue then disappeared; it is now in the private collection of Mr. Kaneo Suzuki in Japan. It represents a two-armed, upright female divinity. The base of the statue, on which its vahana probably stood, is damaged as is the right hand of the divinity and the attribute she was holding. Her left hand holds an attribute which Foucher identified as « the horn of plenty ». He compared the goddess to Hariti and then referred to her as Laksmi, the Indian goddess of prosperity and beauty. The horn of plenty has never been an attribute of an Indian divinity. There is no sanskrit term to describe an object such as a « cornucopia ». Nor does it feature in Indian art, although several authors, intrigued by an attribute « that is somewhere in between a lotus and a cornucopia » (Granoff, 1970: 16) which is to be seen on several kasmiri sculptures, nevertheless refer to it as a horn of plenty. The Gandhara representation of this attribute is similar to the naturalist image of a greco-roman cornucopia, but its animal shaped tip is characteristic of the more functional rhyton or drinking horn. Its curved form and zoomorphic head indicate that the kasmiri sculptor probably used a Gandhara statue as a model but as the cornucopia had no symbolic meaning for him, he showed it as the stalk of a full — blown lotus flower and linked it to the purna-ghata, the two Indian symbols par excellence of fertility and plenty. The Nilamata-Purana, relating the mythic origin of Kasmira, tells us how Kasyapa asked the goddesses to settle there in order « to purify the country by the gift of water » (vv. 237- 238). For this reason, springs and rivers in Kasmir, large and small, are personnified by a nada-devata, a female « flowing water » divinity who is venerated as a life-giving goddess who can also purify from sin. The Nilamata identifies them by their vahana. The Brar statue probably represents a river goddess, upright on her vahana and holding the stalk of a full-blown lotus and a purna-ghata. As her vahana is missing, the closest we can come to identifying her now is as one of the major nadi-devata from Kasmir.
Le temple Shitthaung à Myohaung, dépositaire des traditions de l'Arakan
Authors: Gatellier Marie
Published: July 2010

Arakan, adjacent to Bangladesh, lies on the West coast of Union of Myanmar. Before being annexed by the Burmese in 1784, Arakan had been an independent kingdom with a prestigious past. The last capital Myauk-U (1430-1784), named Myohaung (old city) by the British, still has numerous beautiful temples, very interesting by their shapes, general arrangements and decoration. The most well-known is the Shitthaung temple which is situated in the northern part of Myohaung not too far from the old walls of the enclosure of the royal palace. The Shitthaung temple, founded in 1535 by the king Min Ba Gyi, was edified on a huge substructure and therefore resembles a fortress of stone and brick. It is a rectangular construction surrounded, on three sides, by little stupa and sculptured slabs. The inside part can be divided in two main sections: the entrance hall and the shrine. The large entrance hall is decorated with many Buddha statues and, on the ceiling, rary paintings can be seen depicting the glorious past of Arakan. The shrine is a compact square in stone with, in its middle, a little cella sheltering a colossal sitting Buddha, and surrounded by two vaulted and blind galleries. One gallery holds the twenty-eight statues of the past Buddha and the other several hundred of sitting Buddha. Another gallery (an ambulatory) surround the shrine; the walls of which are sculptured with six tiers of figures or scenes in low or high relief. Human beings, gods, animals, scenes of the daily life, local legends, previous lifes of the Buddha are represented. At the four corners, a taller divinity in a relief more protuberant seems to be a "lokapala" guarding the shrine. The Shitthaung temple was restored by the Archaeological Survey of Burma around 1922 and since has been kept in a good state of preservation.
Pour une archéologie des échanges. Apports étrangers en Chine - transmission, réception, assimilation
Authors: Pirazzoli-t'Serstevens Michèle
Published: July 2010

Recent archaeological discoveries make possible a reappraisal of the cultural exchanges between China and the outside world. The present paper evokes certain problems concerning the foreign contribution to the Chinese material culture and to Chinese art. A more accurate identification of the imported objects, a study of the routes and trade centres, an analysis of the modes of reception and assimilation of foreign elements are all essential. No less important is the study, through archaeology, of the presence of foreigners in China during the last two millenia, of their acculturation, but also of the reaction of the Chinese, according to the period, the region, the social class and the field concerned, to the incoming allogenous elements which have enriched the indigenous heritage.
Les Palais européens du Yuanmingyuan : essai sur la végétation dans les jardins
Authors: Genest Gilles
Published: July 2010

In the middle of the 18th century, Jesuit missionaries built, on the order of the Emperor of China, a series of palaces and gardens. Combining Chinese and Western rules of arrangement, the gardens were planted with a variety of species. During the second half of the 19th century, the site was abandoned; it was ultimately cultivated, and nothing remains of the original plantations. Various sources were used in our essay at rediscovering and identifying them. The missionaries' letters testify to the introduction of plants from Europe into China and their enhancing the imperial gardens. Several of these species would even have been used in the European part of the Yuanmingyuan. However, a suite of engravings of the site made at the end of the 18th century show mostly Chinese plants. Photographs made between 1873 and 1877 confirm the presence on the site of some of them.
Une cité-état de la Péninsule malaise : le Langkasuka
Authors: Jacq-Hergoualc'h Michel , Yukongdi Pakpadee , Puntukowit Pornthip , Supajanya Thiva
Published: July 2010

Langkasuka has recently become an archeological reality ; its previous status was that of a simple name in some Chinese, Indian, Arabic, Javanese or Malayan texts. Thirty-three old structures have now been identified near Yarang, together with possible earth fortifications. This is exceptional, and unique in the Malay Peninsula. Numerous rivers and canals ran through the site, apparently more for daily use than protection. Notwithstanding changes in the shoreline, the city was at least 10 km from the sea ; aerial and satellite photographs seem to indicate that an estuary of the Patani river formerly reached there. One can assume that there was a entrepôt port, yet to be located. The three structures excavated to date disclosed brick temples, the most distinctive of which seems to go back to the 6th century A.D. This temple yielded a quantity of Buddhist religious material, such as votive tablets and a most unusual votive stupa. One of the other structures held a stone statue of Nandin, the possible trace of a Sivait cult in a previously Buddhist temple. The cohabitation of the two great Indian religious is not unusual, and agrees with the international nature of the site. According to sources, this city-state was born in the 2nd century A.D. and lasted until the early 16th century. The recently discovered archeological remains belong mostly to the 6th to 8-9th centuries, and show complex artistic influences. Those of South and, particularly, Nord-East India seem to predominate. It is in fact conceivable that Langkasuka was, in early times, a relay-station on the way to Dvaravati, either by sea, or through the transpeninsular roads starting in South Kedah, where Gupta and post-Gupta influences were also felt. There is clear evidence of later Pala-Sena India, together with an answering style specific to Dvaravati. Since Srivijaya art was bred from a very complex set of influences, as is the case for all the Peninsula city-statues, its artistic reach cannot be established. Like its neighboring states, Langkasuka was commercially active as a meeting-point for Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern traders. As the local rulers'power relied on prosperous rice crops, international trade, and sale of rare products from inland forests, their chief concern with each monsoon season was to keep the traders out of trouble. In consequence, the rulers were certainly very open and tolerant. New excavations soon to be undertaken should put this impression to the test.