Tang Gold and Silver
This course examines in depth the formation and
transformation of Tang-dynasty (618–907) gold and silversmithing. How exactly
did it become one of the trendsetting crafts of the time? Scholars typically
invoke an international technology transfer from farther west, but a detailed
account of it on the basis of recent archaeological finds has yet to be
written. Similarly outdated is the authentication of the “Tang” gold
and silver objects in international museum collections, notably the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. We will attempt to discuss this issue with curators
and a silversmith. In addition to examining the history of the craft, this
class employs archaeological finds to reconstruct patterns of consumption and
ritual uses. The Tang period coincided with the apogee of early medieval
culture in China. Over the past millennium, this era has conjured up images of
martial grandeur, vast territorial expansion, and multicultural tolerance; of
China’s richest flowering of Buddhism, but also of its severest suppression; of
a thriving intellectual culture that gave rise to some of China’s most
celebrated poets; and of an aristocratic material culture dominated by
cosmopolitan fashion and international trade. 3 credits. Satisfies the non-Western or the pre-1800 requirements.