Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Chen Hongshou (1598 - 1652), courtesy name Zhanghou and pseudonym Laolian, was a Chinese painter from Zhuji who lived during the late Ming Dynasty era. Chen trained under the famed artist Lan Ying, and developed a plump and profound brushwork style that lent itself to illustrations and tapestry portraits.<br/><br/> Chen Zi (1634 - 1713), also from Zhuji, was the son of Chen Hongshou and a renowned artist in his own right.
During the Roman Period, Christianity spread to Treviso. Tradition records that St. Prosdocimus, a Greek who had been ordained bishop by St. Peter, brought the Catholic faith to Treviso and surrounding areas. By the 4th century, the Christian population grew sufficient to merit a resident bishop. The first documented bishop was John the Pious who began his epsicopacy in 396 CE.
Tuyoq or Tuyugou is an ancient oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains, with a well preserved Uyghur orientation. It is famous for its seedless grapes and a number of ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos, the best known being the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.
Tuyoq or Tuyugou is an ancient oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains, with a well preserved Uyghur orientation. It is famous for its seedless grapes and a number of ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos, the best known being the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.
Tuyoq or Tuyugou is an ancient oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains, with a well preserved Uyghur orientation. It is famous for its seedless grapes and a number of ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos, the best known being the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.
Ding Yu was a daughter of the painter Ding Yungong and a skilled painter in her own right.<br/><br/> Wang Qi was the chief author of the Sancai Tuhui, a celebrated Ming Dynasty encyclopedia published in 1609.
<i>Hikifuda</i> are advertising handbills that became popular in late 19th to early 20th century Japan. Showing the increasing sophistication of Japanese commerce, the handbills were produced to advertise a company or promote a product, and sometimes they were even used as wrapping paper.<br/><br/> While <i>hikifuda</i> began to be produced as woodblock prints in the late 17th century, they witnessed a boom in the later 19th century when they were cheaply printed using colour lithography.
In the pottery of ancient Greece, a <i>kylix</i> is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot and usually two horizontal handles disposed symmetrically. The main alternative wine-cup shape was the <i>kantharos</i>, with a narrower and deeper cup and high vertical handles.
Siāh-qalam, lit. ‘black pen’, is a term referring to both the genre of paintings or drawings done in pen and ink (also known as qalam-siāhi), and to the painter or, more likely, painters (more commonly known as Siāh-qalam) of a particular collection of such pen and ink drawings, preserved principally in the albums at Topkapi Saray Library.<br/><br/> Qalam-siāhi: While medieval Iranian artists were more renowned for their painting than their drawing skills, the two mediums were not unrelated. The planning of any painting involved laying down a preliminary drawing in red or black ink, which would later be painted over.
A young man offering a cup of wine to a young woman reflects a traditional Persian courtly ideal expressed in poetry and in painting. Yet it was common practice for Timurid artists to turn to Chinese models for stylistic inspiration.<br/><br/> In this painting, Chinese influence can be seen in the arrangement of figures on a horizontal groundline set against a neutral background, and in the identity and sinuous style of the flowering prunus tree that frames the princess.
The Turpan Oasis was a strategically significant centre on Xinjiang’s Northern Silk Route, site of the ancient cities of Yarkhoto (Jiaohe) and Karakhoja (Gaochang). Chinese armies first entered Turpan in the 2nd century BCE, during the reign of Han Emperor Wu Di (141-87) when the oasis was a centre of Indo-European Tocharian culture.<br/><br/>Turpan retained a distinctly Buddhist character until the time of the Chagatai Khanate in the 13th century, when Islam gradually became the dominant religion.
The Turpan Oasis was a strategically significant centre on Xinjiang’s Northern Silk Route, site of the ancient cities of Yarkhoto (Jiaohe) and Karakhoja (Gaochang). Chinese armies first entered Turpan in the 2nd century BCE, during the reign of Han Emperor Wu Di (141-87) when the oasis was a centre of Indo-European Tocharian culture.<br/><br/>Turpan retained a distinctly Buddhist character until the time of the Chagatai Khanate in the 13th century, when Islam gradually became the dominant religion.
Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
The zun is an ancient type of Chinese bronze or ceramic wine vessel with a round or square vase-like form, and sometimes in the shape of an animal.<br/><br/> The Zhou had long been vassals of the Shang, but eventually grew strong enough to defeat them in warfare in the 11th century BCE. They continued to hold sway until the 5th century BCE. Chinese boundaries were expanded, land reform was instituted and towns were built. Also, the declining years of the Zhou era produced two of China’s most influential thinkers, Kongfuzi (Confucius) and Laozi (Lao Tzu).
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
The rugged, indomitable Chinese muleteers known to the Burmese as Panthay, and to the Thai and Lao as Haw or Chin Haw, were—and to some extent still are—the masters of the Golden Triangle. Certainly they were the traders par excellence, penetrating into the remotest reaches of forbidden territory such as the Wa States, whilst at the same time their mule caravans, laden with everything from precious stones and jade to opium and copper pans, traded as far as Luang Prabang in Laos, Moulmein in Burma, Dali and Kunming in Yunnan, and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.<br/><br/> Doi Mae Salong was once an impoverished, heavily-armed Kuomintang (KMT) outpost, it is today a tranquil oasis of tea gardens, fruit orchards and Yunnanese-style houses.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Turpan Oasis was a strategically significant centre on Xinjiang’s Northern Silk Route, site of the ancient cities of Yarkhoto (Jiaohe) and Karakhoja (Gaochang). Chinese armies first entered Turpan in the 2nd century BC, during the reign of Han Emperor Wu Di (141-87) when the oasis was a centre of Indo-European Tocharian culture.<br/><br/> Turpan retained a distinctly Buddhist character until the time of the Chagatai Khanate in the 13th century, when Islam gradually became the dominant religion.
The Turpan Oasis was a strategically significant centre on Xinjiang’s Northern Silk Route, site of the ancient cities of Yarkhoto (Jiaohe) and Karakhoja (Gaochang). Chinese armies first entered Turpan in the 2nd century BC, during the reign of Han Emperor Wu Di (141-87) when the oasis was a centre of Indo-European Tocharian culture.<br/><br/> Turpan retained a distinctly Buddhist character until the time of the Chagatai Khanate in the 13th century, when Islam gradually became the dominant religion.
The Turpan Oasis was a strategically significant centre on Xinjiang’s Northern Silk Route, site of the ancient cities of Yarkhoto (Jiaohe) and Karakhoja (Gaochang). Chinese armies first entered Turpan in the 2nd century BC, during the reign of Han Emperor Wu Di (141-87) when the oasis was a centre of Indo-European Tocharian culture.<br/><br/> Turpan retained a distinctly Buddhist character until the time of the Chagatai Khanate in the 13th century, when Islam gradually became the dominant religion.
Galle was for centuries Sri Lanka’s main port, a position which strengthened during the periods of Portuguese and Dutch colonial rule. Galle only lost its primacy in the late 19th century, when the British expanded and developed the harbour at Colombo to become the island’s major port.<br/><br/>Perhaps the earliest recorded reference to Galle comes from the great Arab traveller Ibn Battuta, who visited the port—which he calls Qali—in the mid-14th century.<br/><br/>The Portuguese first arrived in 1505, when a fleet commanded by Lorenzo de Almeida took shelter from a storm in the lee of the town. Clearly the strategic significance of the harbour impressed the Portuguese, for 82 years later, in 1587, they seized control of the town from the Sinhala kings and began the construction of Galle Fort. This event marked the beginning of almost four centuries of European domination of the city, resulting in the fascinating hybrid—architecturally, culturally and ethnically—which Galle is today.<br/><br/>The Dutch captured the city from the Portuguese in 1640, and immediately began strengthening the fortifications. They remained for almost 150 years, until the city was in turn taken by the British in 1796.<br/><br/>Not until 1947, when Ceylon gained its independence from the British, did Galle become, once again, an independent city—and by this time the long years of association with European colonialism had left an indelible stamp on the city which makes it unique in today’s Sri Lanka.
A painting on paper in color and gold leaf from al-Jazari's ' Kitab fi marifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya' (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices).<br/><br/> Abū al-'Iz Ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206) was a polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, artist, mathematician and astronomer from Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia, who worked in service of the Artuqid dynasty in Diyarbakır, Asia Minor. He is best known for writing the Kitáb fí ma'rifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya (Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) in 1206, where he described fifty mechanical devices along with instructions on how to construct them.
Li Bai has generally been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's 'golden age' of poetry. Around a thousand existing poems are attributed to him, but the authenticity of many of these is uncertain. Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems'.<br/><br/> Many of the Classical Chinese poets were associated with drinking wine, or more precisely, alcoholic beverages. In fact, Li Bai was part of the group of Chinese scholars during his time in Chang'an, called the 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup', as mentioned in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu. However, Li Bai is of special note in this respect. As Burton Watson put it, 'nearly all Chinese poets celebrate the joys of wine, but none so tirelessly and with such a note of genuine conviction as Li Bai'. This lifestyle may have given rise to the story that Li Bai drowned after falling from his boat when he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River while intoxicated.
Li Bai has generally been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's 'golden age' of poetry. Around a thousand existing poems are attributed to him, but the authenticity of many of these is uncertain. Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems'.<br/><br/> Many of the Classical Chinese poets were associated with drinking wine, or more precisely, alcoholic beverages. In fact, Li Bai was part of the group of Chinese scholars during his time in Chang'an, called the 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup', as mentioned in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu. However, Li Bai is of special note in this respect. As Burton Watson put it, 'nearly all Chinese poets celebrate the joys of wine, but none so tirelessly and with such a note of genuine conviction as Li Bai'. This lifestyle may have given rise to the story that Li Bai drowned after falling from his boat when he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River while intoxicated.
Li Bai has generally been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's 'golden age' of poetry. Around a thousand existing poems are attributed to him, but the authenticity of many of these is uncertain. Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems'.<br/><br/> Many of the Classical Chinese poets were associated with drinking wine, or more precisely, alcoholic beverages. In fact, Li Bai was part of the group of Chinese scholars during his time in Chang'an, called the 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup', as mentioned in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu. However, Li Bai is of special note in this respect. As Burton Watson put it, 'nearly all Chinese poets celebrate the joys of wine, but none so tirelessly and with such a note of genuine conviction as Li Bai'. This lifestyle may have given rise to the story that Li Bai drowned after falling from his boat when he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River while intoxicated.
The Hunterian Psalter (or York Psalter) is an illuminated manuscript of the 12th century. It was produced in England some time around 1170, and is considered a striking example of Romanesque book art. The work is part of the collection of the Glasgow University Library, which acquired the book in 1807. It derives its colloquial name, the 'Hunterian Psalter', from having been part of the collection of 18th century Scottish anatomist and book collector William Hunter, who willed his collection to the University. It has also at times been known as the 'York Psalter', owing to its supposed northern English origin in the city of York.
The Hunterian Psalter (or York Psalter) is an illuminated manuscript of the 12th century. It was produced in England some time around 1170, and is considered a striking example of Romanesque book art. The work is part of the collection of the Glasgow University Library, which acquired the book in 1807. It derives its colloquial name, the 'Hunterian Psalter', from having been part of the collection of 18th century Scottish anatomist and book collector William Hunter, who willed his collection to the University. It has also at times been known as the 'York Psalter', owing to its supposed northern English origin in the city of York.
The Escorial Beatus is a 10th century illuminated manuscript of the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The manuscript was probably created at the monastery at San Millán de la Cogolla. There are 151 extant folios; the manuscript is illustrated with 52 surviving miniatures. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.
Riza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, also Aqa Riza or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī (c. 1565–1635) was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I (r.1587-1629). He is considered to be the last great master of the Persian miniature, best known for his single miniatures for muraqqa or albums, especially single figures of beautiful youths.
In southwest China Yunnanese muleteers have long been the masters of transport and commerce, with trade routes extending to Tibet and throughout the Golden Triangle Region. Many were Muslim, perhaps the majority, though we know from contemporary writings that even these Muslim Hui or Chin Haw sometimes drank alcohol.<br/><br/> Haw is a name given to Yunnanese Chinese, both Han and Hui, by local Tai peoples.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/>The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.<br/><br/>It seems likely that certain paintings contained in the 'Conqueror's Albums' are of Chinese origin and may have been used as stylistic guides for painters in the Siyah Kalem tradition.
The Ya Fu square lei (wine vessel) is regarded as a masterpiece of the Shang Dynasty (13th - 11th century BCE) and one of the greatest artifacts yet discovered from China's Bronze Age.<br/><br/> The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝; pinyin: Shāng cháo) or Yin Dynasty (Chinese: 殷代; pinyin: Yīn dài), according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BCE, succeeding the Xia Dynasty and followed by the Zhou Dynasty.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the “Conqueror’s Albums,” so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them. The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed “work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem.” Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums.<br/><br/> Miniature painting became a significant Persian genre in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums.<br/><br/> Miniature painting became a significant Persian genre in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent.
Between the end of the First World War in 1918 and the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, Japanese graphic design as represented in advertsing posters, magazine covers and book covers underwent a series of changes characterised by increasing Western influence, a growing middle class, industrialisation and militarisation, as well as (initially) left wing political ideals and (subsequently) right wing nationalism and the influence of European Fascist art forms.
The colouration of the youth's face and his conjoined eyebrows suggest a homoerotic theme not uncommon in Turkish and Persian art of the period.<br/><br/> Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/> The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.<br/><br/> It seems likely that certain paintings contained in the 'Conqueror's Albums' are of Chinese origin and may have been used as stylistic guides for painters in the Siyah Kalem tradition.
<i>Luncheon of the Boating Party</i> (1881, French: Le déjeuner des canotiers) is a painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It was purchased from the artist by the dealer-patron Paul Durand-Ruel and bought in 1923 (for $125,000) from his son by Duncan Phillips. It is now in The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. It shows a richness of form, a fluidity of brush stroke, and a flickering light.<br/><br/> The painting depicts a group of Renoir's friends relaxing on a balcony at the Maison Fournaise along the Seine river in Chatou in the western suburbs of Paris. The painter and art patron, Gustave Caillebotte, is seated in the lower right. Renoir's future wife, Aline Charigot, is in the foreground playing with a small dog. On the table is fruit and wine.<br/><br/> The diagonal of the railing serves to demarcate the two halves of the composition, one densely packed with figures, the other all but empty, save for the two figures of the proprietor's daughter Louise-Alphonsine Fournaise and her brother, Alphonse Fournaise, Jr, which are made prominent by this contrast. In this painting Renoir has captured a great deal of light. The main focus of light is coming from the large opening in the balcony, beside the large singleted man in the hat. The singlets of both men in the foreground and the table-cloth all work together to reflect this light and send it through the whole composition.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.<br/><br/> The Assassins (from Arabic: حشّاشين‎ Ḥashshāshīn) were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia and Syria that formed in the late 11th century. In time, the order began to pose a strong military threat to Sunni Seljuq authority within the Persian territories by capturing and inhabiting many mountain fortresses under the leadership of Hassan-i Sabbah.
Tuyoq or Tuyugou is an ancient oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains, with a well preserved Uyghur orientation. It is famous for its seedless grapes and a number of ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos, the best known being the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.
The Miao are a linguistically and culturally related group of people recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups.<br/><br/> Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component sub-groups, which include (with some variant spellings) Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho (Qho) Xiong. The Miao live primarily in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei.<br/><br/> Some members of the Miao sub-groups, most notably Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia (northern Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand). Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations (United States, France, Australia, and elsewhere.)