ZWS0DS (Pelliot, Paul): ZHONGGUO WENHUA SHIJI: DUNHUANG SHIKU. (The Cultural Relics of China: Les Grottes de Touen-houang 1-6). 中國文化史蹟 : 敦煌石窟. Hangzhou, 2018. 1, 421 pp. 1 pp. introductory text in Chinese and 421 pp. b/w plates. 2 vols. 29x21 cm. Cloth. GBP 170.00 Two-volume facsimile (in a slightly-reduced format) of an extremely rare work which is rarely found complete. Reproduces a complete set of the 376 collotype plates comprising the earliest photographic survey of the Buddhist mural paintings and sculptures at the Mogao grottoes near Dunhuang. The photographs were taken during Pelliot's visit to the caves in 1908 by his expedition companion, Nouette, who assiduously photographed everything Pelliot considered worthy of record. The work was ready for publication in 1914 but the war delayed it until 1920. Pelliot never wrote an accompanying text. The photographs comprise a most important visual resource for art historians and collectors showing the murals and sculptures and their condition in the early 20th century at the time that the great Central Asian expeditions by western explorers were being undertaken. Their importance is increased due to the fact that the caves suffered vandalism in the 1920s by White Russian soldiers who camped at Mogao. Introductory page of text in Chinese then French text throughout the facsimile. Subjects: Buddhist Art Dunhuang Item 633 in List 210. URL for this record: hanshan.com/?p/ZWS0DS.HTM Record produced by Hanshan Tang Books, www.hanshan.com. |