ASIA 269 - Art, Trade, and Treasure of the Silk Road

Cross-Listed as ART 269

Coined as a term in the late 19th century by the German geographer, Ferdinand von Richthoven (1833-1905), the “Silk Road” was neither a singular road nor strictly occupied with silk. Rather, it was a complex web of overland and maritime trade of multifarious luxury goods including jade, porcelain, prints, paintings, metalwork, sculpture, furniture, and (of course) textiles; these goods moved along routes extending geographically from the Far East through Central, North, and South Asia to the Mediterranean. This course examines how art and artifacts moved along these trade routes from around the 2nd c. BCE to the 19th c. CE, inspiring the evolution of culture and taste in many regions, and how religions such as Buddhism and Islam contributed to these cultural flows. Through a study of the art and treasure associated with the Silk Road, we will learn about the muddy, complicated, and fascinating nature of ancient, pre-modern, and early modern trade and the formative role it has played in shaping visual cultures we see and understand today. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)