Chapter 8 Images of Silk along the Silk Roads: Dunhuang Mural Paintings and Tang Funerary Figurines
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Abstract
Silk was one of the major commodities of the Silk Road trade; furthermore, juan-silk, or undyed tabby silk, even functioned as currency in China since the Han (206 BCE– 220 CE) and Tang (618–907 CE) dynasties. The production, category, terminology, usage and diffusion of various kinds of silk products have been documented in historical texts, However, due to the limitation of material evidence, their visual history remains unclear. Even though an abundant repertory of archaeological materials exists, they have received little attention because of their relatively unvaried format. However, I argue that it is possible to attain new understanding of the visual and material aspects of silk along the Silk Road by examine the archaeological evidence. Based on the methodologies of visual history and material culture, this paper undertakes a close examination of the silk images in Dunhuang mural paintings as well as the funerary figurines of camels from the Sui (581–618 CE) and Tang dynasties. In this way, it aims to provide a new reading of the forms and functions of silk along the Silk Road during the historical periods.