Cover image for The compensations of plunder : how China lost its treasures
The compensations of plunder : how China lost its treasures
Title:
The compensations of plunder : how China lost its treasures

Silk roads

Silk roads (Chicago, Ill.)
Author:
Jacobs, Justin, 1980- author.
ISBN:
9780226711966
Physical Description:
vii, 348 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Series:
Silk roads

Silk roads (Chicago, Ill.)
Contents:
Introduction -- Sahibs in the desert -- Accumulating culture -- Gentlemen of empire -- The priceless nation -- Rise of the apprentices -- Foreign devils begone -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Glossary of Chinese characters -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
Abstract:
"From the early 1890s to World War I, countless manuscripts and artworks were taken from northwestern China and brought to museums and libraries abroad, thanks not only to opportunistic explorers but also the Chinese officials who hosted them. In 'The Compensations of Plunder', historian Justin M. Jacobs contends that trans-imperial upper-class loyalties explain this surprising cooperation between Western archaeologists and local elites who gave them access to local treasures. As the imperial age drew to a close, the antiquities themselves went from being "diplomatic capital" that was traded among a cosmopolitan elite to disputed icons of the emerging nation-state. Based on a wealth of sources in several languages, Jacobs's book examines the nuanced story of - and diverse motivations behind - the antiquities trade along the Silk Road and the unlikely, fraught partnerships that made it possible."-- Provided by publisher.
Genre:
Bibliographical References:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-335) and index.
Field 805:
npmlib 11000331 DS793.N6 J33 yh
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