Glass along the Silk Road in the first millennium AD

Marta Żuchowska; Bartłomiej Sz. Szmoniewski

Published: 2017-01-01

Vol. 55 (2017)

Glass along the Silk Road in the first millennium AD

Marta Żuchowska , Bartłomiej Sz. Szmoniewski

Abstract

The so-called Silk Road routes of the 1st millennium AD promoted the spread ofideas and artistic trends, advanced technology, arms, horse harness etc. Glass had played an important role in the exchange network between the West and the East as well as South and North ever since antiquity. Most of the archaeological glass (vessels, personal ornaments) from the Eastern end of the Silk Road (China, Korea) comes from ‘special’ places, such as elite burials and Buddhist temples. Their importance for ancient Chinese and Korean societies, where precious stones, bronzes and porcelains played a significant role, remains an open issue. The origin of glass artifacts found along the Silk Road, particularly in China and Korea, is still debatable. Transparent glass vessels unearthed in China are rare, usually interpreted as Western imports, proving trade relations along the so-called Silk Roads. Most of them come from elite graves, while others were deposited in temple treasuries, like the famous treasure from Famen Si (Shaanxi province). In both instances, the suggestion is that objects of this kind were valuable and highly appreciated, thus probably quite rare in China. The latest studies, especially laboratory analyses, have thrown new light on the origin of the glass finds from China, raising at the same time multiple issues concerning their cultural and social context. The aim of the present paper is to analyse the chronological and geographical distribution of Western-related glass vessels within the present territory of the Peoples Republic of China, as well as Korea and Japan, and to discuss social interactions and processes which caused these goods to reach Chinese territory and beyond. The final goal is to understand the reception of these exotic goods by the local population in terms of their meaning and value

Keywords:

Silk Road, glass, imports, cultural exchange

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Żuchowska, M., & Szmoniewski, B. S. (2017). Glass along the Silk Road in the first millennium AD. Archaeologia Polona, 55, 161–188. Retrieved from https://journals.iaepan.pl/apolona/article/view/278

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