The Silk Road: Art and History by Jonathan Tucker


The Silk Road: Art and History

by Jonathan Tucker

A celebration of the cultural heritage of the countries along the Silk Road, this book is a detailed, lavishly illustrated exploration of the ancient trade routes between Europe and Asia. The author provides a comprehensive history of the Silk Road and examines many of the most celebrated works of art discovered in each country, setting them in their historical and geographical context. Drawing freely on anecdotes, and literary and historical sources, the author examines the lives of the merchants and other travellers who used the ancient routes and the ways in which their activities related to the works of art that were created. Vignettes and poems from the heyday of the great trading route punctuate a lively and colourful book, which also benefits from Antonia Tozer’s exceptionally evocative photographs of landscapes, monuments and peoples.

384 pages, 460 illustrations of which 300 are reproduced

in full colour, 29 detailed maps, clothbound, 314 x 270 mm.

Publisher: I.B. Tauris Ltd

Reviews of The Silk Road: Art and History:

Geographical magazine (magazine of the Royal Geographical Society)

The Silk Road: Art and History

Geographical, Sept, 2004 by Christian Amodeo

‘This book is a Silk Road ‘bible’, a well constructed and beautiful collation of a mass of information and knowledge on a truly fascinating corner of the world. As such, it is as worthy of a place on the bookshelves of experts as in a family library. But be warned: read The Silk Road and you’ll want to experience it for yourself….’

‘a feat worthy of accolades and to top it all off, the book is filled with excellent, and at times breathtaking, photography’

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www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

Go west with Genghis and the plague, east with Buddha and Islam

26 March 2004

John Keay

‘a most handsome volume, admirable in scope and reliable in detail. To those with the stamina for 2,000 years of history, 50 or 60 dynasties and half-a-dozen religions, all of them strung out along some 11,250 km of now not-much-travelled trail, it will serve as a treasured compendium…. Examination of each site and its artefacts creates a fascinating spectrum of cultures and styles, gradually blending into one another.’

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 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch

Vol. 43 (2003 )

‘this is a book to fascinate…not only those interested in the past, but also those keen to understand the present.’

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‘I am overwhelmed by the breadth of the material covered and the incredible amount of information included. . . . This book is a monumental achievement… which will become the standard reference on the subject for years to come.’

Emma C. Bunker, Research Consultant, Asian Art Department, Denver Art Museum.

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Literary Review. Oct. 2003

‘an enormous and beautiful book…the most informative work on the subject I have yet seen.’

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Asian Affairs (Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs) Nov. 2003.

‘This is a beautifully designed and produced work…undoubtedly one of the fullest and clearest- and certainly the best illustrated- introductions to this vast and bewildering subject.’

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Orientations December 2003 Volume 34 Number 10

Book Reviews: The Silk Road: Art and History by Jonathan Tucker, reviewed by Annette L. Juliano

‘Jonathan Tucker’s handsome and informative new volume fills an important niche…[it] conveys a palpable sense of place without losing the monumentality of scale and panoramic sweep.’

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Minerva Jan/Feb 2004

‘an exquisitely produced major achievement…very highly recommended’