Emerald’s Blog

This painted unfired clay statue (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42124 ) stands about 14 inches tall and dated around the 7th century. It is believed to come from Astana, Xinjiang which is in the far northwest of China. In the time of the Tang Dynasty, horses were respected animals because they were believed to be relatives of the mythical dragon. Horses were greatly respected because of their speed and stamina. They helped protect against barbarian invaders, and increase communication between far away regions which helped expand the empire. Thus, making horses a symbol of nobility and wealth. One can also assume that the female rider of the horse is a high-ranking noblewomen.. This piece is on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, gallery 207, in Arts of Ancient China display. 

  There are many versions of the Buddha Shakyamuni ( https://smarthistory.org/jowo-rinpoche-jokhang-temple-tibet/ )image around the world that can be made out of precious metals, carved out of wood or painted.  For instance, the Emerald Buddha in Thailand is made out of jade, the Seiryoji Buddha in Japan is carved out of wood and the Jowo Rinpoche in Tibet is made out of gilded metal. The Jowo Rinpoche is considered to be one of the most holy statues in Tibet, it  means “precious one” in Tibetan. This extravagant sculpture has Buddha sitting in the lotus position and covered with semiprecious stones, pearls, and paint. One unique feature is his electric blue hair.  In its 1300 year history, it has been restored and reconstructed, so it is unknown what the original image might have looked like when it was made around the 7th century. The earliest written description of this statute around the 11th century has the wrathful deity is seen protruding from the Buddha’s nec...

  In Buddhist art and literature, the Jatakas' tales( https://smarthistory.org/jatakas/ ) play an important part. First one must understand that Buddha takes on many forms both human and non-human. One of the earliest forms of Buddha is known as Bodhisattvas, this is before Buddha achieved enlightenment. These tales are passed down from generation to generation, telling us how one can learn from one's mistakes and how practicing good moral virtues were essential. It also shows us how Buddha obtained enlightenment and his endless cycle of rebirth. There are over 500 tales that contain Jatakas. One of the most well liked Jatakas tales in Buddhist art is that of the Mahakapi Jataka . This Jataka chronicles on how Bodhisattvas was born a Great Monkey who lived among a large tribe of other monkeys in the Himalayan forest. The tale, then goes on to say that the Great Monkey and his tribe looked after this Banyan tree near the coast of the that bloomed a great fruit with the best fl...

Various beasts are carved into the Oseberg ship’s stern: a ribbon-animal (in blue, also called a streaming-animal); gripping-beasts rendered with humanoid heads (in red); and more ambiguous forms that echo the bodies of creatures seen at the prow (in green). Oseberg oak longship and detail of prow with  ribbon-animal and gripping-beast motifs, 9th century, found in burial mound near Tønsberg  (Viking ship museum, Oslo; photo:  Chad K ,  CC BY 2.0)   Vikings ( https://smarthistory.org/viking-art/ ) have always been portrayed as long-hair pagans who raped and pillaged. When in reality they were a small community of people called Norse or Norsemen. Raiding was for exploration, colonization, and mercantilism and only a few would go out for these explorations. The majority of the Norsemen were merchants, farmers, and craftsmen. The Age of the Viking began in the late 8th century and ended  in the  11th century.  They traveled around the globe, interact...

The Winchester Bible ( https://smarthistory.org/winchester-bible/) was made at the Cathedral priory of St. Swithun around the twelfth century in Winchester, England and is currently still in Winchester. The Morgan Leaf was originally inserted as a frontispiece to the Book of Samuel in the Winchester Bible. A frontispiece is an illustration on the opposite side of the title page. The Morgan Leaf gets its name from the museum it is currently located in which is the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, the two pieces are currently no longer together. The Winchester Bible is known as a giant bible, it contains the entire text of the Christian Bible from the Book of Genesis to Revelation. During the Romanesque period giant bibles were deemed vital by Pope Gregory VII, he required that every monk have access to the most accurate version of the bible. Before the eleventh century complete versions of  bibles were somewhat rare. The Winchester Bible is written on parchment made from ...