Ancient Decorative Art Works
Works of Gold, Fresco, and Pottery from the Art World in 800 AD
Art guide "30,000 Years of Art" from Phaidon Press features these 9th-century world-wide works of art in stunning and detailed photographs.
Colossal art book 30,000 Years of Art, produced by Phaidon who also produced art historian E.H. Gombrich’s classic Story of Art, depicts works of art by presenting them in an order that emphasizes chronology rather than culture or context.
What was being created in the world circa 800 AD:
1. Decorative Plate, Hammered and Engraved in Gilded Silver, Tibet
This beautiful circular plate (11 ½ in) is a striking example of early Tibetan hammered silver. In low-level relief in the center of the vessel is a figure of a winged centaur with bunches of grapes in his raised hands. A leaf scroll is in a circle around him. Rich floral ornamentation and winged deer fill the remainder of the plate. Its design is executed in the champlevé technique similar to cloisonné in which designs are carved into the surface of a metal object and filled with enamel. The piece is then fired until the enamel melts; when cooled the surface of the object is polished. The smooth or uncarved portions of the original surface serve as a backdrop for the enamel designs. Today this piece can be viewed at the Miho Museum, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
2. Bird-Man Mural, Fresco, Mexico
The Bird-Man fresco is an extraordinarily beautiful wall painting found at the archaeological site of the Toltec culture at Cacaxtla in Mexico. The Toltecs were a Pre-Columbian Native American people who dominated much of central Mexico between 800-1200 AD. The mural paintings depict the battles fought by the Olmec-Xicalanca; this particular mural shows the Bird-Man (in the center) as a young warrior, half-men, half-animal, dressed in a full bird suit from headdress to wings to feet and standing on a feathered serpent. The brightly-colored figure is surrounded by a border depicting creatures from the sea. Interpretations and theories abound, but the true meaning of the Cacaxtla murals has yet to be deciphered. Today the piece can be viewed in situ at Building A at Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico.
3. Huangdao Ware Jar, Glazed Black Stoneware, Tang Dynasty, China
The various dynasties of China each produced ceramics that were influenced by availability of materials, geography, and social tastes. The Tang dynasty period is considered a "golden age" during which a new focus on art and culture was emphasized due to patronage by the ruling elite of the time. Tang pottery introduced several new techniques, including the use of three-colored glazes in variations of brown, greens, and blues. This piece from the Tang dynasty has a dark brown underglaze covered by a mottled pattern of pale blue and beige. Its rather heavy and dark design is not as highly sought after today as those of later designs, but was a predecessor for the lighter, brighter, and more colorful jars that were created next in the Song period (960–1279 AD).
Source:
30,000 Years of Art. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2007.
Related article: Sacred Art Works from 800 AD
