Roderick Whitfield (author)
Hiromu Hara (book designer)
The Art of Central Asia.  The Stein Collection in the British Museum.  Paintings from Dunhuang.  Vol 1.
Kodansha International Ltd, Tokyo: 1982
Red silk-like covers, gilt design, gilt faux-vellum spine, clamshell protective box
Limited edition of 550 copies
14.75 x 10.5 inches, book overall
15.75 x 11.25 inches, box
$950

Volume 1, Paintings from Dunhuang, from a set of three art reference books examining Central Asian art in the Stein Collection of the British Museum.  Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943), was an archaeologist who went on three successful expeditions to Central Asia over a 14-year period beginning in 1900. His collection is important in the study of the history of Central Asia and the art and literature of  Buddhism.  This book is mostly comprised of color and black-and-white illustrations of the artworks with captions.  The text discusses the history of Dunhuang and the Silk Road, as well as documentation of excavations and expeditions.  The book is in the original cloth clamshell protective box with applied full sheet illustration on silk-like material.  In English.

Sir Marc Aurel Stein was born in Hungary and later became a British citizen.  His first Central Asian expedition awakened interest in the sites along the Silk Road trade route, and brought him fame and funding of his subsequent expeditions.  Among his accomplishments, he found the earliest known printed manuscript, and in 1907 he was the first foreigner to gain access to the “Caves of the Thousand Buddhas” on the Silk Road holding a large trove of Buddhist documents and artifacts that had been sealed since the 11th century.  He documented his explorations with some 10,000 photographs and amassed a huge collection of artwork and manuscripts, which now reside in the British Museum, the British Library, the Srinigar Museum, and the National Museum, New Delhi.

Condition:  Book generally very good with only minor wear.  Book box good with usual light overall wear, soiling, toning, light fraying.

References:

Bradeen, Ryan, ed.  “Aurel Stein: The Last Explorer: The Silk Road Under Sand.”  Bangor School Department.  http://www.bangorschools.net/hs/SR/stein.html (29 August 2005).

“Marc Aurel Stein.”  Wikipedia.  7 August 2005.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Aurel_Stein (29 August 2005).