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Books & Historical Memorabilia

The most carefully appraised rare books brought to you by {name}

Volker Riepenhausen

1.Ming 50 years that changed China The BP Exhibition The British Museum2014, Hardback, 312 pages in English 

Ming: 50 Years that Changed China is an exhibition catalogue published by the British Museum to accompany a major 2014 exhibition exploring a transformative half-century of China’s Ming dynasty (1400–1450). The book presents how China emerged as a global superpower during this period, emphasizing political stability, economic growth, and cultural flourishing. It highlights the reigns of powerful emperors such as Yongle and Xuande, showcasing their influence on art, diplomacy, and international trade.

Richly illustrated, the volume features exquisite objects including porcelain, gold, paintings, and textiles, many drawn from the imperial court. It also explores China’s connections with the wider world through maritime expeditions led by Admiral Zheng He, demonstrating early globalization and cultural exchange. Essays by leading scholars provide context on court life, religion, and technological innovation.

Overall, the book offers a vivid, accessible insight into one of China’s most dynamic eras, blending historical analysis with visual beauty to appeal to both general readers and specialists.

2.The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty, James C.Y.Watt, Hardback in English, 2010. 342 pages in English

The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty is a richly illustrated catalogue accompanying a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exploring the art and culture of China under Mongol rule during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Written by James C. Y. Watt, the book examines how Khubilai Khan established a vast empire that fostered cultural diversity and artistic innovation.

The volume highlights a wide range of objects, including painting, calligraphy, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork, many reflecting the blending of Chinese traditions with Central Asian and Middle Eastern influences. It emphasizes the cosmopolitan nature of the Yuan court, where artists and craftsmen from across Eurasia contributed to a dynamic artistic environment. Essays provide insights into imperial patronage, religious practices such as Buddhism and Daoism, and the role of trade along the Silk Road.

Overall, the book offers a comprehensive and visually engaging study of a pivotal era in Chinese art history, revealing the global connections and creative exchanges that defined the Yuan dynasty.

3.Sur les Routes de la Sour: Le grand voyage des objets d’art, office du Livre, Cécile Beurdeley,1985. Hardback in French, 223 pages, not new but good condition 

Sur les Routes de la Soie: Le grand voyage des objets d’art is an illustrated art-historical study by Cécile Beurdeley that explores the long and complex journeys of artworks and luxury objects along the Silk Road. The book focuses on how artistic goods moved across Asia, connecting China, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe through trade, diplomacy, and cultural exchange. It highlights the Silk Road not only as a commercial network but also as a channel for the transmission of artistic styles, techniques, and religious ideas.

Through detailed descriptions and visual documentation, the author examines objects such as ceramics, textiles, metalwork, and decorative arts, showing how they were influenced by multiple civilizations along their routes. The narrative emphasizes the blending of Eastern and Western aesthetics and the role of merchants, pilgrims, and envoys in shaping artistic diffusion. Beurdeley also provides historical context on major trading cities and caravan routes that facilitated these exchanges.

Overall, the book offers a clear and engaging overview of how art traveled and transformed across continents, revealing the Silk Road as a powerful force in global cultural history.


4.Voyage au cœur des empires: Crimée, Caucase, Asie Centraie, Alexandre Orloff et Rene Cagnat,2009, Hardback in French, 309 pages 

Voyage au cœur des empires: Crimée, Caucase, Asie Centrale is a richly illustrated travel and historical work by Alexandre Orloff and René Cagnat that explores the vast and diverse regions of Crimea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The book combines photography, travel narrative, and historical reflection to present a portrait of territories shaped by centuries of imperial expansion, cultural exchange, and geopolitical conflict.

The authors guide the reader through landscapes and cities marked by Persian, Ottoman, Russian, and nomadic influences, highlighting how these empires left lasting cultural and architectural traces. Special attention is given to the Silk Road heritage, showing how these regions functioned as crossroads between Europe and Asia. The text also reflects on modern identities and the legacy of imperial borders that continue to shape political and cultural realities today.

Through vivid images and detailed commentary, the book captures both the beauty and complexity of these regions, blending travel writing with historical analysis to create an immersive journey across some of Eurasia’s most strategic and culturally rich territories.


5.The Great Wall: From Beginning to End, 2007, Hardback in English, 160 pages

The Great Wall: From Beginning to End is a concise illustrated study of one of China’s most iconic monuments, tracing the long history, construction, and cultural significance of the Great Wall from its earliest origins to its modern legacy. Published in 2007, this English-language hardback provides an accessible overview of how the wall developed over many centuries under different dynasties, including the Qin, Han, and Ming periods.

The book explains that the Great Wall was not a single continuous structure built at once, but rather a vast network of fortifications, watchtowers, and defensive systems expanded and rebuilt over time. It explores the strategic military purpose of the wall, designed to protect Chinese states from northern nomadic invasions, while also highlighting its symbolic role as a representation of imperial power and national identity. Rich illustrations and maps help readers understand its geography and scale.

Overall, the book combines history, archaeology, and visual documentation to present a clear and engaging narrative of how the Great Wall became a world heritage landmark.


6.Le Secret des Coleurs: Céramiques de Chine et d’Europe du XVIII em siècle à nos jours, Softback in French and English, 2022, 171 pages

Le Secret des Couleurs: Céramiques de Chine et d’Europe du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours is a bilingual (French and English) illustrated study published in 2022 that explores the history, techniques, and aesthetics of ceramics in China and Europe from the 18th century to the present day. The book examines how colour, glazing methods, and decorative styles evolved differently across these two major ceramic traditions, while also highlighting the exchanges and mutual influences that developed through trade and cultural contact.

The text explains how Chinese porcelain, especially from imperial kilns, strongly influenced European manufacturers such as Meissen, Sèvres, and Wedgwood, who sought to imitate and reinterpret its refined colours and finishes. At the same time, the book shows how European innovations in chemistry and industrial production later affected ceramic practices in China. Rich visual documentation includes museum pieces, technical diagrams, and comparative examples that help readers understand both artistic and scientific aspects of ceramics.

Overall, the book offers a clear and visually engaging overview of three centuries of ceramic innovation, emphasizing the dialogue between Eastern and Western traditions.


7.Le goût chinois du cardinal Louis de Rohan: Les collections extreme-orientales du musée des Arts décoratifs, Musées de la ville de Strasbourg, Softback in French, 2008, 143pages

Le goût chinois du cardinal Louis de Rohan: Les collections extrême-orientales du musée des Arts décoratifs is an illustrated scholarly catalogue published in 2008 that examines the passion for Chinese art among European elites, focusing on the collections associated with Louis de Rohan. The book presents the rich assemblage of East Asian objects preserved in the Musée des Arts décoratifs and other Strasbourg museum collections, highlighting how chinoiserie influenced European taste during the 18th century.

The study explores how Chinese ceramics, lacquerware, textiles, and decorative objects were collected, displayed, and reinterpreted within aristocratic European interiors. It shows that Cardinal de Rohan’s interest in “Chinese taste” was part of a broader fascination with exotic luxury and artistic refinement that shaped European decorative arts. The catalogue also provides historical context on trade between China and Europe, as well as the role of collectors, diplomats, and missionaries in bringing these objects to France.

Richly illustrated with museum pieces and archival material, the book reveals the dialogue between Eastern aesthetics and Western collecting practices, emphasizing cultural exchange and the evolution of taste in the early modern period.



Art, History - Quantity: 7 - Reference book

See Below - Chinese Art and Civilization - 1985-2022

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