Shaping the Stein collection’s Dunhuang corpus (2): the items from Cave 17’s ‘miscellaneous’ bundles

In a previous blog post , we looked at the instrumental role played by Wang Yuanlu during the selection of the items from the Cave 17. Wang, who directly chose from the small repository what to hand over to Stein for inspection, was very keen to divert his attention from the so-called ‘regular’ bundles, which were composed for the most part of Buddhist sutras in Chinese and Tibetan. During their first ever transaction, which took place between 21 May and 6 June 1907, Wang Yuanlu therefore began by handing over the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles, which he seemed to hold in low estimation. To Stein’s delight, these contained mixed and diverse materials, such as manuscripts in non-Chinese languages, illustrated scrolls, paintings, drawings, ex-votos, textiles, etc. Stein picked out any of the items that jumped at him as being particularly interesting and made sure to put them aside for ‘further examination’, the phrase that he used to refer to their removal in his transaction with Wang. This

IDP Job Vacancy: Curator and Researcher

This is an opportunity for an early career researcher to work in a small, busy team. You will be helping with managing the collections, including answering queries, helping with readers, assisting in the conservation, cataloguing and digitisation workflow and in general data input and verification. You will be expected to learn about the collections and their context, including archival material, and to carry out research on a relevant area. You will help to maintain and develop relations with IDP’s existing international partners and scholars, especially those in China. IDP also works to bring the collections to a scholarly and wider audience and you will also be assisting in this, including the use of social media and public programmes in the UK and worldwide.

The postholder will be expected to have a passionate interest in the collections, a postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject, excellent spoken and written English and Chinese, interpersonal skills and an eye for detail. You should have strong IT skills and strong time-management skills. You should be prepared to travel and will be expected to help occasionally with events outside office hours.

View full job profile.

Comments

Post a Comment