Condition: Good. Packed in a BOX with cardboard backing and padding. (See Photos!) Hardcover. Pages: not written on, clean, bright, odor free. Dust Jacket: clean, bright, fade spots to back, rubbing to edges, bumping to front bottom corner. Same or next day shipping (weekdays and Saturdays)! Ships from California. ABOUT THIS: This catalog is produced in conjunction with an Exhibition by Ariadne Galleries in New York, 1998. Extensive studies into the history of the ancient trading routes now known collectively as the Silk Route, have highlighted the important role of nomadic tribes throughout the Eurasian continent as intermediaries in the development of long distance trade. This collection aims to draw attention to the contribution that ancient nomadic peoples made to the development of artistic traditions in settled civilizations from eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan. Some of these nomadic peoples were already known by the Greeks as barbaroi or barbarians during the 1st millennium BC, a term that implies the neglect that their cultural contributions have suffered compared to those of settled civirrzations. Although these barbarians did not leave behind evidence of their civilization, such as written scripts or architectural monuments, they did eventually have a decisive impact on Mediterranean civilizations. The most famous of which are Attila the Hun, who swept through western Europe during the 5th century AD and Genghis Khan, whose short-lived empire reached from the Pacific to the Danube and from Siberia to Burma during the 13th century. In this exploration of the cultural heritage of the nomadic tribes of Eurasia, the most persistent and yet diverse forms were those using animal imagery. The pieces in this collection reveal how the inhabitants of the Steppes had a stratified social structure in which portable luxury goods were used to indicate social status, military strength and lineage.