Analyzing and dating the structure of the Phaistos Disk

This paper offers an analysis and dating of the structure of the “Phaistos Disk”, made from clay, imprinted with undeciphered symbols, grouped in roughly 30 boxes per disk side, and found in the ruins of the Phaistos Palace on the Greek Island of Crete by Luigi Pernier in 1908. The author suggests that the disk side A containing a petal in the center box shows astronomical eclipse information, which belong to a complete Saros cycle beginning ?1377 and valid for the Phaistos Palace location only.     

THE SEALING STRUCTURES OF MINOAN CRETE: MM II PHAISTOS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS

Summary. The thousands of MM clay sealings in Room 25 of the First Palace of Phaistos testify to the importation into Crete of the Near Eastern system of storeroom administrative controls. Minoan practice then diverged from the Near Eastern model. The development of a recognizably Minoan sealing system is illustrated by the LM IB sealing deposits from Ayia Triada, Zakro and Khania (with something of its evolution traceable via Mallia and Knossos). Despite many common practices in LM IB, however, important local differences coexisted within this Minoan system, perhaps suggesting the absence of a single overriding administrative authority at this time.     

THE MULTIPLE SEALING SYSTEM of MINOAN CRETE and ITS POSSIBLE ANTECEDENTS IN ANATOLIA

Summary: The Multiple Sealing System ( MSS ) is defined as the habitual stamping of regular combinations of two or three different seal impressions on clay nodules ( bullae ). This system was thought to be peculiar to LM IB Zakro, where it is indeed most fully developed, but a Minoan MSS can now be traced back - via MM IIIB Knossos - to the earliest administrative use of sealings on Crete, at MM IIB Phaistos. This early MSS at Phaistos has close links with a similar administrative use of seals in regular combinations at Karahöyük Level I. We suggest that the MSS is a new and objective factor to be added to the known, if often disputed, glyptic relations between MBA Anatolia and Minoan Crete.     

The Medieval Pottery of Paris

THE CELEBRATED TIMBER aisled hall of the Bishop's Palace, Hereford, is reassessed in the light of contemporary stone halls and of new evidence for its original plan. Bishop William de Vere (1186–98) is identified as the most likely builder. In contrast to a previous interpretation of the Palace as a traditional building reflecting ancient forms, it is assigned to a group of sumptuous late 12th-century halls, products of a new fashion. Recently-discovered plans of c. 1840, in conjunction with other evidence, make possible a reconstruction of the complete original plan: a four-bay hall, a side porch, and an end chamber-block of three floors over a basement. A building demolished in the late 18th century is interpreted as a detached main chamber-block. The Palace complex was separated from the cathedral by a stone wall; its main front faced west to what may then have been the main N.-S. route through Hereford.     

故宫的价值与故宫博物院的内涵

故宫与故宫博物院密切相关,对故宫价值认识的程度,影响着对故宫博物院内涵的理解与功能的定位。故宫人对文物及其价值的认识有一个逐步深化的过程。博物馆不只是收藏“人类和人类环境的见证物”,更要在收集、保护、研究和传播上下功夫。故宫的古建筑不只是一个“壳”,更是中华传统文化的一个载体和标志,也体现了建筑艺术中各民族文化的交流和融合。在反映宫廷历史文化方面,故宫及其藏品可称为是明清皇家生活方式的标本,值得深入挖掘、整理和利用。从传统的古物概念扩展到保护文化遗产,是故宫人对故宫价值认识的一个飞跃,故宫不仅要保护有形的,而且要高度重视、努力抓紧保护无形的文化遗产。     

Inappropriate object: Warsaw and the Stalin‐era Palace of Culture after the Smolensk disaster (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This article is about the shifting relationship between the city of Warsaw and the Palace of Culture and Science – a gigantic Stalinist skyscraper which dominates the city centre – in the aftermath of the 10 April 2010 plane crash that killed the Polish president and 95 others (mostly very senior military and political figures) in the woods outside Smolensk in western Russia. The crash's victims had been on their way to a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of a massacre in the Katyń forest, near Smolensk, during which thousands of Polish army officers were shot on the orders of Stalin. Despite its status as Warsaw's most obvious material relic of Russia's historical domination over Poland, the Palace of Culture has in the last two decades been gradually reappropriated into the city's own landscape and everyday life. In fact, since the fall of communism, the Palace has eclipsed the city's traditional emblems and monuments to become regarded as the most identifiable marker, or ‘symbol’, of the contemporary city. Further, the Palace has consolidated the tangible and powerful impact it exerts on the city's architecture and urban layout, on its political, bureaucratic, ‘cultural’, commercial and educational life, and on the bodies and minds of its citizens. The very word ‘palace’ is normally understood in Warsaw to refer to the Palace of Culture. For a time after Smolensk, however, the word acquired a new association with the Presidential Palace, where crowds gathered to lay flowers, light candles and stand vigil. The markedly muted presence in Warsaw of the Palace of Culture during the mourning period after Smolensk demonstrated that the happy interaction between post‐socialist Warsaw and the rehabilitated Palace does not extend into every domain. The topography of mourning in Warsaw in the days after 10 April seemed to highlight the abject dimension of the Palace's uncanny presence in the city. This article explores why, how and for how long the Palace withdrew and was withdrawn from the life of the Warsaw after Smolensk.     

故宫太和殿木构件现状分析及加固方法研究

为加强对古建筑的维修保护,故宫博物院对太和殿进行了勘查,发现如下木构件问题:西山挑檐檩跨中挠度过大;三次间正身顺梁及山面扶柁木榫头位置下沉10cm;明间藻井下垂13cm,井口爬梁已经开裂.通过运用结构力学相关方法,对这些构件的结构现状进行理论分析,研究了问题产生的原因,讨论了相应的加固方案,解决了这些问题.结果表明:西山挑檐檩虽然挠度较大,但强度满足要求,不需要加固;山面扶柁木榫头下沉的原因是局部受弯强度不足,但已通过支顶解决该问题;正身顺梁榫头下沉的可能原因是材料老化,局部受拉、弯、剪强度不足,通过采用钢木组合结构进行了加固;藻井下沉的原因是木材老化,井口爬梁抗弯及抗压承载力不足,通过采用扁钢箍加固的方法进行了加固.研究结果可为古建筑保护及修缮提供参考.     

故宫博物院信息电子化四讲

本文是作者四年间就故宫信息电子化有关专题的四次讲话,它从一个特殊的侧面展现出故宫博物院在这一文博新兴领域的建设总体思路和推进发展轨迹。其一论述了信息电子化在故宫全局工作和改革进程中的战略意义以及网站建设的原则;其二回顾了故宫信息电子化的总体思路和起步策略,小结了信息电子化基础建设的阶段性成果;其三总结了故宫信息电子化总体思路中大视角、高起点的三个与众不同的特点,指明了“数字故宫”的前景;其四以文物流通管理系统为例,再次论证了信息电子化对有效保护、合理利用、严格管理和队伍素质提高的重要意义,指出这项工作在故宫已进入了不可逆转的历史新阶段。     

建福宫花园建筑历史沿革考

建福宫花园位于紫禁城西北部的建福宫后,为原乾西五所中之四、五所所在地,于乾隆七年改建成建福宫花园,由于初建的建福宫花园有许多不尽人意之处,之后又陆续添建碧琳馆、慧曜楼,改建玉壶冰等建筑,至乾隆二十三年花园方总体告罄。本文试梳理出建福宫花园建筑的历史沿革,分析其改建、添建的原因,并探讨建福宫花园的使用情况。     

APPROACHING MONUMENTS IN THE PREHISTORIC BUILT ENVIRONMENT: NEW LIGHT ON THE MINOAN PALACES

Summary.   The palaces are the most distinctive feature of the Minoan civilization, although their functions and meanings remain enigmatic. This paper explores these inhabited monuments with the application of a phenomenological approach. By constructing a series of categories based on data collected from all the entrances, not just the main ones, we can highlight the myriad everyday experiences encountered upon approaching and entering them. Categories based on function, yet also sensitive to experiential qualities of the use of space, are utilized in order to draw out the varied ways in which people perceived four different Minoan palaces (Knossos, Malia, Phaistos and Zakros).     

George V and Repulicanism, 1917-1919

This article is a study of the British monarchy's reaction towhat it saw as a republican threat at the end of the First WorldWar. It challenges the widely received view that the most importantrepublican moment in modern British history was in the early1870s. Written from previously unused material in the RoyalArchives, it chronicles the emergence of Palace worries aboutthe rise of militant socialism, which the royal family equatedwith republicanism; and it illuminates the tactics designedby the King and his advisers to take the republican edge offthe labour movement and to deal with the immediate social andeconomic crisis. Lord Esher summed up Palace policy in the phrase‘the "democratization" of the monarchy’. In practice,this meant expanding the royal family's social and charitablepurposes to ensure the Crown's survival. The policy would havean enduring influence on royal thinking and behaviour. ¹ This article was written for the Visiting Fellows' Colloquium,All Souls College, Oxford. It expands a line of argument thatwas put more tentatively and with far less documentation inChapter 6 of my book Royal Bounty: The Making of a Welfare Monarchy(London, 1995). By gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen,I have been able to make use of material from the Royal Archivesat Windsor.     

Multi‐analytical Studies of the Lime Mortars from the Yanxi Hall in the Yangxin Palace of the Palace Museum (Beijing)

For centuries, the architecture of the Palace Museum represented the highest standard of Chinese architecture. The Yangxin Palace of the Palace Museum consisted of 18 masonry buildings built using bricks, wood, roof tiles and various mortars. In 2016, a five‐year project was initiated to work on the maintenance and restoration of the Yangxin Palace buildings. The characterization of the construction materials has become of primary importance, in order to obtain information about the raw ingredients and building technology of the mortars, and the history of possible previous restorations. In this paper, 12 different samples representing three types of mortar‐based materials—namely, jointing mortars between the bricks on the wall, and surface plasters as well as mortars used on the roof—were collected for analysis from the Yanxi Hall of the Yangxin Palace. Analysis into the composition, grain‐size distribution, organic and fibre additives and testing of the mortar density and water absorption were performed. Starch, protein and plant fibres were identified in some of the samples. Brucite, mullite and ettringite were detected within most mortars on the roof, possibly originating from the furnace slag added into the raw materials for restoration purposes. The analytical results will serve as a critical reference for the maintenance and restoration of the buildings in the Yangxin Palace.     

静怡轩的建筑渊源及其复原设计

静怡轩是紫禁城建福宫花园中一座建于乾隆七年(1742年)的建筑,1923年毁于火。作者通过对大量文献、实物资料的研究,结合对建筑基址的考察,阐述了静怡轩的渊源和发展,认为静怡轩仿建于圆明园西峰秀色的含韵斋,圆明园西峰秀色又仿自杭州西峰秀色,而故宫宁寿全宫现存的景福宫则仿自静怡轩。景福宫因此成为今日复原静怡轩的实物依据。综合对景福宫建筑和静怡轩基址中台基、踏跺、柱础的考察,作者认为静怡轩应是一座面阔五间,周围廊,三卷棚勾连搭歇山式屋顶,绿琉璃瓦黄剪边,斗升云交麻叶斗,苏式彩画的建筑。     

A Buff Coat of circa 1645

Abstract

Rescue excavations on part of the site of Richmond Palace, Surrey (NGR, TQ174748), revealed a revetment wall, part of a large moat, and other structures; the finds indicate a construction date in the first half of the 17th century, during a rebuilding of the Palace outworks.     

避暑山庄初建时间及相关史事考

避暑山庄初称热河行宫。其始建时间在清代官修史籍中无载,私家笔记和现代学者其说不一,似无从定论。本文在参阅史籍和清宫遗档的基础上,认为热河行宫肇建于康熙四十二年七月二十三日(1703年9月4日),并对其始建时期的相关史事作出考定。     

珍秘翰墨——清宫藏善本碑帖特展侧记

古代碑帖具有多方面的学术价值和艺术价值,其内容涉及政治经济、宗教哲学、风俗民情、文学艺术等方面,为古代文学、历史学、文字学都提供了大量宝贵的资料,可与历史典籍互相补正。由于年代久远,书翰遗墨传世有限。碑帖保存了各个时代、众多名家的法书墨迹,呈现出各家流派的书法风格,篆、隶、真、草、行五体皆备,实为中国书法艺术的宝库。     

“完整故宫”保护的理念与实践

本文以时空为脉络,详细梳理了近90年来故宫博物院在"完整故宫"保护方面的探索和实践,并对此做出客观的总结性评价。故宫博物院成立初期就提出"完整故宫保管"计划,并确定了故宫博物院的管辖范围。后来"完整故宫"意识曾一度被淡化,改革开放后重新受到重视并作为一种理念在逐步提升。世界遗产保护视域中的"完整故宫",特别强调"故宫真实性和完整性的结合"。在故宫学的研究视域里,"故宫文化价值的整体性"则备受关注。"完整故宫"成为指导和推动故宫保护和博物院建设的一种方法论和思维方式。综合而言,不同时期"完整故宫"保护的理念和实践经历了一个演变的过程,也呈现了诸理念和实践之间相互启发、补充甚至有所交融的关系。     

Archaeological Observation on the Layout of the Three Courts and Five Gates of the Daming Palace of the Tang Dynasty

The system of Three Courts and Five Gates is an essential content of the designs of the capitals and palaces of ancient China. The Three Courts and Five Gates planning of the Daming Palace is the adoption of this rule and the application to the spatial designing of the palace city. The archaeological fieldwork revealed that within the Daming Palace, the Three Courts pattern with three walls as the borders, and Hanyuan Hall, Xuanzheng Hall, and Zichen Hall as the centers formed the outer court, middle court, and inner court plan, which was the embodiment of the new interpretation of the Tang Dynasty to the traditional Three Courts and Five Gates ritual system. Through the trimming of the archaeological data fetched in the past 60 years about the southern part, which is the official affair zone, of the Daming Palace, this paper discusses the spatial structure of the Three Courts and Five Gates pattern of the Daming Palace, and analyzes the substantial relationship between this pattern and the political demands of the ruling class.     

乾清宫空间功能的转换与制度变迁（上）

乾清宫是明清皇宫中位于内廷的宫殿,在明代是皇帝的寝宫,清康熙八年,皇帝居住场所从保和殿迁入乾清宫,这座明代皇帝寝宫遂被改造成清帝的理政中心。随着乾清宫空间功能的改变,清代一些重要的制度也随之出现,如乾清门御门听政、乾清宫召对臣工、懋勤殿秋谳勾到等。而且乾清宫功能的转变,直接影响了外臣进入内廷的行为方式。本文通过对文献资料的梳理,论证了乾清宫空间功能转变的原因、过程及相应制度的产生。     

故宫建福宫石质文物保存状况的评价研究

故宫建福宫遗存了大量石质构件,其风化现象比较严重。为评价其保存状况,对建福宫石质构件的划痕宽度、回弹性能、自由渗水率、表层波速与透射波速进行取点测试,与新鲜石材数据对比后,证实其风化程度比较严重,需要进行后续的保护处理。同时还对影响建福宫石质构件风化的环境因素进行测试分析,研究了环境因素与石质构件保存状况的关系,为病害分析乃至保护操作提供了数据及理论支持。