The Relief Plaques of Eastern Eurasia and China : The 'Ordos Bronzes', Peter the Great's Treasure, and their kin

Renowned Classical archaeologist John Boardman here turns his attention to a rather different class of artefact - the Ordos Bronzes, a group of objects found in the borderlands of north China.

Boardman deals in particular with what have traditionally been identified as belt-plaques, analysing them stylistically and iconographically to create groups with a possible historical association in terms of studios, place and date of manufacture.