Book Review: Original Intentions: Essays on Production, Reproduction, and Interpretation in the Arts of China

Through careful visual observation and comparative analysis, Covey demonstrates clear evidence of copying practices, and then directly concludes that the sarcophagus must be a forgery from the 1920s or 1930s. [...]detailed technical analyses are conducted, however, such an interpretation should be taken as "contingent and provisional" (p. 41), on par, as Covey points out, with all previous interpretations of the same evidence, including those by Chinese scholars. A detailed visual and technical analysis of the brushwork and color pigments, through close collaboration between curator and conservator, sheds light on Yuan artistic production and regional workshop practice in southwestern Shanxi. Replication assisted these emperors in their ambition to unite multiple constituencies by allowing for symbolic possession or appropriation of lands, people, and ideas; commemoration and preservation of sanctioned places and events; and targeted adaptations for transmission and propaganda to various audiences.