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This article investigates liuli qinglou (琉璃青樓, blue–green glazed pavilions) of medieval China as architectural manifestations of the trans-Eurasian jeweled paradise ideal. Tracing developments from the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589 CE) through the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), it outlines an evolutionary trajectory in representing sacred space: from the use of genuine gemstones in West Asian traditions, through their imitation in glass and glazed ceramics, with applications before the Tang remaining selective and elite, to the ultimate abstraction into symbolic blue–green palettes in the cave murals of Kucha and Dunhuang, where chromatic choices may at times reflect pictorial convention. Integrating textual, archeological, and visual evidence, the study shows how Chinese rulers appropriated imported glazing technologies, together with painted or coated blue–green finishes that simulated liuli effects, not merely for ornamentation but to materially embody Buddhist cosmology and to legitimize imperial authority by creating a terrestrial Buddha land. The pervasive use of qing (青, blue–green) in religious art thus reflects a profound sensory-theological translation, illustrating how Eurasian flows of materials, techniques, and ideas were adapted to shape localized visions of paradise through innovative processes of material and visual transformation.

The poetry of the late Roman world has a fascinating history.Sometimes an object of derision, sometimes an object of admiration, it has found numerous detractors and defenders among classicists and Latin literary critics.

Understanding the long-term implications of translocation methods is essential when refining best translocation practices for a species. High rates of movement and dispersal away from release sites have been key concerns when hard releasing lizards. A recent proliferation of research on translocation of New Zealand’s endemic green geckos (Naultinus spp.) has confirmed that penning for at least four months promotes initial site fidelity. Using a standardised, staged framework previously applied to other species of New Zealand herpetofauna, we assessed the stage of translocation success for one hard release (n = 11) and two soft releases (n = 32 and 42) of jewelled geckos (N. gemmeus), 8–11 years following release into the fenced Orokonui Ecosanctuary. We conducted 75 visual surveys on sunny days when geckos were expected to be basking. Suitable jewelled gecko habitat within a c. 50 m radius of the release sites and habitat between sites was visually searched. Founders were identified through photo identification, and linear distance from release location was estimated. Eighty geckos were located (including 12 founders from across the three release cohorts). Stage 3 of translocation success (population growth) is suspected to have been reached at both the 2012 hard and soft release sites. The release method used had no detectable effect on the number of geckos found or the stage of translocation success reached 8–11 years since release. Contrary to the reported short-term failure of many hard release lizard translocations, including all hard releases of Naultinus species, our findings suggest that hard release may enable population establishment and potentially population growth as well. Understanding the drivers behind the establishment of a hard released population may enable further development and reduce the costs associated with the translocation of Naultinus species and other arboreal lizards with small home ranges.

Stone steles served multiple purposes in different cultures: as a territorial marker, an edifying tablet, a political edict, a votive altar, a funerary monument, or a celebratory reminder of remarkable individuals or events. Chinese steles carved with images of Buddhist deities are monuments that testify to the process of adoption and adaptation across different cultural traditions. As products of the Buddhist appropriation of non-Buddhist Chinese steles, steles with Buddhist imagery are hybrids. The visual dialogue between two realms—the mortuary and the religious— underwent another twist when Buddhist steles first appeared on the Korean peninsula in the seventh century. The carvings on Korean steles displayed the usual prominent Buddhist deities and the formulaic language of a dedicatory inscription, but were made in the former territory of a defeated kingdom under a new administrative reign. Hence, they tell us about the fluctuating boundary between political entities, the social identity of the donors, and desired destinations of the devotees. Although “set in stone,” they never easily manifest a single fixed reading of the visual messages embedded in them. In order to better understand the paradoxically fluid character of unyielding stone, this article discusses some anomalous elements of these steles. Focusing on a few peculiar examples of steles from 6th century China and 7th century Korea, this article explores the roles of subsidiary motifs, such as trees and pavilions, found across geographic/cultural borders.

Mark–recapture methods are frequently used to obtain the data needed to inform conservation management of vulnerable species. This typically involves animals being captured, individually marked, then released and later detected by capture or resighting. This may be stressful for individual animals and can be resource-intensive. Photo-identification has emerged as an effective, and potentially less intrusive, alternative to traditional mark–recapture methods. Photo-identification can be used when animals have stable and individually identifiable natural markings that can be photographed in the field and used for long-term identification. A database of photographs and associated capture-history data can be used for robust estimation of demographic parameters such as population size and survival if an appropriate sampling regime is used. In addition, aspects of behavioural ecology, habitat use, movement patterns and home range can be examined. We outline the creation of a photographic database for jewelled geckos (Naultinus gemmeus) from Otago Peninsula and test the accuracy and speed with which human observers can use this database to differentiate between individual jewelled geckos. Jewelled geckos found during visual searches were captured, photographed and their photographs incorporated into a database. Volunteers then had to match 15 photos of randomly selected geckos to different photographs of the same animals, which were contained within a database of 855 individuals. All users correctly matched all 15 randomly selected geckos. Experience appeared to increase the speed of correct identifications. Our results show that photo-identification can provide an effective alternative to potentially more intrusive techniques such as toe-clipping or pit-tagging for jewelled geckos on the Otago Peninsula.

Bague en cristal de roche découverte récemment dans une nécropole de la Marne et datée du ier siècle après J.‑C. Sur le chaton est gravée, dans un décor champêtre, une scène d’offrandes dont Éros est l’officiant. Le motif de l’intaille est bien connu, en revanche ce type de bague est rare ; le cristal de roche est un matériau de prix et, si les pendentifs ou les petits objets faits dans cette roche sont plus fréquents, il n’existe qu’une trentaine d’anneaux répertoriés, dont on ne connaît pas très bien le rôle. A rock-crystal ring lately discovered in a Marne area necropolis and dated from the Ist century A.D. On the stone is engraved, against a pastoral decor, a scene of offering of which Eros is the officiating priest. The motif of the intaglio is well known, but this type of ring however is rare; rock crystal is an expensive material and, while pendants and small objects made of that rock are more frequent, there exist only some thirty listed rings the role of which is not very well known.

The period between the fourth and the sixth centuries saw major political, social, and religious changes in the Latin West, with the collapse of the Western Empire, the establishment of the post‐Roman kingdoms, and the expansion of the church. These changes had an impact on education and on patronage, and as a result writing came increasingly to be imbued with or devoted to the service of religion.

This chapter contains sections titled: Up Close: The Codex Nuttall Up Close: The Lienzo de Tlaxcala At a Distance Breaking News on Malinche, or Gender Trouble Conclusions Bibliography

The Buddha’s fetal life was as extraordinary as the rest of his hagiography. He sat ablaze with light in a jeweled palace inside his mother’s womb. He was bathed by deities. He delivered teachings to his visitors. This chapter argues that these stories serve a number of important hagiographic functions: they give voice to the views of the time; they distinguish the future Buddha from ordinary beings by rendering him independent and invulnerable; and they foreshadow all the qualities he would eventually manifest as the Buddha he would become. In short, these fetal narratives tell us everything we need to know about the Buddha and the role he comes to play, with the womb functioning as a perfect metaphor for the cosmos—a legend at the microcosmic level that speaks of something far greater to come.