[vii, [1], 18 pp. + 75 collotype plates in color or black & white, 74 of them with captioned interleaves with descriptive text, one with the text directly on the plate, as issued. 60.5x50.5 cm (23¾x19¾"), loose in printed cloth portfolio, as issued.

Important and stunning array of plates capturing the artifacts, cave paintings, sculptures, and other archaeological materials discovered and gathered during the second and third German Turfan expeditions. The focus of the work, Chotscho, now called Gaochang, is the site of a ruined, ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Xinjiang, China. Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930), a German brewery and winery heir, began studying archaeology at age 40. During the expedition, Le Coq and other expedition members carved and sawed away over 360 kilograms (or 305 cases) of artifacts, wall-carvings, and precious icons, which were subsequently shipped back to Germany. In 1944 the relics were destroyed in a British bombing raid during World War II.