The British Museum's new exhibition tells the story of the Silk Roads - the ancient trade routes that linked the East to the West.
When we hear the phrase 'Silk Road' our imagination immediately conjures up scenes of camels crossing the desert dunes, merchants selling silks and spices in tented bazaars, and Marco Polo's adventures in far-flung lands, but the reality was very different.
Photo: britishmuseum.orgThe Silk Roads were actually a series of overlapping networks that linked communities across Asia, Africa and Europe, all the way from Britain to China, taking in everywhere from Scandinavia to Madagascar.
The exhibition brings together objects from the British Museum's own collection and 29 different partners from across the length and breadth of these Silk Roads, exploring the tremendous and perilous journeys that people undertook from about 500 to 1000 AD, crossing deserts, mountains, rivers and seas to exchange objects and ideas that helped to shape their own cultures.
Photo: britishmuseum.orgAmongst the highlights are a story about an English balsam smuggler, a Chinese princess who took the secrets of silk farming to her new kingdom, Indian garnets that turned up in Suffolk, and beautiful ceramics that were shipped from the Far East all the way to a Middle Eastern port.
What the critics say...
The Guardian: ★★★★★ "Mesmerising. Turns history upside down"; The Times: ★★★★★ "Astonishing"
Photo: britishmuseum.org
