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The itinerant treasures of the East
BEN CHACKO finds many parallels with present-day peaceful Chinese influence, as well as evidence of exploitation, in a historical exhibition
(L) Map of the world from al-Idrisi’s Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Pleasure of He who Longs to Cross the Horizons), 1533 manuscript of a 1154 original. This map was originally drawn by al-Idrisi (active 1154) for the Christian king of Sicily, Roger II (1130–54). It follows a tradition in Islamic mapmaking that orientates the world southwards and places the centre of the world in Mecca, the focus of Muslim pilgrimage. It shows Arabia as part of the wider world of Afro-Eurasia, illustrating its connection to the Mediterranean coastline extending to the Iberian Peninsula and eastward across the Indian Ocean, reaching China. (R) Ceramic figure of a camel made for burials in Tang dynasty China (618–907)
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Silk Roads
British Museum, London
SILK ROADS is not quite what it seems.
The publicity evokes the classic image of the Silk Road, as a silhouetted camel caravan ascends a dune somewhere in central Asia.
And Silk Roads does showcase the splendour of China in its chosen period, the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). It bristles with treasures, from pottery camels to spectacular silk wall hangings depicting Buddhist devotional scenes from the monastic cave complex at Dunhuang; steles illustrate the Tang empire’s tolerance for the Christian and Zoroastrian faiths in its bustling, multicultural capital Chang’an; the hoard of a ship sunk off the Indonesian coast over 1,000 years ago demonstrates China’s early mastery of mass production, packed with 60,000 items for sale, much of it mass-produced ceramics from huge, state-owned factories.
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