Silk Roads at the British Museum
A tour of the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum with an introductory talk from the curator, exclusively for RSAA members
28 January 2025 10.30 GMT at The British Museum
Dr Yu-Ping Luk, Basil Gray Curator: Chinese Paintings Prints and Central Asia at the British Museum, has kindly agreed to give an exclusive introductory talk to RSAA members and to answer questions before members tour the exhibition.
Camel caravans crossing desert dunes, merchants trading silks and spices at bazaars – these are the images that come to mind when we think of the Silk Roads. But the reality goes far beyond this.
Rather than a single trade route from East to West, the Silk Roads were made up of overlapping networks linking communities across Asia, Africa and Europe, from Japan to Britain, and from Scandinavia to Madagascar. This major exhibition unravels how the journeys of people, objects and ideas that formed the Silk Roads shaped cultures and histories.
The Silk Roads were in use for millennia, but this visually stunning show focuses on a defining period in their history, from about AD 500 to 1000. This time witnessed significant leaps in connectivity and the rise of universal religions that linked communities across continents.
Working with 29 national and international partners to present objects from many regions and cultures alongside those from the British Museum collection, the exhibition offers a unique chance to see objects from the length and breadth of the Silk Roads. From Indian garnets found in Suffolk to Iranian glass unearthed in Japan, they reveal the astonishing reach of these networks.
Highlight objects from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan that have never been seen in the UK before also underpin the importance of Central Asia to this continent-spanning story.
Image above: lively sketch of horse and camel, each led by a groom. Two sheets of paper, one animal and groom on each, stuck together. Whip of a third groom is visible on the small surviving bit of paper attached on the right. Served as a record of tribute received. On the reverse, an inscription dating to AD 966. It relates to temple repair and appears to be a rough draft. Ink and colours on paper.
© The Trustees of the British Museum
