I enjoy going to exhibitions, particularly, unusual ones and last week I had an opportunity to do just that. I visited the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum in London.
Art exhibitions often highlight the work of one artist and his or her followers, or a group from a particular country or time. This one was different. Note the title “Silk Roads”. It endeavours to portray that international travel and trade was much more widespread in what we often call the “Dark Ages”, roughly 500 to 1000 AD than perhaps we have previously thought. The standard of craftsmanship was extremely high. The North East was also a centre of this cultural and trade exchange and features in the exhibition.
Where does the term come from?
The actual term “Silk Road” was invented by a German academic, Ferdinand von Richthofen in the nineteenth century, and referred to the trade in silk from China to Persia. The Chinese produced excellent quality silk which was often used as a currency for paying soldiers or buying horses. For a long time the Chinese maintained a monopoly on its manufacture. This exhibition widens the concept, looking at the various trade routes in the world in the period 500 to 1000 AD.
The origins of the “Silk Road”
Things began in Japan around 600 AD, when they developed contact with China. Gradually ideas from further afield, including Buddhism penetrated into China, which developed a more cosmopolitan culture. They even began to drink more wine, and cups based on western design have been found there.
An excellent example of this international trade is a small statuette of the Buddha produced in Northern India which was found in a tomb in Sweden.
Features of the exhibition
Perhaps most interesting for me was “Frank’s Casket” which was produced in Northumbria in about 700 AD and was later discovered in France. It is a beautiful box made of whalebone, but more interesting are the designs on it. There are old English runes, together with Biblical scenes, episodes from Roman and Jewish history, and Christian scenes. Janina Ramirez thinks it was produced in either Hexham or Ripon. It certainly indicates knowledge of a wide range of cultures. Bede, writing in 731 AD says that London was a market for many people who came by land and sea. Thanks to the film Dig, many more of us now know about the tomb at Sutton Hoo which contained many items of Byzantine origin. This is mentioned in the exhibition.
The exhibition also shows that the religions which developed in this period, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam all interacted with each other and did not necessarily result in the intolerance and persecution which developed later as religion became mixed up with power politics and nationalism. There is an example of how Byzantine mosaics are incorporated into the design of a mosque. Perhaps the best example in that period was the city of Cordoba in Andalusia, where Christians, Muslims and Jews were able to live together. There is still a beautiful mosque there, although the centre of it has been converted into a church.
There are many other artefacts in the museum, including a wonderful statue of a camel carrying silk from China, and a beautiful jewelled dagger. Many of these have been in the British Museum already, but they have chosen to put them into this public display to tell a story, and the story seems to be this.
The meaning behind the exhibition
Our history has always been taught from a Western perspective, and many of us gained the impression that after the collapse of the Roman Empire Britain passed through a period we often called the Dark Ages (although historians do not use that term now) until a distinctly English culture emerged after the Norman Conquest. In fact, that era was far more cosmopolitan than we previously thought. The centre of gravity was more in the East and Far East where some brilliant artworks were produced, although some beautiful objects such as Frank’s Casket were produced here. Frontiers were far less rigid than they are now, and people were able to move more freely if they could avoid brigands and pirates. Much trade was done by sea. The idea of everything going by camel applies more to the original “silk road” from China to Persia. Amongst the best seafarers were the Vikings. They reached Byzantium and are thought to have travelled through waterways to Kiev.
The spread of religion was interesting too. It was a period when new religions were spreading across the road and the trade routes helped this. But It is not clear that whole populations were converted at one go. When Queen Ethelburga of Northumbria invited St Paulinus to Yeavering and he baptised most of the population there, I do not think they all automatically became Christian but rather wished to please the king. A Christian culture developed over time and kept many of the old pagan traditions such as Christmas and Easter which had pagan roots.
Nowadays we have nations such as China seeking to expand their influence across the world, but seeking conformity amongst those that they seek to influence, while other countries such as us and America seek to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. I feel that the message from this exhibition is that nations thrive best when they interact with others, but do not seek to impose their culture and beliefs on them.
Information regarding the Silk Roads exhibition
If anyone is interested in going to this exhibition, it will be held until the 23 February 2025. Admission to this exhibition costs £22 per person, and can be booked on the British Museum website available here.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
