Curators' Tour of Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum

by Panzer
This exquisite figurine of the Buddha greets you
as you enter the British Museum exhibition Silk Roads
Just over eight centimeters high
the figurine is made from copper alloy
and his features are picked out in silver, tin, and black niello
On his forehead, the urna, an auspicious mark
was accentuated with precious metal, possibly gold, that still shimmers today
The figurine was probably made in what is now Pakistan, in the decades around 600 CE
But the figurine did not stay here.
At some point before 800 CE, it embarked on an epic journey
that brought it, ultimately, to the tiny lake island of Helgö, Sweden.
This landscape, in northern Europe, is far away from the popular image of the Silk Road
characterised by camels, desert dunes, and spices on sale in bazaars
The Buddha’s journey of some 5,000km may seem unexpected
But it evokes a more expansive vision of the Silk Roads – plural – that forms the basis of this exhibition.
Rather than a single trade route between ‘East’ and ‘West’
this exhibition presents the Silk Roads as overlapping networks that connected Asia, Africa and Europe
Their arteries ran in all directions by land, sea and river.
they carried people, objects and ideas, which were exchanged in many contexts including, but not limited to, trade.
The show explores a defining period in the Silk Roads’ long history, around 500 to 1000 CE
This was a time of great activity along these networks
Several significant states were active across continents
Commerce increased to a new scale
And the major religions Buddhism, Christianity and Islam spread across the map
becoming one of the key connectors of communities in different parts of the world.
Silk Roads is an epic exhibition, five years in the making
and made possible only through networks and collaborations
very much in the spirit of the Silk Roads.
The exhibition has a team of three lead curators, supported by a project curator
each with different expertise.
We've worked with colleagues across the Museum and beyond
drawing upon existing partnerships and forging brand-new ones
nationally, and internationally, to realise this ambitious undertaking.
Silk Roads brings together over 300 objects from Asia, Africa and Europe
each telling its own story of connection and exchange.
Artefacts from the Museum’s permanent collections are joined by others from 29 lenders.
Shipwrecked cargoes from the ocean floor
Items sealed for centuries
Textiles preserved by arid climates