The latest addition to UBC’s Museum of Anthropology tells tales of centuries of travel among the Muslim community, in which trade objects, ideas and culture crossed vast expanses of land and water.
The Ismaili Muslim community donated the new pieces on display, which include a 19th century incense set, brightly coloured in turquoise with a gold and floral print, a 17th century ceramic dish with a blue Arabic script and a sheet of the Qur’an, dating back to the ninth century.
“Most objects have had long journeys,” said the museum’s curator, Carol Mayer. “The travelling of ceramics is interesting because they travel all over the world.”
And these objects travelled along the famous Silk Road, which starts in China and crosses land and sea to end in Europe.
“Muslims were great traders, so they followed these routes,” said Mayer. “Those objects, to me, talk about those travels and also the travel of Islam itself.”
http://www.theprovince.com/travel/Ismaili+Muslim+community.
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Earlier related: Ismaili Muslim Community gifts leaf from 9th Century Quran to UBC Museum of Anthropology
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