A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang
British Library (Paccar 2 Gallery)
96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB United Kingdom
A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang
3D Virtual Exhibition Tour
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Discover the personal stories of those who lived in, worked in and travelled through Dunhuang more than 1,000 years ago. Through a wealth of manuscripts, documents and artworks that remained sealed in the ‘Library cave’ for centuries, meet a cast of real characters that bring this ancient Silk Road community to life.
The oasis of Dunhuang, at the edge of the Gobi Desert, was once a bustling town on the famous Silk Road connecting China and the Mediterranean. Discover the personal stories of those who lived, travelled through, worked, and worshipped here more than 1,000 years ago. Explore an astonishing time capsule that opens windows onto the intimate worlds of artists and scribes, merchants and fortune-tellers, diplomats, Buddhists and nuns.
Named “Blazing Beacon” after the watchtowers along its walls, Dunhuang was once a vital meeting point at the gateway to China. The routes that converged here ran through Constantinople in the West and Japan in the East. But there was more to this verdant oasis than trade. For over 1000 years, Dunhuang was also an important pilgrimage site, a cultural melting pot where ideas, technologies and art flowed freely.
This exhibition provides a rare glimpse into the ordinary lives of people long ago through the remarkable contents of the ‘Library Cave,’ part of the Buddhist cave complex of Mogao, where a wealth of manuscripts, documents and artworks remained sealed for nearly 900 years. Detailing life in and around Dunhuang during the first millennium CE, the documents include personal letters and wills encompassing multiple languages, faiths and cultures including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Christianity; and span topics as diverse as literature, astronomy, medicine, politics and art.
A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang is made possible with support from The Klein Family Foundation and the Dunhuang Foundation.
Exhibition book supported by Sir Percival David Foundation Academic and Research Fund.
Find out more: idp.bl.uk
From 27th September 2024 to 23rd February 2025