Exhibition: Expedition Silk Road

Last Saturday my friend Veronie and I went to the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam. We wanted to soak in some culture and we have always been interested in the Orient and the Far East. The exhibition we visited was called Expedition Silk Road.

The weather was extremely hot and the museum was wonderfully cool because of the preservation all the artifacts. We were not allowed to take any pictures, I guess that is because many people use a flash when they photograph in a museum and that ruins the colours of the artifacts. Personally, I don't use a flash because it makes the pictures really flat and I don't want any ruining on my conscience.

I never really realised how extensive the area was of what is called the Silk Road and how many countries were linked to it: Russia, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Irak and lots of kingdoms I have never heard of before. I secretly took the picture below because I was so in awe with it.

boddhisatva with buddhas disciples Kashyapa and Ananda on his sides

On the Silk Road many objects were traded, not just silk, also silver, glass, gold and every day utensils. The Silk Road not only caused the spreading of diseases but also of Buddhism, hence the many Buddhist artifacts found along the Road and displayed in the museum. The objects were excavated by Russian expeditions in the 19th and 20th centuries.

@State Hermitage St. Petersburg

We really loved (as we are costume fans) looking at this stylish lady from the city of Kucha, in one hand she is holding a lotus flower. Her dress is in one piece and apparently that was rather unusual at the time.

The closing date of the exhibition is 5 September 2014, so there is plenty of time to go and see it.