SPICE ISLANDS EXHIBITION, by Bartele Gallery and the Indonesian National Museum. Museum Week: 18–25 October 2015

UPCOMING EXHIBITION What is the difference between the Spice Trail and the Silk Road? The world knows of the Silk Road, but was silk the only commodity traded on this legendary network of trade routes that spanned from Europe to Africa and back? Did ancient traders traveling from the scorching Gobi Desert to the fierce Sahara bring with them only silk and Chinese ceramics? The Holy Scriptures are filled with the descriptions of spices used in various rituals. But how did these spices reach the birthplace of these scriptures—far from where these spices first came? Which road did they take? And who were these traders? These questions behind the beauty and the sanctity of the myths revolving around spices cannot be answered only by the historical record. Is there evidence to give us a better glimpse of the storied and mysterious past of the spice trade?   Jalur Rempah: The Untold Story 18–25 October 2015  Open for public on 19-21 and 24, 25 October Indonesian National Museum  Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No.12  Jakarta, Indonesia NEW ADDITIONS AT BARTELE GALLERY INSVLARVM/BANDANENSIUM/Noviffima delineatio/amstelodami/apud ioan ianfsonium A rare and beautiful mid-17th century Dutch sea chart in original colour of the Banda Islands in the South Moluccas, the only source of nutmeg and mace in the world up to the end of the 18th century, by the famous Dutch cartographer Jan Jansson often referred to by his Latinized name, Ioan Ioanssonium (1588 – 1664) and published in Amsterdam in the Dutch edtion of his five-volume sea atlas Atlantis Majoris Quinta Pars Orbem Maritimum in 1652. The map was engraved by Jan van Loon (c.1611/14 – 1686) of Amsterdam.   MORE INFO SPICE ISLAND, NORTH MOLLUCAS (C. 1640)   An attractive map of the clove producing Islands (Spice Islands) of the North Moluccas and the west coast of Gilolo Islands, present day Halmahera.Probably the best known 17th century antique map of the clove producing North Molucca islands of Ternare, Tidore, Machian,Bachian, Motir and Potterbackers by the great Dutch cartographer William Blaeu published in his Atlantic Appendix in Amsterdam in 1630. Jan Jansson produced a very similar map in 1633 but without the inset of Bachian Island. MORE INFO MARKETPLACE ACEH, NORTH SUMATRA   A portrait of people at a marketplace in the district of Aceh (a stronghold of of fundamental Islam at the northern tip of Sumatra) reveals some distinctive differences in their features that Dutch chroniclers attributed to "immigration." That was probably a reference to the influx and inter-marriage of ethnic groups from the Malay Peninsula, China, India, Sri Lanka (them known as Ceylon) and Arabs from the Middle East. Their dress also exhibits the multiracial mix local head cloths and sarong, Western shirts and trousers for the men, and blouses and sarongs, sometimes worm will long pants, by the women. A sarong on the shoulders was used as protection against the elements. The Acehnese are noted for their fine weaving in which silver and gold threads are used in intricate patterns to make for a rich gloss, a more refined technique than that of the Minangkabau people to the southwest where the gold and silver threads are clearly visible in the fabrics. MORE INFO FACEBOOK  |  WEBSITE  |  CONTACT US   Copyright © 2015 Bartele Gallery, All rights reserved.