GLOBAL ART HISTORY LECTURES

ONLINE 2024

 Suitable for people of all ages and backgrounds, whether you are a retired professional, involved in formal studies or professional development, or an artist with an interest in material history and multi-culturalism, all are welcomed.

Inspiration for artists, practitioners, craftspeople, conservators,

students of art history, travellers, readers, thinkers,

and the simply curious.

Two related storytelling lectures about Kingdoms of the Sahara Desert in Ancient and Medieval times, harnessing the magic and mystery of travellers’ tales. A hidden story unfolds of the peoples and unique cultures of the Sahara and pre-colonial Western Sahel, and the untold wealth that made the region a hub of medieval trade and learning.

This series is based on lectures delivered in 2022, with new material added, so if you missed it first time around, here is another chance to enjoy some magical journeys through time and space.

Click on the Picture Links to be directed to the Eventbrite Pages to find out more and register

About

KINGDOMS OF GOLD

January - February 2024

Ancient Travels in the Sahara: Online,  Monday 29th January, 18.00 - 20.00 UK time

In this lavishly illustrated lecture we go on an epic journey through the hidden narratives of the Western Sahara, from pre-history to the times of the early gold kingdoms, as recounted by voices from the past.

We look at the testimony of ancient rock paintings at Tassili n'Ajjer, that record a drastic climate change, the earliest writings of Herodotus on the geography and peoples of the desert, the trading heritage of the Carthaginians, and early Arabic chroniclers from Islamic North Africa and Spain. We look at the early gold industry, methods of refining gold unique to the Sahel, and the salt trade that went hand-in-hand with the gold trade, with early eyewitness accounts of the cities and royal courts of the Gold Empires

Along the way, we follow the journey of Ibn Battuta with a Berber trading caravan to the Gold Empire of Mali in the 14th century, visiting the towns of the Ancient Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire.

Empire of the Desert: Online, Friday 2nd February, 18.00 - 20.00 UK time

The first Gold Empire of the Western Sahel was Wagadu, known as Ancient Ghana. Ruled by Soninke kings, it lasted from the 4th century to the 13th , when it disintegrated and gave way to the Mali Empire. Both Empires owed their success to the rich reserves of alluvial gold on the Senegal River and the Sankarani tributary of the Niger, which they traded via historical routes across the Sahara Desert. 

This lecture begins with the epic of Mandé prince Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire that superseded Ancient Ghana in the 13^th century. The history of his life comes down to us through the memorized oral histories of the royal Djeli or Griots, which was transcribed by the late Guinean historian and cultural researcher, Djibril Tamsir Niane.

This presentation is a re-telling of this epic, illustrated with rare examples of late medieval Mandé art from museum collections, followed by an account of Sundiata’s charismatic successor Mansa Musa, and his spectacular journey to Egypt and Mecca that excited the imaginations of people of the Western Mediterranean and the Islamic world. We will look at the cities, libraries, and institutions of learning founded by Mansa Musa, and the unique architectural heritage of his building projects in Djenne, Mopti, and Timbuktu.

  Available to commission for public or private lectures.

       Subject Areas:

    Islamic Art History

Pigments and Processes

Illumination and Arts of the Book

Art and Design in the Indian Subcontinent

    Synergies between East and West 
     Art and Science

For Current Available Lectures please consult the ARCHIVES

To make an inquiry or discuss a project please get in touch:

via the contact page

E-mail: amchowdry@gmail.com

mobile phone: +44 (0) 7521 897782