Before jet planes and smartphones, merchants, monks, pilgrims, and militia spent months or years traversing perilous routes to carry luxury goods and innovative ideas thousands of miles across the globe. As desirable commodities such as silk, porcelain, paper, tea, jade, amber, spices, ivory, gunpowder, gold, and silver were carried across the land and sea trade routes known as the Silk Road, so too were religions, ideas, and new technologies spread and propagated in all directions. In this program, travel the ancient routes that connected countries from the Mediterranean to the Pacific and discover the historic transformations that resulted from these complex cultural exchanges.
The Asian Art Museum Docent Program is generously supported by the Dhanam Foundation and Society for Asian Art.
This program is made possible by the South San Francisco Friends of the Library.
Come to the library to listen or watch from home. To watch from home register via Zoom: