Travellers and Traders in the Indian Ocean World

Mon 31 Oct 2016Sun 23 Apr 2017

9:30am5:00pm

WA Maritime Museum


About the exhibition

Merchants and sailors have crossed the Indian Ocean for thousands of years and 70% of the world’s goods continue to do so today. This vast expanse of water was the world’s first highway and has been the centre of world economy for millenia, but how well do we know it? This exhibition, fittingly located in the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle on the edge of the ocean, takes you on your own journey across the Indian Ocean to discover its rich history through ancient objects and stories about its traders, explorers and the many different peoples who inhabit its shores.

Travellers and Traders in the Indian Ocean World is a paid exhibition.

 

Fly me across the Indian Ocean!

Win! A trip to London

Thanks to our good friends at Singapore Airlines and Hilton London Metropole, we have return flights and five nights accommodation plus money-can’t-buy experiences in the heart of London for two lucky WA Museum visitors.

To enter, visit Travellers and Traders in the Indian Ocean World
before Sunday 23 April and complete an entry form.

Tickets are available for purchase below or at the front desk of the WA Maritime Museum.

More information

 

View of Batavia, oil on canvas, Hendrick Jacobsz, Dubbels, 1640 - 1676: Dutch ships in front of the port of Batavia (now Jakarta) – a busy, cosmopolitan trading centre at the heart of the Indian Ocean.View of Batavia, oil on canvas, Hendrick Jacobsz, Dubbels, 1640 - 1676: Dutch ships in front of the port of Batavia (now Jakarta) – a busy, cosmopolitan trading centre at the heart of the Indian Ocean.
Courtesy Rijksmuseum
Dirk Hartog Dish, 1616: Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog’s flattened pewter dish is the oldest European object ever found on Australian soil.Dirk Hartog Dish, 1616: Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog’s flattened pewter dish is the oldest European object ever found on Australian soil.
Courtesy Rijksmuseum
Eighty years after Hartog’s landing, Willem de Vlamingh discovered Hartog’s marker at Cape Inscription and replaced it with his own.Eighty years after Hartog’s landing, Willem de Vlamingh discovered Hartog’s marker at Cape Inscription and replaced it with his own.
Courtesy Western Australian Museum
Batavia's Graveyard Archaeology - Amber beads: Recent excavations of four new Batavia victims revealed personal items such as these beads made of prized amber from the Baltic.Batavia's Graveyard Archaeology - Amber beads: Recent excavations of four new Batavia victims revealed personal items such as these beads made of prized amber from the Baltic.
Courtesy Western Australian Museum
A market stall in the Indies, oil on canvas, attributed to Albert Eckhout, 1640-1666: This Dutch painting shows an exotic Indonesian market stall, a common site for travellers reaching Java and the Spice Islands.A market stall in the Indies, oil on canvas, attributed to Albert Eckhout, 1640-1666: This Dutch painting shows an exotic Indonesian market stall, a common site for travellers reaching Java and the Spice Islands.
Courtesy Rijksmuseum, Gift of E.J. Speelman, London
Saucer, c. 1635 – 1645: Chinese Kraak porcelain, so-named for the Portuguese ships or carracks that carried it.Saucer, c. 1635 – 1645: Chinese Kraak porcelain, so-named for the Portuguese ships or carracks that carried it.
Courtesy Rijksmuseum
Amitabha Buddha, 750-850: This monumental stone Buddha sits in the meditation gesture. Similar images appear across India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia.Amitabha Buddha, 750-850: This monumental stone Buddha sits in the meditation gesture. Similar images appear across India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia.
Courtesy Art Gallery of New South Wales
Aepyornis Maximus fossilised egg: The Madagascan Elephant Bird stood over 3m tall. This egg washed up on the WA coast, 7,000 km from its native home. Aepyornis Maximus fossilised egg: The Madagascan Elephant Bird stood over 3m tall. This egg washed up on the WA coast, 7,000 km from its native home.
Courtesy Western Australian Museum
Clay model boat, Royal Cemetery, Ur, 2500 BC: This model, made around 5,000 years ago, is one of the oldest depictions of a boat from the Indian Ocean.Clay model boat, Royal Cemetery, Ur, 2500 BC: This model, made around 5,000 years ago, is one of the oldest depictions of a boat from the Indian Ocean.
© The Trustees of the British Museum
Engraved ‘Gaara’ Pearlshell by Aubrey Tigan Galiwa (dec).:Saltwater design by the late Aubrey Tigan Galiwa, master pearlshell carver and senior Mayala man from the West Kimberley.Engraved ‘Gaara’ Pearlshell by Aubrey Tigan Galiwa (dec).:Saltwater design by the late Aubrey Tigan Galiwa, master pearlshell carver and senior Mayala man from the West Kimberley.
Courtesy Western Australian Museum
Mentawai Islands, Indonesia 2016: This painting depicts the effects of globalisation and climate change on the Mentawai Islands in the Indian Ocean.  Mentawai Islands, Indonesia 2016: This painting depicts the effects of globalisation and climate change on the Mentawai Islands in the Indian Ocean.
Courtesy Larry Mitchell

The Gemma Constantiniana returns to Western Australia

Gemma. Constantiniana

Gemma Constantiniana
Image copyright Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden

The Gemma Constantiniana, crafted in 312 CE to celebrate Roman Emperor Constantine’s battle victory, was first in Western Australia in 1629 when it wrecked aboard the Batavia. Visit Travellers and Traders to view this exquisite artefact that is in WA for the first time in 388 years.

Learn more about the cameo's fascinating story and world travels here.

Public Programs

'A dip in the Indian Ocean’: Monthly Family Friendly Tours

What happened when three children found a giant egg and what bird did it come from?
Join us for a family-friendly tour that kids will love. Each month features a different highlight object.

All tours run from 10.30am - 11.15am

Focus Object - Market Stall:   Book - Sat 8 Apr

'A dip in the Indian Ocean’: Monthly Curator’s Tours

Take a guided tour through the exhibition with curators and experts who share behind-the-scenes insights into objects and stories of the Indian Ocean world.
Each month features a different highlight object.

All tours run from 11.30am - 12.15pm

Focus Object - Market Stall:   Book - Sun 9 Apr


Travellers and Traders in the Indian Ocean World has been developed by the Western Australian Museum in partnership with the British Museum.
The exhibition is supported by the Australian Government International Exhibitions Insurance (AGIEI) Program. This program provides funding for the purchase of insurance for significant cultural exhibitions.  Without AGIEI, the high cost of insuring significant cultural items would prohibit this major exhibition from touring to Australia.

Image Map

 

Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan (PCOL)


Copyright Western Australian Museum