Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices is the first major exhibition in Australia which presents the complex artistic and cultural interactions between Europe and Asia from the 16th to 19th century, a period often referred to as the ‘Age of Spices’.

If you are planning on attending the exhibition why not join the one day symposium on Saturday June 13.

Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices

Join us for a one day symposium with exhibition curators James Bennett and Rusty Kelty and fellow scholars Ian Burnet, Father Warner D’Souza and Joanna Barrkman for a lively exploration of the artistic and cultural interactions between Europe and Asia during the ‘Age of Spices’.

Topics include the preservation of Christian art in India, the history and trade of exotic spices of Eastern Indonesia and the role and influence of Indian textiles in trade throughout the Indonesian archipelago.

When Saturday 13 June, 11am – 3pm
Where Art Gallery of South Australia, Radford Auditorium
Cost $45, $35 Members/Concession
Bookings essential Call 08 8207 7035 or Book online

All registrants are invited to attend lunch and post symposium drinks in the Function Room

Full Program
11am
Welcome
Nick Mitzevich, Director, Art Gallery of South Australia

11.05am
Introduction and overview
James Bennett, co-curator, Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices and Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia

11.15am
Journeys around the Spice Islands
Ian Burnet, author, scholar and adventurer.
A talk about the history, romance and adventure of the spice trade from Eastern Indonesia over a period of 2000 years, and how this drove ‘The Age of Discovery’.

11.50am
Preserving the heritage of Christian art in India and setting up the Museum of the Archdiocesan of Bombay
Father Warner D’Souza, a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay, Fr Warner speaks of his passion, inspiration and challenges encountered in the establishment of a heritage museum in Bombay.

12.30pm
lunch Break in the Function Room and exhibition viewing
Including a book signing by Ian Burnet – 1pm

1.30pm
Encounters with traces of Indian trade cloths in Eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste
Joanna Barrkman, PhD candidate at the Australian National University researching the Baguia Collection.
This talk recounts encounters with Indian trade cloths and elucidates some of the key styles of cloths that were popular for trade into the Indonesian archipelago.

2.15pm
Guns, Christians, gold and lacquer: The arrival of the southern barbarians and their black ships
Russell Kelty, co-curator, Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices and Assistant Curator of Asian art, Art Gallery of South Australia
The arrival of the Portuguese at the tiny island of Tanegashima in 1543, off the southern coast of Japan, was the first recorded contact between Japanese and the Europeans and initiated the nanban or ‘southern barbarian’ era. The art created during this era evokes the cross cultural atmosphere at ports along the spice trade routes particularly at the terminus of Nagasaki. The annual arrival of the Portuguese black ships and their exotic menagerie depicted on Japanese screens as well as sacred Christian paintings embellished with Japanese gold and black lacquer portray the confluence of European and Japanese aesthetics which took place during this era.

3pm
Panel discussion and Q&A

3.30pm
Post symposium drinks in the Function Room

Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices