The Sogdians: Influencers on the Silk Roads

    Organized by the Freer|Sackler in Washington, DC, the exhibition brings together the scholarship of Sogdian art and culture from the United States, Russia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Uzbekistan. The exhibition is curated by Thomas Wide (Smithsonian Institution), Judith A. Lerner (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU), and Kimon Keramidas (XE: Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement, NYU).

    The narratives are heavily illustrated and contain in-line interactive footnotes and sidebar maps that give geographic context for site users who might be unfamiliar with some of the (sometimes historic) Central Asian place names.

More about this project

    This digital exhibition is the product of several years’ work by a multidisciplinary team of scholars from across the world. The project has been funded by the Leon Levy Foundation, with additional support from the Thaw Charitable Trust and the Smithsonian Provost’s Scholarly Studies Awards program. Organized by the Freer|Sackler in Washington, DC, the exhibition has brought together scholars of Sogdian art and culture from the United States, Russia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Uzbekistan. Alongside several workshops convening leading scholars from around the world (including a memorable initial workshop in Washington, DC, during the height of Hurricane Sandy in 2012), the exhibition has also drawn on the energy and ideas of students who took part in courses at the Bard Graduate Center and at XE, NYU’s Program in Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement.

Photograph © National Museum of China.

    This project has been curated by Thomas Wide (Smithsonian Institution), Judith A. Lerner (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU), and Kimon Keramidas (XE: Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement, NYU). The exhibition team has comprised Sana Mirza (Freer|Sackler), Julie Bellemare (Bard Graduate Center), and Matthew Dischner (Independent Scholar). The initial idea for this project came from Julian Raby, Director Emeritus of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Purchase, Charles Lang Freer Endowment, Freer Gallery of Art, F1997.13.