Crafting Persian luxuries

Lead Curator of the special exhibition Luxury and power: Persia to Greece Dr Jamie Fraser hosts this collection of short talks on the craftmanship of luxuries from the Persian empire.

The exhibition includes several recreated garments from the Achaemenid Persian period (559–330 BC). They are there to demonstrate how important textiles and clothing were to the Persian elite and, in this talk, Prof Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones will guide us through the rudiments of the meaning of clothing in ancient Persian culture and reveal how he researched and recreated the garments on display.

Mohammed Ghassen Nouira will briefly tackle the history of imperial purple, a highly valued natural dye, exploring its production process and how it evolved to become the symbol of power and wealth in the ancient world.

British Museum Curator Dr St John Simpson will discuss the wonders of the Oxus Treasure, an important collection of around 180 surviving pieces of gold and silver metalwork including jewellery, figurines, sculptures, votive plaques, vessels and coins. These objects originate from the Achaemenid Persian period and demonstrate the melting pot of influences on metal craft of the time.

Content warning: these presentations contain images of human remains at 13:28-14:52 and 31:32-32.12.

This event is part of the public programme supporting the exhibition Luxury and power: Persia to Greece (open until 13 August).

More information about the exhibition can be found here:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibit...

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Image credit: Gold griffin-headed armlet from the Oxus Treasure, Tajikstan, 500–300 BC. © The Trustees of the British Museum

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