Books!
Continuing to produce sheets of clay to be bound together. Some not quite sheets, but pieces to be assembled in sets. Books tell stories and ask questions. They are always, in some way, autobiographical - aren't everyone's?
The African Kingdom of Monomotapa The Portuguese of the sixteenth century spoke of Monomotapa to denote the paramount chief of the Makaranga, a powerful African tribe dwelling between the Zambesi and Limpopo rivers and extending westward from the Indian Ocean probably as far as the mouth of the Fish River. Monomotapa's empire was called Mokaranga and members of its people still live in parts of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, scattered and bereft of their traditions and power. |
The Peacock Throne
The original throne, built for the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān in the early 17th century, was reportedly one of the most splendorous thrones ever made. It was ascended by silver steps and stood on golden feet set with jewels; and it was backed by representations of two open peacocks’ tails, gilded, enamelled, and inset with diamonds, rubies, and other stones. The throne was seized along with other plunder when the Iranian conqueror Nāder Shāh captured Delhi in 1739. Ashes of an Empire Vasco da Gama travelled in the Far East and his treaties with the Persian Empire enabled him to sustain the Portuguese trade route all the way to the shores of India and beyond. The Rubayiaat Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight: And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light. |
The Oriental Hand-Woven Carpet
In Iran, 1.2 million people are weavers of carpets; The export of hand knotted rugs is their most important non-oil revenue. Afghan hand woven rugs are genuinely charming and inexpensive: they are woven in other countries such as Pakistan and Iran; Handmade knotted and stitched carpets are made in India, Iran, Pakistan, Azerbhaijan, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Northern Africa, Nepal, Turkmenistan and Tibet. Child labour is often used to produce these sometimes fabulously expensive works of art. Their little fingers are precise and dexterous, nimble and strong: they earn their entire family their very survival. The GoodWeave labelling scheme used throughout Europe and North America assures that child labour has not been used: importers pay for the labels and the revenue raised is used to fund the inspection of production centres and educate previously exploited children. |