Global Art Histories

Highways of the Seas

Zanzibar: Arts and Trade across the Indian Ocean

For centuries people journeyed on the Indian Ocean from the Arabian Peninsula, Asia, Europe, and many regions of Africa. Some settled in East Africa’s flourishing port towns, while others returned home with the seasonal shifts of the monsoon winds. The confluence of seafarers who populated the coast gave rise to its diverse communities, which together are often called “Swahili” — after the Arabic word meaning “edge” or “coast.”

Swahili networks of trade historically reached far into the African mainland. Starting in the 14th century, land routes between the Swahili Coast and regions along the caravan paths to Lake Tanganyika were essential to the economies of eastern and central Africa. These channels also acted as routes for the exchange of aesthetic sensibilities and artistic practices.

Ceramics are evidence of not only trade over vast distances, but also of the place these goods had within society. Monumental porcelain dishes with Arabic calligraphy (such as this one in the Mombasa Fort Jesus Museum, Kenya) are some of the most prized heirlooms in many Muslim communities in the coastal regions of the western Indian Ocean. Whilst a lot of porcelain was mass-produced and collected in great numbers, there were also…