CDR-1322: SR Set: Marco Polo and the Silk Road

Along the Silk Road linking the cultures of Asia with those of Europe, goods and raw materials--as well as knowledge, techniques, religions and cultural traditions--traveled east and west. Buddhism spread via the trade routes from India to China. Early representations of Buddha from Gandahara were influenced by Hellenistic elements from the west. Cobalt blue first decorated ceramics in Iraq in the 10th century, later emerging as a Ming jar, then traveling westward to become blue and white Delftware. Tying the east and west together along the ancient trade routes through desert and mountains were nomadic peoples, traveling commercial merchants on their camels, spreading cultural wealth over centuries of exchange. Marco Polo was the first Westerner to write about his travels along the Silk Road to China, inspiring other travelers and influencing European map-making.

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