TIMBUKTU: SCRIPT & SCHOLARSHIP
8 AUGUST - 3 SEPTEMBER
Iziko Granary

This exhibition of forty ancient manuscripts from the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research (IHERI-AB) in Timbuktu, Mali, presents the manuscript collections of Timbuktu as cultural treasures of Africa, and creates awareness of the centuries-long history of the written word in sub- Saharan Africa.

From the 1100s onwards, Timbuktu was a centre of west African commerce and Islamic scholarship, and was associated with the production of manuscripts in Arabic script. The beautiful calligraphy, illuminations and leather bindings of many manuscripts reflect the high value placed on scholarship. The manuscripts on display cover astronomy, medicine, mathematics, science, poetry, religion, commerce, law and social relationships. The exhibition includes displays of artefacts and clothing from Timbuktu and the Sahel region.

The exhibition in South Africa is linked to a larger South Africa-Mali government partnership and a cultural project that involves the conservation of the manuscripts and the training of Malian staff by the National Archives of South Africa, as well as the construction of a new library building to house the collection of IHERI-AB in Timbuktu.

Presented in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture, the exhibition will travel to major centres throughout South Africa.

Enquiries: Lalou Meltzer at Tel. 021 464 1263; Lindsay Hooper, Tel. 021 481 3835; Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 464 1262; Gerald Klinghardt, Tel. 021 481 3836.