CSMVS Presents ‘Networks of the Past', an Exhibition on India’s Early Global Links

At first glance, museums often appear to present history as a sequence of neatly defined civilisations, each bounded by geography and time. Networks of the Past: A Study Gallery of India and the Ancient World, the newly opened exhibition at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), deliberately challenges this approach. Instead of asking visitors to focus on where an artefact originated, the exhibition encourages them to consider where it travelled and what relationships it reveals. 

A Rare Collaboration Across Institutions

The exhibition is the result of a large-scale collaborative effort involving fifteen museums and cultural institutions from India and abroad. Indian contributors include major repositories such as the Archaeological Survey of India, the National Museum in New Delhi, the Indian Museum in Kolkata, the Bihar Museum in Patna, the Government Museum in Mathura, the State Museum in Lucknow, the Allahabad Museum, and the Department of Archaeology and Museums of Maharashtra, along with artefacts from CSMVS’s own collection. International loans come from institutions based in London, Berlin, Zurich, Athens and Kuwait.

What distinguishes this exhibition is the way these collections are presented. Objects are not grouped by lending institution or national origin. Instead, they are placed side by side to highlight shared materials, techniques and ideas, allowing visitors to see how cultures influenced one another over centuries.

Trade, Exchange and the Movement of Ideas

Rather than following a rigid chronological order, Networks of the Past is organised around themes such as trade, religion, urban development, writing systems and artistic production. This thematic structure helps illustrate how ancient trade routes—both overland and maritime—connected the Indian subcontinent to regions across West Asia, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean world.

Coins, beads, ceramics, sculptures and ritual objects serve as tangible evidence of these exchanges. Their presence in distant regions points to the movement of merchants, craftspeople and pilgrims who carried not just goods, but also beliefs, technologies and visual languages.

Objects That Tell Stories of Contact

Many artefacts gain deeper meaning through comparison. Jewellery fashioned from materials sourced across regions suggests complex supply networks. Sculptures bearing stylistic similarities across cultures reflect artistic exchange rather than imitation. Even everyday objects, when viewed within this broader framework, reveal the scale of interaction that shaped ancient societies.

The exhibition avoids framing these exchanges as one-sided influence. Instead, it presents cultural interaction as a process of adaptation, where ideas were absorbed, transformed and localised.

A Space for Study and Reflection

Designed as a study gallery rather than a temporary spectacle, Networks of the Past encourages careful observation and reflection. Labels provide essential context without overwhelming interpretation, making space for visitors to draw connections on their own. This approach supports deeper engagement, particularly for students and researchers, while remaining accessible to general audiences.

Why the Exhibition Matters Today

Beyond its archaeological and historical value, Networks of the Past offers a timely perspective. In an era when histories are often simplified or narrowly defined, the exhibition underscores a fundamental truth: cultural identities have long been shaped through contact and exchange. By foregrounding collaboration—both in ancient times and in the modern curatorial process—the gallery invites visitors to reconsider how histories are constructed and shared.