Title: Early Islamic glass (7th -10th centuries AD) in Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar: a microcosm of a globalised industry in the early ‘Abbasid period

Speaker: Alex Siu Ieong (Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Date: Friday, 8 April 2022

Time: 1-2:30 pm

Mode: Online

Zoom Meeting Link: https://cuhk.zoom.us/j/91633072666

Meeting ID: 916 3307 2666

Passcode: 834492

Abstract:

In the study of early Islamic glass (8th – 10th centuries AD), typological analysis has often been employed to investigate different forms of glass vessels and their evolution across space and time. With the use of advanced scientific techniques, such as laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), it has become possible for archaeologists to discover the technology of early Islamic glassmaking, glass compositional groups, and the types of raw materials used to make Islamic glass. Combined with archaeological evidence, we begin to understand the organisation of early Islamic glass production and the global trading networks of Islamic glass. This seminar will look at the benefits of using a multidisciplinary approach– a combination of archaeological and scientific analyses– to study early Islamic glass in Unguja Ukuu (Zanzibar) and what it can tell us about the provenance and trading networks of Middle Eastern glass in the early Islamic period.

Bio:

Alex Siu is a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Anthropology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his BA, MA and PhD in Archaeology from the University of Nottingham, UK. His research is mainly concerned with the scientific analysis of ancient materials, with a particular focus on ancient glass and ceramics. Recent projects include the studies of glass from the 11th – 15th centuries Malindi (Kenya), late Roman glass from Carthage (Tunisia), early Islamic glass from the Island of Zanzibar and Kuwait, and ceramics from Cambodia and Vietnam.