​New Exhibition On Global Book Traditions To Open At Princeton University​

PRINCETON, NJ — A new exhibition, titled “Forms and Function: The Splendors of Global Book Making,” will be on display from Sept. 10 to Dec. 7, in the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery.

Presented by Princeton University Library (PUL), the exhibition is curated by Martin Heijdra, Director of PUL’s East Asian Library. The exhibition will showcase the diversity and beauty of global book-making, focusing on three major traditions of the book form: codex, East Asian, and pothī.

Awash in rich jewel tones and featuring a range of striking visuals, the exhibition features treasures from some of Princeton’s lesser-known collections, as well as items from its renowned collections of Western, Islamic, East Asian, and Mesoamerican manuscripts and printed books. There are also works by modern artists completed in the style of these global traditions.

Among the 73 items on display are an early Egyptian papyrus scroll displaying parts from the work usually called the “Book of the Dead,” dating from 3rd-1st century BCE; a stele discovered in 1625 outside Xi’an, China that revealed that Christianity had been in China as early as 635; examples of texts written on dried and treated leaves from Bali and Myanmar; and examples of works on materials like bark, textiles, shell, lacquer, and copper.

The exhibition has provided the Library and Heijdra with an opportunity to further research many of these objects with specialist colleagues from around the world.

According to Heijdra, who received a Ph.D. in Ming History from Princeton in 1995, the exhibition will allow visitors to view “such a wide variety of book forms from these different traditions. They range from the humble to the spectacular, but they all share the purpose of carrying forward knowledge through time.”

A half-day symposium on Friday, Oct. 3 will feature experts on some of the more unique aspects of bookmaking. It will be held at Princeton University. The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

The exhibition is free and open to the public, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, visit PUL’s news page.