Interconnected Civilisations: India’s Role in the Ancient World

It gives me immense pleasure to present a four-year labour of love—an exploration of India’s role in the ancient world—appropriately titled “Networks of the Past: A Study Gallery of India and the Ancient World.” This project, now showcased on our dedicated website, has long been a dream of ours. The new Study Gallery will formally open its doors to the public on 12 December 2025.

This initiative is part of a Sharing Collections Programme with the Getty, jointly advised by Neil MacGregor and Mahrukh Tarapore, and endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

A truly transcontinental collaboration, the project brings together the CSMVS with the British Museum, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Museum Rietberg (Zurich), the Al-Sabah Collection (Kuwait), the Benaki Museum (Athens), and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Athens, Ministry of Culture, Greece. Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, it also features antiquities from major Indian institutions, including the Archaeological Survey of India, the National Museum (New Delhi), the Bihar Museum (Patna), the Indian Museum (Kolkata), and museums in Maharashtra, Prayagraj, Lucknow, and Mathura.

The gallery showcases over 300 extraordinary archaeological objects from India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Persia, Assyria, Greece, and Rome, offering our audiences a direct encounter with the ancient world. It invites visitors to rediscover the ancient world not as something lost to time, but as the foundation upon which the present stands and the future continues to grow. Across continents, civilisations rose—distinct in their identities yet deeply interconnected through trade, culture, and thought.

Ancient India, with its robust ties to distant lands, played a vital role in this global conversation. From the seals of Harappa to the scriptures of the Vedic age, from maritime trade with Mesopotamia to philosophical exchanges with Greece and China, India stood as both a contributor to and beneficiary of this rich tapestry of exchange. Today, in a world more connected than ever before, the echoes of the ancient world continue to guide us. As we look ahead, understanding our shared past offers not only perspective but also purpose.

This beautiful narrative has been shaped through close collaboration between CSMVS curators, our international partners, and scholars from the regions represented.

I am confident that you will find a wealth of insightful and engaging information on this website.

SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE

Director General
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai