Journeys in Indigo: from ancient Arabia to modern Manhattan
Wednesday 2 November
Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
Jenny Balfour-Paul will relate the compelling story of indigo, the world's oldest, most magical and best-loved dye, a commodity central to international trade and textile production for centuries, and the dye that makes blue jeans blue. Her studies on indigo, spanning the arts and sciences, have taken her to many exotic and remote regions of the world. Recent projects include involvement in an exciting educational initiative launched by cellist Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project in New York City, in revivals of natural dyes worldwide and in research on dyes recovered from the shipwrecks of Spanish galleons.
For more lectures, see the full Autumn 2011 GULP programme.
Dr Jenny Balfour-Paul
Dr Jenny Balfour-Paul, an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, is a partner in 'Silk Road Connect' and was consultant for the American documentary "Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo". She has been publishing, lecturing, exhibiting and broadcasting on indigo and related subjects for over 20 years and the British Museum Press is re-issuing her classic "Indigo: Egyptian Mummies to Blue Jeans" in 2011. Her forthcoming book "Come Back Yesterday: My Journeys with Thomas", relates to her adventures with a Victorian traveller.