roads of arabia exhibition reveals the role of design in ancient society

the archaeological exhibition ‘roads of arabia’ at museo nazionale romano reveals the role of design in ancient society. 8,000 years of history has been uncovered and is on display as part of the ‘roads of arabia’ exhibition at the national roman museum, open from november 28th 2019 to march 1st 2020. composed of ancient stones, metal and fabric fragments, the exhibition tells tales of the historic region, its influences from the eastern and western worlds, and its lasting effects on culture today. in a theme still relevant, it showcases how objects were – and still are – designed as an extension of the body.

all images courtesy of klinamen

‘roads of arabia’ has been immersed within the monumental rooms of the baths of diocletian at the roman national museum. it was the largest spa complex ever built by the roman empire, before being remodeled by michelangelo in 16th century. the structure builds a connection between the two apparently distant cultures – the latin and arabian cultures. throughout the exhibition, this connection grows stronger as the social, political and religious meanings behind the design of objects and architecture are highlighted.

the concept design of the exhibition was created by daniele militello, executive producer of fondazione alda fendi and creative director of the brand klinamen. from ‘roads of arabia’, militello delves deeper into inspiration behind the exhibition in the interview below.

portrait of daniele militello

designboom (DB): what does the alda fendi foundation do?

daniele militello (DM): fondazione alda fendi has always dealt with design, architecture, theater, performance in a circular game of thoughts and expressions. the contamination between the languages of art has been told and expressed by our foundation for more than twenty years.

DB: what inspired you to develop the concept design of this archaeology exhibition?

DM: the reflections of the concept design of the exhibition were manifold: on the one hand the starting point was the multidisciplinary vocation of our cultural institution; on the other I found it very fascinating to talk about archaeology within design as a connective element in the foreground between psychology, anthropology and sociology.

DB: can you go deeper into this concept?

DM: the design of the pieces exhibited and the architecture of the tombs reported through friezes and told with paintings, draw an interdisciplinary bridge with humanities. interesting perspectives are found when interpreting the facts of the daily life of that time. around the ancestral need to create social, political and religious rites, the production of design objects tell us about everyday life and the search for the absolute flourishes. the objects themselves reflect the habitat of moments and communicate the extension of the body. it is precisely this need to create moments of life with high symbolism, that becomes the necessary and inspiring design that was then expressed in egyptian, greek and latin culture.

DB: so social, political and religious rites became a fundamental element of design then?

DM: unlike what happens in the contemporary world, the social, religious and political spheres were strongly united and I find it absolutely fascinating to underline how ritual through design has taken on the appearance of a cultural artefact: on the one hand an expression of the manual skill of artisan techniques increasingly refined; on the other, it is expression of immaterial and symbolic aspects that give meaning and belonging.

DB: what else does this important archaeological collection recognize?

DM: the collection of pieces displays the profound synergy and continuous exchange between eastern and western civilizations, but even stronger, it expresses how the ancient roads of arabia have contributed to permeate and nourish the greek and latin civilization that are so common to us today, such as the concepts of religion, art, design and fashion.

DB: can you specifically tell us about the exhibition’s concept design?

DM: on a recent trip to saudi arabia in preparation for the exhibition, I was awe-struck by al rajajil, a composition of 50 sculptures in an oasis north of the peninsula. these elements, stems of about 4 meters, represented an enigmatic sign of the crossroads and of the safe road that should never be abandoned. recent studies also revealed that they were placed to follow the astrological alignment between sunrise and sunset points. here was the inspiration: to bring the sign of a ritual as a cultural artefact into the design of the exhibition.

DB: what should visitors expect when entering the baths of diocletian?

DM: funerary stems, incense burners and jewelry inserted in these forms in al rajajil, made of polycarbonate and illuminated like a lantern, become the reason for telling moments of prehistory and history in their most intimate form: how man, through the production of objects of the earth, try to get in touch with the sky. visitors come into contact and participates in an enigmatic rite.

DB: how does this exhibition hope to benefit design today?

DM: archaeology has given us the cue to carry out a profound reflection on design as a tool to tell different disciplines related to universal human categories. the exhibition allowed us to rethink the function of a sustainable design that is capable of inducing subjective and social moral values.

exhibition info:

title: roads of arabia

location: national roman museum

dates: november 28 2019 – march 1st 2020

exhibition creator: daniele militello, executive producer fondazione alda fendi and creative director klinamen

alda fendi foundation created the concept design of the exhibition on behalf of the saudi arabian ambassador HRH prince faisal bin sattam bin abdulaziz al saud, in collaboration with the saudi ministry of culture, led by HRH prince badr bin abdullah bin mohammed bin farhan al saud, saudi commission for tourism and national heritage, museo nazionale romano sponsored by saudi aramco and with the patronage of the italian ministry for cultural heritage and activities and tourism.

institutions:

saudi arabia ministry of culture

saudi commision for toursim and national heritage

mibact

museo nazionale romano