A History of the World in 100 Objects

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Factual: History

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, retells humanity's history through objects

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programmes that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made.

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A History of the World in 100 Objects: Tolerance and Intolerance (AD 1550-1700): Shadow Puppet of Bima

Shadow Puppet of Bima

Tolerance and Intolerance (AD 1550-1700)

A History of the World in 100 Objects Omnibus

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Neil MacGregor explores religion and politics in South East Asia through a shadow puppet.

Neil MacGregor is this week looking at religion around 400 years ago. Today, he explores the the religious history of Indonesia - through a shadow puppet.

The history of humanity - as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London - is in South East Asia. This week Neil MacGregor, the museum's director, is with the objects from across the world around 400 years ago that explore the relationships between religion and society. Today he is with a shadow puppet from the Indonesian island of Java, asking how a puppet watched by a predominantly Muslim audience is a character from a Hindi epic.  He describes the history of the theatre of shadows and explores how it reveals the religious traditions that have shaped Indonesian life. He talks to a puppet master from Java. And the Malaysian novelist Tash Aw discusses the influence of shadow theatre on the region today.

Producer: Anthony Denselow


A History of the World in 100 Objects: Tolerance and Intolerance (AD 1550-1700)

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Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Neil MacGregor tells how the great religions lived together in the C16th and C17th.

Neil MacGregor charts the relationships between faiths across the globe around 400 years ago, looking at objects from India and Central America, Europe and Indonesia.

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A History of the World in 100 Objects

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