Sacred Art: Seventeen Scripts, Thirteen Scribes, and Five Hours @ Ashmolean Museum

23 February, 2025

Celebrating Linguistic & Cultural Diversity through
Sacred Scripts

Linguistic diversity enhances understanding and appreciation of different cultures. It allows us to grasp significant nuances of social, cultural, historical, and religious contexts. To celebrate linguistic diversity and rich tapestry of literary treasures, the Oxford Interfaith Forum designed Scribal Art, and presented it in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum One World Festival. The event forged connections among people from different backgrounds and cultures, regardless of their native languages. It was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the beauty in diversity, and the value of the ‘others’.

Surrounded by breathtaking artifacts of Ashmolean’s Reading and Writing Gallery, colleagues from the Faculties of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and Linguistics, introduced their languages through beautiful scripts, calligraphies, and manuscripts to a wider public. Thirteen faculty members and students presented fifteen scripts in five hours. According to the ancient proverb, ‘one image is worth a thousand words’. So, we are honoured to feature, in a chronological order, Oxford’s modern-day scribes and their beautiful works.

Our heartfelt Gratitude to every participant and especially, our Scribes!

Juliana Pars Presented Armenian Script

Juliana Pars, a DPhil candidate at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, supervised jointly by Professor Theo Maarten van Lint and Professor Christina Maranci, said:

‘Taking part in the Oxford Interfaith Forum’s Scribal Art was an incredibly rewarding experience. It was great to give a talk in a setting so wonderfully rich in history and knowledge. Then, with the workshop element, it was really inspiring to see people of all ages engaging so enthusiastically and insightfully with the script and art associated with it. We made some lovely pieces that everyone should be proud of, and which will hopefully help to inspire a new generation of language scholars! Thank you to both Dr Thea Gomelauri and those involved at the Ashmolean Museum for organising such a fantastic event.‘

Dr Ashwini Mokashi and Her Students Presented
Marathi and Devanāgarī Scripts

Dr Ashwini Mokashi shared on behalf of her team: As teachers and students of South Asian languages, we thoroughly enjoyed presenting on the Devanagari script and manuscripts in Marathi, Hindi, and Sanskrit—some of the prominent languages that use it. The beautiful ambience of the Ashmolean Museum provided the perfect setting. As a researcher, I also found great joy in collecting some of these manuscripts from different parts of Maharashtra, such as Wai and Sajjangad, as well as a historical map from the Bodleian Library at Oxford. A special thanks to Dr Thea Gomelauri, and the Oxford Interfaith Forum for their excellent work in organizing such a popular and engaging intercultural programme promoting linguistic education.
Dr Mokashi also thanked her team: Dear Thomas, Sagarika and Vishes, let me take this opportunity to thank all of you for participating in the presentation! Without you, the project would not have been as successful and as fun as it was!