In the first episode of 2023, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Sterenn Le Maguer, archaeologist and specialist of the history of incense trade in the Islamic world before the 16th century. Sterenn is what we could call an archaeologist of smells, but she’s also the first archaeologist to come on the podcast, so in the episode, we talk about methodology and techniques of archaeology, but also of smell profiles and the importance of incense consumption in Islamic societies.
Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links
- Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
- Follow Sterenn on LinkedIn and Academia
- “L’encens et la myrrhe”: Sterenn’s blog dedicated to research on frankincense trade
- Hajar Archaeology: Blog dedicated to archaeology in the Islamic lands
- Archaios: Archaeology, Culture & Heritage
- Anya H. King, Scent from the Garden of Paradise. Musk and the Medieval Islamic World, Brill, 2017.
- Axelle Rougeulle, Sharma: Un entrepôt de commerce medieval sur la côte du Ḥaḍramawt (Yémen, ca 980-1180), Archaeopress Archaeology, 2015
- SENSIS: The senses of Islam, research programme in the university of Utrecht
- “This Ancient Mud Skyscraper City is the ‘Manhattan of the Desert'” National Geographic
- Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.
Reproductions of Artworks discussed in the Episode (click on the images to see more information)
