Encounters: The Indian Ocean in 50 Objects offers a pioneering study of the Indian Ocean’s history through 50 carefully selected objects, spanning cultures from the Red Sea to Vietnam and covering a period from the 5th century BCE to the 16th century CE. This book highlights the dynamic and interconnected nature of the Indian Ocean, transcending national histories and political boundaries. It introduces a unique methodology, using artefacts as bridges to uncover the vibrant cultural exchanges, religious practices and economic networks that shaped this vast maritime region.

Divided into five thematic chapters, this book delves into the treasures of the ocean, the mobility and communication across its waters, the script cultures of graffiti and inscriptions, the entangled histories of coins and seals and the spread of religious ideas across islands and shared coastal spaces. Readers will gain insights into the complex themes related to the expression of cultural identity through writing; the spread of religious practices, images and coastal shrines; the connected histories of money; and the continued use of the dhow vignette on banknotes in the post-colonial period.

This textbook is an essential resource for undergraduate courses on the early history of the Indian Ocean and South Asian material culture. It is designed for students, researchers and informed readers curious about the material culture that connected distant coasts and communities across the ocean. This book’s interdisciplinary approach makes it a valuable tool for understanding the complexities of maritime networks and their enduring legacies.

Himanshu Prabha Ray is a Tagore National Fellow, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, having worked earlier at the university as a professor. Her recent
books include Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks, 2021,
and an edited volume, Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian
Ocean World, 2021.

Shailendra Bhandare is a Senior Curator, Ashmolean Museum, University of
Oxford. His recent edited volume was Odyssey of the Rupee, published in 2026
to mark an exhibition celebrating 75th anniversary of independent India’s rupee
coinage, curated by Shailendra and held at Sarmaya Foundation, Mumbai.