3 January 2022

Exploration tour tip in Vienna: Experiencing cultures of the Silk Road with all senses at the exhibition 'Dust & Silk. Steppe and Silk Roads' at Weltmuseum and its collaborative partner 'D-Bar' with the motto 'Discovery' at The Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton 'D-Bar' continues the collaboration with the Weltmuseum in Vienna which has started with the exhibition 'The Aztecs' as inspiration for twelve cocktail creations and a menu in the format of a travel diary. On occasion of the new exhibition 'Dust & Silk. Steppe and Silk Roads' (until 3 May 2022), the D-Bar team followed again the bar's motto 'Discovery' and researched on the cultures and tastes along the Silk Road and its exceptional destinations.

One of the new six theme-based cocktail creations is the drink 'Ad Orientalem' by bar manager Tobias Cornelius. 'Ad Orientalem' means translated from Latin as much as 'Direction Orient'. It pays homage to the historical trade route which led from China through the countries in Persia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East to Europe. The ingredients of the 'Ad Orientalem' drink such as raki, honey, and joghurt are inspired by the culinary tradition of the countries of the Aegean area Turkey and Greece. The D-Bar travel diary menu is a sort of track finder on historical and today's routes of transport and trading.

The term 'Silk Road' was derived from the German word 'Seidenstrasse' which was coined by explorer and scientist Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877 with reference to the trade routes of silk for the textile market, even when goods like spices, tea or porcelain were transported over the same route. The exhibition throws light on the past and the future of the connections between Asia and Europe with an outlook to China's global infrastructure network 'Belt & Road Initiative', also called the 'New Silk Road'.
The exhibition is structured in themes such as 'Objects of Encounters' where artifacts like a chasuble (liturgical garment) made of Mongolian Tartar fabrics, Chinese porcelain, or wild apples are displayed. Fabrics, clothing is also a topic at 'Objects of Desire' where woven ikat fabrics show literally the 'interweaving' of the colorful Silk Road cultures from India and South China to Central Asia.

Images, from left: The D-Bar at The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna cooperates for the second time with the Weltmuseum Wien and created new cocktails on the inspiration of the running exhibition. Photo: © The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna. Right: Exhibition view 'Dust & Silk. Steppe and Silk Roads' at Weltmuseum, 16 December 2021 to 3 May 2022. Photo: © KHM-Museumsverband.