CSMC
CSMCCentre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures
One year ago, after a sea voyage of around 24,000 kilometres, the Container Lab reached its destination in Puducherry, India. Since then, it has been stationed on the grounds of the IFP to subject valuable palm-leaf manuscripts from its collection to detailed analyses of their materiality. These are intended to provide information about the exact origin of the objects, which are part of the UNESCO Memory of the World. The research project, which involves both Indologists and food chemists, is the first field trip for the Container Lab.
Visitors to the IFP can now learn more about this complex undertaking in an exhibition. For one thing, it highlights cultural and historical aspects: the panels and exhibits show, among other things, when and where palm-leaf manuscripts were produced, how the palm leaves were processed, and what techniques and materials were used. Another focus of the exhibition is to shed light on the different approaches taken by the researchers in the Container Lab: what methods of analysis are used, what equipment and technical expertise is required, and how do the results of these methods ultimately come together to form a picture that reveals the origin of the objects under investigation?
The exhibition was created by MA student Theresa Alappat as her final thesis project. Parts of it can be seen on the premises of the IFP, while others are located directly at the Container Lab, which has been set up in an old warehouse near the IFP. As part of the Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative (PLMPI), the Container Lab will remain at this location until October 2025, after which it will be returned to Hamburg after a year and a half in India. The recently released documentary film ‘Our Container Lab. Mission 1: Palm Leaf Profilers’ provides deeper insights into the project.
