Antiquities Exhibits

Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Nabatean Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Portrait head of a priest or magistrate from Greece or Asia Minor, 3rd century CE. Image courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum. The Cincinnati Art Museum possesses a distinguished collection of ancient art from the Mediterranean region and the Near East. Spanning some four thousand years from the fourth millennium B.C.E. to the early centuries C.E. This notable collection features major examples of stone sculpture, decorated metalwork, painted wall carvings  and ceramic vessels from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome as well as an exceptional collection of Nabataean sculpture and decorated architecture—the largest collection of material of its kind outside of Jordan.

Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, Ongoing, at the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts Portrait Statuette of the Greek Orator Demosthenes Early Roman copy of a Greek original courtesy of the Harvard Art Museum. For more than 5,000 years, bronze and other copper alloys have been essential materials, used to create everything from life-size sculpture to objects of daily life, such as weapons, jewelry, and tableware. Copper alloy objects were especially prestigious due to the intrinsic value of the metal, which has also been used for coinage for thousands of years. The Harvard Art Museums’ collection of ancient bronze objects ranges from masterpieces, such as the statuette of the philosopher Demosthenes, to utilitarian objects, such as writing tools, clothing fasteners, and lamps. The objects date from the early Bronze Age through the Byzantine period and originate from Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa. The collection contains significa...

Antinous: Boy Made God - September 25, 2018 - February 24, 2019 at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. Antinous as Dionysos Roman 2nd century CE at the Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy. Antinous was a boy-favorite of the Emperor Hadrian. He drowned in the Nile in A.D. 130, and the emperor founded a city in middle Egypt in his honor called Antinoopolis or ‘Antinous City’. A striking portrait of the boy was created by a great court sculptor, and this image was widely reproduced around the empire. More than eighty busts and statues survive. This exhibition explores the spread of Antinous’ image and his empire-wide cult as a hero and god.

Classical art of ancient Greece and Rome. Ongoing. At the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Head of a Woman in the Guise of a Goddess 1st century CE copper alloy and silver.  Image courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina The influence of other Mediterranean civilizations—such as ancient Egypt—is often visible in Greek, Roman or Cypriot art, attesting not only to the cultural and commercial exchanges throughout the region, but also to the Greek colonization of North Africa and Western Asia during the Hellenistic period and the vastness of the Roman Empire. In this exhibit, visitors can compare the Figure of a Youth from Cyprus with the Egyptian Figure of a Man, and note the Greek Hydria (probably from Egypt) as well as the Egypto-Roman statuette of Aphrodite-Isis. Many works of classical art also bring to life ancient personalities, such as Marcus Aurelius in this museum's portrait of the emperor and the playwrights...

Iron Age burials of Keltenmuseum.  Ongoing.  At the Keltenmuseum in Hallein, Austria near Salzburg,  Reconstructed chariot found in Grave 44 of the excavations around the salt min at Dürrnberg, Austria. Image courtesy of Wolfgang Sauber, Wikimedia Commons . Collections include the grave goods of a  'princely' warrior buried with a wooden jug that had bronze mounts, one of which is the stylised Celtic head which is used as the logo of the Keltenmuseum, a spouted bronze pilgrim flask, and a bucket shaped vessel which contained an Athenian pottery kylix dated to around 470BCE. At the feet of this warrior was his pointed bronze helmet, of typical La Tène type, an Iron sword, a bow and arrow and three lances as well as a small gold model of a boat with two oars symbolic of the journey to the afterlife.  Other items on display from other La Tène type burials include amber jewelry, Celtic bronze vessels, and reconstructed chariots.

Armenia. Through January 13, 2019 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Bronze censor with engraved and chased details. 7th-8th century CE.  Image courtesy of the History Museum of Armenia, Yerevan (1265) This is the first major exhibition to explore the remarkable artistic and cultural achievements of the Armenian people in a global context over fourteen centuries—from the fourth century, when the Armenians converted to Christianity in their homeland at the base of Mount Ararat, to the seventeenth century, when Armenian control of global trade routes first brought books printed in Armenian into the region. Through some 140 objects - including opulent gilded reliquaries, richly illuminated manuscripts, rare textiles, cross stones (khachkars), precious liturgical furnishings, church models, and printed books.

Devotion and Decadence: The Berthouville Treasure and Roman Luxury is back in the US for its last appearance at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World from October 17, 2018 Silver cup with centaurs, Roman, middle of the 1st century CE. From the Treasure of Berthouville, recovered in 1830. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Jastrow. Devotion and Decadence: The Berthouville Treasure and Roman Luxury is back in the US for its last appearance at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World from October 17, 2018 – January 6, 2019. Recognized today as one of the finest surviving hoards of ancient Roman silver, the Berthouville Treasure was discovered by a French farmer while plowing his field near the village of Berthouville, in Normandy. The cache—comprising approximately ninety silver and gilt-silver objects dating from the first to third centuries CE—had been buried in a brick-lined pit in antiquity. The exhibit i...

Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art: Through January 2019 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City - This heavy metal ornament, decorated with the head of Medusa and inlays of silver and copper, probably comes from a currus triumphalis (ceremonial chariot) used in processions rather than a lightweight racing chariot.  Roman.  1st - 2nd century CE.  Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York. Beginning in the fifth century B.C., Medusa, the snaky-haired Gorgon whose gaze turned men to stone, became increasingly anthropomorphic and feminine, undergoing a visual transformation from grotesque to beautiful. A similar shift in representations of other mythical female half-human beings, such as sphinxes, sirens, and the sea monster Scylla, took place at the same time. Featuring 60 artworks, primarily from The Met collection, this exhibition explores how the beautification of these terrifying figures manifested the idealizing...

Closing soon! Hadrian and Athens: Conversing with an Ideal World. Through November 2018 at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Portrait Head of the Emperor Hadrian found in Athens 130-138 CE courtesy of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens By promoting the integration of Greek intelligentsia with Roman tradition, Hadrian contributed decisively to forging a common cultural base that served as a fundamental element of western culture. Portraits of the Emperor Hadrian are on display centrally in an imaginary philosophical dialogue about Greek culture with emblematic figures of intellectuals such as Metrodorus, Antonius Polemon and Herodes Atticus. Portraits of Plato and Aristotle, standing as symbols of Greek philosophical thought, observe the imagined conversation, along with the Kosmetai, the officials who were responsible for the intellectual and physical education of the ephebes in the Athenian gymnasia of the imperial period.

Closing Sunday! Cultures in the Crossfire: Stories from Syria and Iraq, through November 25, 2018, The Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Limestone loculus cover from Palmyra 2nd century CE photographed at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This new exhibition, created in conjunction with the Penn Cultural Heritage Center, sheds light on the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage in the Middle East by showing what’s at stake—the rich history of the region and the diversity of its people—and what’s being done to prevent the loss of this history and cultural identity. Fascinating ancient art and artifacts from the Penn Museum’s extensive Near East collection tell stories of the cultures of Syria and Iraq through time. Contemporary artwork from Issam Kourbaj, a Syrian artist based in Cambridge, UK, provides an art intervention—a modern-day response to the artifacts and themes. The exhibition features the important work ...

Passing through the Underworld: Egyptian Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Vincent Price Art Museum. Heads of Prisoners Egypt 12th Dynasty 1878-1783 BCE Basalt photographed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California. Through December 8, 2018 - This exhibition, drawn from LACMA’s permanent collection and two artworks from the collection of the Vincent Price Art Museum, presents an introduction to Egyptian art with a focus on myth and funerary practice. The exhibition features coffins, a mummy, and mummy masks, along with objects from tombs that provide insight into Egyptian funerary practice. Images of deities illuminate Egyptian creation mythologies and understandings of the afterlife, while priestly insignia and tools reflect the rituals of Egyptian temple life. Depictions of animals illustrate popular beliefs and religious practices, and royal statuary represents rulers and activities of the court. Other objects in the ex...

Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs. Through December 31, 2018 at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada . Experience a time when civilization grew along the Nile, pyramids dotted the skyline and people believed gods walked among us. With more than 300 original artifacts, some an astounding 4,500 years old, this exhibition covers all aspects of ancient Egyptian life, from the emergence of ancient Egyptian civilization along the Nile to the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. Be among the first in North America to see this exhibition’s priceless ancient artifacts, such as the coffin of Nakht, an exceptional bust of Hatshepsut and an ornate gold and garnet necklace from the Ptolemaic period. Images courtesy of the Royal BC Museum

A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt - Ongoing. At the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York. Closeup of Roman Period Gilded Gesso Mummy Cartonnage of a Woman Hawara (possibly) Egypt 1st century CE Mummy cartonnage of a woman with draped garment, elaborate coiffure, eyes inlaid with glass, necklace (formerly inlaid throughout) and garland. There are also serpent-armlets, in relief, on the upper arms and wrists. The front is mostly gilded, but wreath and top and sides of head are painted photographed at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York. The ancient Egyptians believed that to make rebirth possible for a deceased woman, she briefly had to turn into a man. Guided by new research inspired in part by feminist scholarship, the exhibition A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt tells this remarkable story of gender transformation in the ancient world, exploring the differences between male and female access to the afterlife...

From Stone to Silicone. Ongoing. At the Harvard Semitic Museum. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. - This exhibit features striking silicone replicas of millennia-old reliefs from majestic Assyrian palaces in Nimrud and Nineveh (present-day Iraq). The reliefs can be less than a foot, or more than 12 feet tall. While some are free-standing, others stretch up to 14 feet long.  Using special characters and pictorial text, the reliefs describe King Ashurnasirpal of Assyria engaging in epic battles, speaking to the people of his empire, hunting lions, and boasting of his accomplishments. There are stories about soldiers and prisoners, as well as narratives of lavish celebrations with music and libation. Newly fabricated cast of an ancient relief that once adorned a Mesopotamian palace wall. Meticulously created by museum curators and Harvard students, these relief sculptures show how the ancient kings commemorated their military triumphs and civic achievements. For ancient audiences, the...

Ancient Art of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Ongoing. At the Fowler Museum on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. - The Fowler’s collections comprise more than 120,000 art and ethnographic and 600,000 archaeological objects representing ancient, traditional, and contemporary cultures of Africa, Native and Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific.  The Fowler’s collections comprise more than 120,000 art and ethnographic and 600,000 archaeological objects representing ancient, traditional, and contemporary cultures of Africa, Native and Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific. From Yoruba beaded arts of Southern Nigeria, to pre-Columbian ceramic vessels of Peru. Read even more!

Roman and Germanic Art from Pre-history to the early Middle Ages.  Ongoing. At the Central Museum for Roman and Germanic Art in Mainz, ancient Mogontiacum, Germany.  Statue of a Persian Soldier at the Central Museum for Roman and Germanic Art in Mainz, Germany. Collections include ancient jewelry, coins, portrait sculptures, helmets, funerary monuments, ivory reliefs, and  five ships dating from the third and fourth centuries salvaged from the ancient harbor basin of Mainz. 

The Other Mediterranean - The Museum of Decorative Arts in Montevideo, Uruguay The Museum of Decorative Arts is housed in the former Palacio Taranco in Montevideo, Uruguay. A palace designed by French architects  Charles Louis Girault  and  Jules Chifflot León , who also designed the  Petit Palais  and the  Arc de Triomphe  in  Paris The Museum of Decorative Arts in Montevideo, Uruguay is hosting  “The Other Mediterranean,” highlighting Mediterranean cultures of the Middle East. The exhibit features items, such as a 10th-century bowl found in the ancient city of Rayy, an 18th-century Iranian vase and an “ushabti,” a funerary figurine used in Ancient Egypt. The pieces are part of the museum’s permanent collection of ancient Greek, Roman and Persian artifacts, which is comprised of more than 2,000 articles. Related link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palacio_Taranco

Roman epigraphy, pre-Columbian ceramics and even an Egyptian mummy.  Ongoing at The Carmo Archaeological Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.  Peruvian Mummy at the Carmo Archaeological Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.  Image courtesy of Trip Advisor. Founded in 1864 by the Association of Portuguese Archaeologists (1863) in the ruins of the old Carmo church in Lisbon, this museum houses an eclectic collection of Roman epigraphy, pre-Columbian ceramics and mummies, an Egyptian sarcophagus and mummy, plus a vast array of objects recovered from the excavation of Castro de Vila Nova de S. Pedro (Calcolítico c. 3500 BC) , in Azambuja. Related links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmo_Convent_(Lisbon) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castro_of_Vila_Nova_de_S%C3%A3o_Pedro