Sixty works of art from the ancient Mediterranean world will be on view, many of them for the first time, in a new exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University opening Feb. 15. The works, ranging in date from about 2800 BCE to 300 CE, are part of a recent gift to the Nasher Museum from a private collection.
"The Past is Present: Classical Antiquities at the Nasher Museum" includes examples of vase painting, marble and terracotta sculpture, bronze, carved amber and gold jewelry from the Cycladic era (third millennium BCE) through the late Hellenistic period.
The gift, given by an anonymous donor in 2006, contains pieces from a private collection assembled between the 1920s and the early 1970s. The show also includes ancient works from the Duke Classical Collection and the Nasher Museum's collection.
"We are delighted to present this beautiful exhibition, which contains a number of breathtaking objects from the ancient Mediterranean world," said Kimerly Rorschach, the Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director of the Nasher Museum. "The show also represents the research of Duke professors and students and brings their findings to a broad audience."
The Nasher Museum of Art is on Duke's campus and serves the university, Research Triangle area and surrounding region.
One of the recently acquired works in the exhibition is a vase from about 520-510 BCE, "Attic black-figure neck-amphora with Europa and the Bull," depicting an ancient Greek myth. The vase was found at Vulci in Etruria (Italy) more than 200 years ago and had been part of the collection of Lucien Bonaparte and the Duke of Buckingham.
Another work, "Gold Disc with Bees," was worn, possibly as a pendant, in the ancient Greek world almost 3,000 years ago. The detailed workmanship of the piece -- decorated with four honeybees clustered around a flower -- shows the influence of art of the ancient Near East (today's Middle East) that spread across much of the ancient eastern Mediterranean in the 7th century BCE.
The installation was organized by Carla Antonaccio, professor of archeology in Duke's Department of Classical Studies, and Sheila Dillon, the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Art, Art History and Visual Studies at Duke.
They present the exhibition through six themes: "The Bronze Age: before ‘Greece'" (circa 3300 to 1100 BCE); "The Bronze Age without End" (circa 1100 to 700 BCE); "Women, Beauty and Adornment"; "Death and the Funeral"; "The Gods and Sacrifice"; and "The Greek Mixer: Symposia and Drinking Games."
An important aspect of the exhibition is researching, documenting and publishing the collection. Professors Antonaccio and Dillon team-teach a Duke class at the Nasher Museum; their students will take part in cataloging the new antiquities gift. Anne Schroder, the museum's curator of academic programs, is the coordinating curator for the exhibition.
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Permanent Collection
The Nasher Museum was founded as the Duke University Museum of Art (DUMA) in 1969 with the gift of the Brummer Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Art to the university. The museum's holdings include more than 13,000 works of art, acquired primarily through donations. The permanent collection is strong in four core areas: medieval and Renaissance art, African art, ancient American (pre-Columbian) art and classical sculpture. Duke faculty have long used the museum's permanent collection in their teaching and research.
The Nasher Museum's temporary exhibition program focuses on modern and contemporary art with an emphasis on innovative and leading-edge artists. The museum is building the collection in these areas.
The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
The Nasher Museum of Art, designed by Rafael Viñoly, is located at 2001 Campus Drive at Anderson Street. The museum also includes a café and gift store.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays. Suggested admission is $5 adults, $4 for seniors and members of the Duke Alumni Association, $3 for non-Duke students with I.D. and free for children 16 and younger. Admission is free to Duke students, faculty and staff with Duke I.D. Admission is also free to Durham city residents who present a valid I.D. with proof of residency, courtesy of the Herald-Sun.
Nasher Museum exhibitions and programs are supported by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Mary D.B.T. Semans and the late James H. Semans, The Duke Endowment, the Nancy Hanks Endowment, the K. Brantley and Maxine E. Watson Endowment Fund, the James Hustead Semans Memorial Fund, the Marilyn M. Arthur Fund, the Victor and Lenore Behar Endowment Fund, the Sarah Schroth Fund, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost, Duke University and the Friends of the Nasher Museum of Art.
Additional information is available at www.nasher.duke.edu.