Anyone here near New York? Alexander exhibit just opened...

[tino]

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/ ... 11/12/2004

[yiannis]

Here's the address: http://www.onassisusa.org/onassis.art.shtmland the announcement: http://www.onassis.gr/english/press/19102004.html

[amyntoros]

I saw the exhibit on Friday morning and was told by a couple of staff members that the exhibition will *not* be traveling to any other cities in the US or out of the country.-á When it ends in mid-April it will be dismantled.-á I decided I had better post an accounting of exactly what is in the exhibition so that anyone who might want to travel to New York knows what to expect.For a start, Alexander may be the focus, but his artifacts are certainly not the bulk of the items on show.-á A truer name for the exhibition might be Macedonian culture, 6th to 2nd century B.C., but that wouldn't bring in the crowds and there ought to be crowds to see this.-á It is certainly fascinating and valuable for anyone interested primarily in Alexander, although there are only eight sculptures of him on show, all of which were in the previous Alexander exhibition in the 80's.-á I didn't see that exhibit but I own the catalogue, so I was thrilled l to see the sculptures "in person" for the first time.-á They have the large marble head from the Acropolis; the marble head from Pella, the statue of Alexander as Pan from Pella (one of my all-time favourites); the bronze Equestrian Alexander found at Herculaneum and now in the National Museum at Naples; the small bronze of Alexander wearing an elephant skin found in the Nile Delta; and two very small bronzes, one of which is Alexander With a Lance from Macedonia by way of the Istanbul bazzar.-á Last but not least is the marble head of a young Alexander as Hercules that is said to have been found in Sparta. Photographs do-á*not* do this head justice - I swear it is so perfectly sculpted that you almost expect it to breathe!There are six gold medallions, all larger than I had previously realized, including the well-known ones of Philip, Alexander, and Olympias and the one from Abu Qir with the unusual image of (the bust of) Alexander with a shield and spear gazing upwards. Then we have twenty four coins of the period, all magnificent.-á I had thought the one tetradrachm that I own to be an excellent example until I saw these coins on display!-á (Andrew, I thought of you immediately when I saw these). All the coins and medallions are mounted in upright, freestanding, glass showcases, so you can also see the reverse.-á Now on to Macedonian cultural exhibits where there is a large selection of items from the Symposium, including nineteen pieces found in the tomb of "Philip," and some later pieces such as a transparent glass (!) kypho

[amyntoros]

Now on to Macedonian cultural exhibits where there is a large selection of items from the Symposium, including nineteen pieces found in the tomb of "Philip," and some later pieces such as a transparent glass (!) kyphos, a large vase in the form of a phallus, and five decorative appliqu+¬s from the fulcrum of couches.-á There's much emphasis in the wording of the display about how the size of the wine cups and paraphernalia had been reduced by Philip and refined further by Alexander, curious in itself when one considers how much debate there is about Alexander's wine consumption and the ancient accounts of the size of cup from which he sometimes drank.-á I was certainly surprised on seeing them and comparing them mentally with the huge drinking cups and kraters found in Athens and other areas of Greece.-á Even the jugs and ladles are smaller than I had expected. They must have had many refills during the symposium if the accounts of Macedonian drinking habits are correct! And there is one water vase, said to be used for mixing with wine, but it is from the fifth century - presumably a family heirloom and possibly the product of an Attic workshop - and it had been used as a cinerary urn in a later burial of the third quarter of the fourth century B.C.-á So there are still no archeological answers here regarding the debate about the Macedonians mixing water with wine.There are eighteen small female figurines, most of them from the second and third centuries B.C., and of great interest to anyone wanting to know more about female clothing in Macedonia (yep, that's me!).-á Then on to a small display of women's items - containers for perfumes and a folding mirror, all from the tombs at Aigai, including the looted tomb of "Queen Eurydike."-á Next are the jewelry displays, divided into jewelry worn while alive, and a smaller one for jewelry made exclusively for funerary use.-á I recognized many from the photographs of the previous exhibition, though once again they are considerably more impressive seen in person, and there are new pieces on exhibit including a display of jewelry from a "noblewoman's" tomb at Aigai dated circa 500 B.C., which is laid out exactly as it was found.-á Two extremely large gold pins are startling - - not fibulae, but true pins with handles big enough to hold in your fist and shafts long (and sharp) enough go right through a man!-á And (a nod to Tre here), according to the catalogue, traces of a wooden sceptre were found in the coffin.-á I'm fin

[amyntoros]

And (a nod to Tre here), according to the catalogue, traces of a wooden sceptre were found in the coffin.-á I'm finally willing to admit that Alexander may have carried a sceptre after all.-á :-)Then there is the military equipment area, with swords, a saber, two pairs of greaves, part of a Macedonian shield (with the sunburst evident), a Chalkidian style helmet, an Illyrian style helmet, sling shells, spearheads, and (best of all) the metal parts of a sarissa along with a smaller sarissa which they believe might be the kind the cavalry used.I mustn't forget the life-size reproduction of the pediment and frieze from a tomb at Aghios Athanasios, Thessaloniki. Very interesting and informative - the Macedonian kausia looks completely different from how I had pictured it!Of course, anyone here who was already planning to visit New York should definitely see this. I only had to ride for an hour on the subway and pay two dollars in fare, so obviously I was going to be delighted with what I found. I tried to give as complete an accounting as possible of what is to be seen, so anyone reading this can judge for themselves whether they want to make the trip. If you do, you'll get an oversized, full colour, 150 page catalogue to take away. :-)Best regards,Linda Ann