Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University
http://www.nyu.edu/isaw
Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11 am – 6 pm
Friday, 11 am – 8 pm
Closed Monday
Admission to all ISAW exhibitions is free.
WINE, WORSHIP, AND SACRIFICE: THE GOLDEN GRAVES OF ANCIENT VANI
OPENED AT THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
On March 12, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), at New York University, opened Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani. On view through June 1, 2008, this is the inaugural exhibition of the newly established center for advanced research in the study of ancient cultures. The exhibition of more than 130 objects presents the spectacular finds excavated from graves at Vani, an important administrative and religious capital of the ancient kingdom of Colchis (present-day Republic of Georgia), best known as the legendary setting for the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece.
Highlighting treasures from four of Vani’s richest graves, which date from the fifth to the fourth centuries B.C., the exhibition features a superb array of locally produced gold and silver jewelry, as well as silver drinking vessels, bronze sculpture, ceramics, glassware, and ritual objects, many of them imported from the city’s eastern and western neighbors. Collectively, these artifacts reveal a fascinating and complex culture, influenced by exchange and contact with other civilizations while maintaining a distinct identity of its own.
Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice is drawn almost entirely from objects excavated at Vani since the 1960s. Generously loaned by the Georgian National Museum, in whose collection they reside, these objects have never before been seen in North America.
Highlights
Among the many examples of superbly crafted and designed jewelry are an elaborate polychrome enamel-and-gold pectoral (fourth century B.C.), notable for its combination of Egyptian, Persian, and Colchian decorative motifs; a magnificent silver belt (fourth century B.C.) with repoussé scenes of banqueting and animal processions that reflect Persian and nomadic iconographic preferences; and an exquisite gold diadem (fourth century B.C.) that is compositionally unique to Colchis, but incorporates Near Eastern iconography. A stunning bronze torso of a youth recalls the finest Early Classical Greek sculptures, but appears to have been locally produced in the second century B.C., reflecting the Hellenization of this area during the city’s later period. The installation also includes excavation photographs showing many of the objects in situ, a rare visual aid in ancient-art exhibitions.
Educational Programs
On May 16 and 17, 2008, ISAW will host a scholarly conference on the art and culture of ancient Vani and Colchis. Sir John Boardman, emeritus Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Oxford, and David Lordkipanidze, general director, Georgian National Museum, will be the
keynote speakers.
Free guided tours of the exhibition will be offered Fridays at 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
Founded by the Leon Levy Foundation in 2006, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University is an independent center for scholarly research and graduate education, intended to cultivate comparative and connective investigations of the ancient world. In addition to its doctoral and postdoctoral programs, ISAW engages the larger scholarly and public community with an ongoing program of exhibitions, lectures, and publications. ISAW is located at 15 East 84 Street, in a historic six-story townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. ISAW director is Roger S. Bagnall, and its founder and board chairman is Shelby White.
The Georgian National Museum
The Georgian National Museum is a network of cultural institutions, established by presidential decree in 2004 in order to integrate the management, research, and educational activities of eleven museums within the Republic of Georgia. Prominent among them is the Archaeological Museum-Reserve of Vani, founded in 1981 as the principal repository and conservation-and-research center for the archaeological materials excavated in Vani.
Image above:
Gold Headdress Ornament with openwork decoration.
Vani, second half of 4th century B.C.
Photo: Georgian National Museum
For more information go to: http://www.nyu.edu/isaw
