Exhibition Watch

Exhibitions from one end of the country to the other are illuminating the Bible and archaeology.

Exhibition of the Gold-Glass Table from Caesarea

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Gold-Glass Table Exhibition

Beginning September 21, 2008

The Israel Antiquities Authority has loaned the extraordinary Gold-Glass Table from Caesarea to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The late sixth, early seventh century A.D. piece will be on display in the Byzantine Galleries of the museum. The table, thought to be the only one of its kind in the world, was excavated from a Byzantine-period mansion in the coastal city of Caesarea in 2005. The table panel was nearly intact upon its discovery, and has subsequently undergone restoration works in order that it be properly conserved.

The workmanship of the panel, made using the opus sectile technique, represents a complicated process that would have required great expertise and skill. “Gold-glass” tiles were created by placing a very thin piece of gold foil between two layers of glass to create a platelet. Platelets of a variety of geometric shapes were then inlaid into the panel. In addition to the gold-glass platelets, there are also tiles made of opaque, colored glass. Many of the platelets are also decorated with a relief pattern that was made in a mold while the glass layer was still hot. Platelets and tiles made in this manner, and objects subsequently created using them, are extremely rare among objects found from this period.

Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

November 18, 2008–March 15, 2009

Following the smashing success of its 2003 exhibition Art of the First Cities: the Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is preparing to unveil its landmark presentation of the successive millennium with its new show titled Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. The exhibition is designed to paint a picture for the modern visitor of the ancient origins of our global economy through the display of ancient and rare objects of exceptional quality and beauty.

Approximately 350 artifacts will be brought together to represent the development of art, culture, technology and international relationships that occurred on an unprecedented scale in the second millennium B.C. These pieces represent the height of luxury and artistic skill from civilizations such as ancient Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia, Greece and the northern Caucasus—areas of the ancient world that were separated by great distances and even greater ideologies. Nevertheless, the vast trade network that developed during the second millennium B.C. between these lands not only facilitated the dissemination of precious raw materials and luxury items, but also provided for the exchange of ideas, cultural traditions and diplomatic contacts.

Jewelry, sculptures, vessels made of precious metals, and priceless votives will be among the collection of luxury objects that were recovered from the royal palaces, tombs and temples of these ancient civilizations. Also featured will be the cargo recovered from an extraordinary shipwreck, which serves as a veritable time capsule of the late second millennium trade relations and the wealth that flowed between these ancient nations. The exhibit is made possible by Dorothy and Lewis Cullman, with additional support provided by the Oceanic Heritage Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Mysteries of the Ancient World

The Jewish Museum New York

September 21, 2008–January 4, 2009

Since their initial discovery in 1947, the series of ancient documents and texts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls have provided scholars with a wealth of information—and have generated just as many questions. The scrolls, which date from the 3rd century B.C. to the 1st century A.D., are largely comprised of biblical commentaries and texts, including the oldest known copy of the Hebrew Bible. The questions of who wrote them, who used them, and what their ultimate relevance and impact is on modern scholarship has been at the crux of an ongoing debate for over 60 years. While it may well be another 60 years before the scholars reach a consensus, the Dead Sea Scrolls are without question one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Beginning September 21 at the Jewish Museum in New York, visitors will have the opportunity to view six of the precious documents, two of which have never before been presented to the public. The scrolls on display will include a portion of the oldest Hebrew Bible in existence, an apocryphal text called the Book of Tobit, and two sectarian compositions. In addition to the scrolls themselves, objects highlighting daily life from the site of Qumran will also be on display. The exhibit, which is part of the National Treasures of the Israel Antiquities Authority, represents a collaboration between the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Jewish Museum.

Three Gutenberg Bibles

The Morgan Library and Museum

Continuing through September 28, 2008

For the first time in more than a decade, the Morgan Library and Museum presents all three of its Gutenberg Bibles, the largest number of copies in any single collection. This exhibit allows visitors to see important differences in copies of the first substantial printed book in the Western world—a groundbreaking technological innovation and a high point in the art of graphic design.

Each of the three copies at the Morgan has a special story to tell about its design and manufacture. Marketing considerations dictated the large size of these stately folio Bibles, ideal for reading in a monastic refectory. They were never intended to be luxury books, but they did contain headings and ornamentation to help the reader navigate the long, complex text. The Morgan’s copies demonstrate the artists’ techniques as well as the inventor’s artistry, which resulted in a beautiful book and a new chapter in the history of visual communication.

Idol Anxiety

Smart Museum of Art, Chicago

Continuing Through November 2, 2008

Idols are worrisome objects. From ancient times to the present day, theological traditions have reflected on idolatry and questioned the transcendence, significance, and power of objects.

By juxtaposing Mesopotamian cult figures with Classical antiquities and Renaissance paintings, Idol Anxiety examines how objects become idols and offers insight into the sometimes uneasy relationship between people and things.

Archaeology Zone: Discovering Treasures from Playgrounds to Palaces

The Jewish Museum

Continuing through June 15, 2009

In an interactive new exhibit at the Jewish Museum, children ages 3-10 can explore how archaeologists analyze objects that they unearth. Four questions will guide families through the exhibition: Where did it come from? What is it? When was it made? And why was it made? Children will piece together two larger-than-life vessels, examine replicas by weighing and magnifying, interpret symbols in a colorful reproduction of the sixth-century C.E. Beth Alpha synagogue mosaic in Israel, create works of art inspired by objects in the museum’s collection, and dress in costumes from long ago. The exhibition also includes an introductory video, original artifacts and colorful illustrations that provide a visual context for how objects were used and preserved over time.

Hadrian: Empire and Conflict

The British Museum, London

July 24-October 26, 2008

The Roman Emperor Hadrian (117 to 138 A.D.) is best known for his passion for Greek culture, interest in architecture, his love for Antinous and the eponymous wall he built between England and Scotland, then Caledonia. This exhibition will look beyond this established image and offer new perspectives on his life and legacy, exploring the sharp contradictions of his personality and his role as a ruthless military commander.

Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

September 21, 2008-January 4, 2009

From the ninth to the seventh centuries B.C., the Assyrians emerged as the dominant power in the Near East, controlling present-day Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt, as well as large parts of Turkey and Iran. It was the largest empire known until that time.

A wide variety of items—most of which were first excavated in the 19th century—will be displayed. Military dress and equipment and horse trappings and harnesses illustrate life in the army. Carved ivories, furniture fittings and metal vessels showcase the luxurious, cosmopolitan lifestyle enjoyed by the king and his court. Exorcisms, omen texts, mathematical texts and literary compositions from the royal library (where the king sought to gather together all the world’s learning in one place) enshrine the wisdom of ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of western civilization.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences

June 28-December 28, 2008

The Dead Sea Scrolls, widely acknowledged to be some of the greatest archaeological treasures ever found, are making their way through the United States. Their next stop: Raleigh, North Carolina. Among the scrolls are some 207 Biblical manuscripts that represent nearly every book in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), predating any previously known copies by more than 1,000 years.

The Museum of Natural Sciences will display 12 original Dead Sea Scrolls during the six month exhibition (six different scrolls each three-month period) representing portions of the books of Genesis, Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Exodus and others. All Scrolls will be fully interpreted with translation of text and background information. Also included in the exhibition will be more than 100 authentic artifacts from Qumran, the ancient Dead Sea settlement closest to the caves where the scrolls were discovered.

Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible

Mobile Museum of Art, Alabama

October 10, 2007-April 10, 2009

This exhibition is devoted to a single work of art, an illuminated, handwritten Bible commissioned by Saint John’s University and Abbey in Minnesota. This contemporary Bible is at once old and new: a masterpiece of the ancient crafts of calligraphy and illumination that could only be made by artists of today. The Saint John’s Bible is being created by professional scribes, under the direction of Donald Jackson, one of the world’s foremost calligraphers. In the Middle Ages, monumental Bibles were made for daily use in monastic communities, yet they were carefully preserved for future generations. The Saint John’s Bible is the modern representative of that great tradition.

Neither Man nor Beast

The Art Institute of Chicago

Ongoing

Depictions of animals pervaded the imagery on the gold, silver and bronze coinage of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. Although they often appear in their natural state, animals sometimes share the features of humans or other beasts, taking the form of mythical creatures like centaurs and sphinxes. Ancient Greek and Roman coins also featured heroes, divinities and rulers depicted with animal attributes to emphasize their special powers or to promote a specific political identity. Minted in third-century B.C. Naples, the coin pictured depicts the nymph Parthenope on the obverse side; on the reverse a man-headed bull is crowned by Nike.

This exhibit examines ancient notions of mixed identity—the idea of being neither man nor beast, neither fully mortal nor fully divine but somehow both. The ancient concept of a hybrid self was a significant element in the development of both political and religious thought, which imagined God as a being of multiple identities and faces and, in some cases, of mixed lineage.

Temples, Tells and Tombs

Milwaukee Public Museum

Permanent exhibition

Now showing at the Milwaukee Public Museum is an exhibition titled “Temples, Tells and Tombs.” The exhibition mixes the ancient and the modern to help visitors interpret the past.

Amarna, Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA

Begins November 1, 2006

Beginning in November, Philadelphia will host “Amarna, Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun,” a new exhibition at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The exhibit will focus on the royal city of Amarna built by the pharaoh Akhenaten, which was Tut’s childhood home.

The Leon Levy and Shelby White Court

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Official opening April 20, 2007

The new Greek and Roman galleries at the Met officially opened on April 20, 2007. The new exhibition complex centers around a completely refurbished Roman court named after Leon Levy and Shelby White.