Alexander Exhibition in New York City

[amyntoros]

Finally, a new exhibition on Alexander! The Onassis Cultural Center, Olympic Tower, 645 Fifth Avenue, (Entrance on 51st Street), New York, NY 10022, has a new exhibition opening December 10th and running until April 16, 2005.-á Here's the blurb, which isn't on their web-page yet - they are incredibly slow at updating their site at http://www.onassisusa.orgAlexander the Great
Treasures from an Epic Era of HellenismThe Onassis Foundation (USA) will bring more than two hundred precious exhibits to New York, many never seen by the public, as part of the exhibition "Alexander the Great: Treasures from an Epic Era of Hellenism"At center stage is Alexander, with expressive portraits of him of superb quality from the Athenian Acropolis and the capital city of ancient Macedonia, Pella.-á A fine bronze statuette from Herculaneum, Italy, shows the king on horseback - in a theatrical moment the horse rears, emphasizing the dramatic action of his master.-á Golden medallions with amazing depictions of Alexander, Philip II, and Olympias testify to the rebirth of interest in the Roman Empire of the third century A.D.In addition, the exhibition sheds light on the daily life of the men and women that were Alexander's people.-á Weaponry of Alexander's army - already famous in antiquity - such as an original sarissa, a spear five meters in length, introduced by Alexander's father Philip II; an extensive range of tableware of the Macedonian symposia, and rich dresses, jewelry, and adornments of the Macedonian women provide the setting for a better understanding of Alexander's milieu.The exhibition closes with unique finds from a recently excavated tomb of Vergina, including golden plates, golden fibulae, and ribbons from the dresses of a deceased "queen" that prefigure the onset of Alexander's era some 150 years later."Alexander the Great: Treasures from an Epic Era of Hellenism" unites objects from major archaeological Museums in Greece, including the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Dion Archaeological Museum at the Royal Tombs of Vergina, Pella Archaeological Museum, and Thessalonika Archaeological Museum; from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, as well as objects from The American Numismatic Society, New York; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Mass.; Iris & B Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, California; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York;

[amyntoros]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey; The Saint Louis Art Museum; and the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.Curator: Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, Professor of Archaeology, University of Thessaloniki; Director of Excavations, Dion, Thessaloniki; President, Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum."Now I do know that some previous exhibitions at this center have traveled the US, appearing in at least three or four major cities, so I'm sure this-áexhibit will be shown elsewhere. But if anyone was planning on visiting New York, then add this to your itinerary. -á If you make it on opening day, you can expect to see me there!-á :-)Linda Ann

[marcus]

Unfortunately there's absolutely no chance of my being able to afford to go to the US in December (or any time before April, for that matter).Can I put in an order for an exhibition catalogue and any/all available postcards? (Or, of course, sponsorship to go ...)Marcus

[jan]

Thanks, Linda, for answering my question as to whether you will be able to found. This is wonderful. Who do we thank? Oliver Stone, or you?Finally, a reason to get to the big apple after all. I won't dare miss it. I can't promise to be there on opening day but I surely would love to see you there.Always,Jan

[amyntoros]

I'll definitely get you a catalogue as I expect to be making a few visits. It wouldn't surprise me if an exhibition of this size and scope eventually tours Europe under different sponsorship, so you may get to see it yourself, one day. (Did the Search for Alexander exhibit tour Europe?) And Britain is getting a major new exhibition on Ancient Persia next fall, which *I* would love to see...http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/art ... t=11718"In Britain, similar academic exchanges are afoot. A major exhibition, "Splendours of Ancient Persia," will open in London next year at the British Museum (September 2005-January 2006). John Curtis, the museum's keeper of the ancient Near East, is visiting Tehran in July to discuss loan requests. Just over a third of the 250 items are expected to come from Iran's National Museum and the Persepolis Museum, with the remainder from the British Museum, the Louvre and Berlin's Pergamon Museum. The show will focus on the Achaemenid period (550-330 B.C.), from the conquest by Cyrus to the occupation by Alexander the Great. Although discussions are at an early stage, it is significant that the show may tour to the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin and the Louvre, in the countries that, in addition to Britain, have been most vocal in their calls for Iran to come clean about its nuclear intentions: Germany and France."

Linda Ann

[amyntoros]

Well, Jan, I don't think you need to thank *me* - I'm simply on the mailing list for the center. I'm sure they planned this to coincide with the movie release, though an exhibition of this scope might have been years in the making. (They did do a sold-out reading of excerpts from the Iliad when Troy came out, so they're pretty savvy when it comes to marketing their events.)If you don't get to New York, I'm betting the exhibit will make it to the west coast - maybe even to the Getty museum which is opening (or has already opened) a major new building to display their Greek and Roman antiquities.Linda Ann

[Linda]

Thanks for this, Linda Ann. Maybe I'll make it over. I love New York, and this is another excuse..Do you live there?Linda

[amyntoros]

Yep - for a good many years now, though I live close by in the burbs and not in Manhattan itself. But I'm not a native - am originally from good old "Donny" (Doncaster) in England. :-)Linda Ann