Exhibitions Archive - Classical and Ancient
Treasure Hoards – Hidden, Lost, Found
In this exhibition, the Basel Historical Museum traces the 25 most spectacular treasure hoards ever found in the Basel region.
On display are Celtic gold jewellery that once adorned huge statues of gods; One of the largest Roman silver treasures in Europe, discovered in Kaiseraugst; and the loot of a master thief sunk in the Rhine. The treasures on display date from the Bronze Age to the present day and come from north-western Switzerland, Alsace and southern Baden.
16/10/2025 - 28/06/2026
Historisches Museum Basel, Barfüsserkirche, Basel, Switzerland
La forma dell’oro. Storie di gioielli dall’Italia antica
The Shape of gold. Stories of Jewellery from Ancient Italy
Jewellery has always been an expression of identity, a complement of seduction and beauty, a sign of bonds, customs, and fashions. Lustrous, incorruptible, and precious, gold is a noble material from which to craft elaborate ornaments. But the art of adornment also encompasses other metals, such as bronze, iron, and silver, as well as gems and glass pastes, organic compounds such as amber, shells, bones, and animal teeth, which tell a long history of technological experimentation and achievement, aesthetic taste, and artisanal creativity. At the same time, it is the story of lively contacts between the peoples of the ancient Mediterranean, where the exchange of goods was combined with ideologies, behaviours, customs, and rituals in a dense blend of cultural influences.
The rich selection of objects of great historical and archaeological value offers a fascinating geographical and temporal journey through ancient Italy, from prehistory to the early Middle Ages. Ornaments and jewels convey not only beauty and uniqueness, but also the symbolic meanings, linked to the sacred, magical, power, and social prestige once attributed to these objects, still inspire fascination and wonder in those who view them.
12/06/2025 - 11/01/2026
Rocca Roveresca, Piazza Del Duca, 2, 60019 Senigallia (AN), Italy
Art in gold. Jewellery in Hellenistic times
During the Hellenistic period, that followed the conquests of Alexander the Great, the art of jewellery-making attained its zenith.
What messages did the iconography of the jewellery of this era convey? What kinds of jewellery did members of the aristocracy prefer? How were brides bedecked before the wedding ceremony? Which pieces of jewellery accompanied the adult dead and which those who had departed prematurely? How were these exquisite specimens of the ancient goldsmith’s art made? Can the Hellenistic tradition inspire contemporary creators?
These and many more questions are explored in the exhibition ‘Art in Gold: Jewellery in Hellenistic Times’. With the participation of 30 museums and Ephorates of Antiquities in Greece and five international museums, it presents unique assemblages of gold jewellery of the Hellenistic period (323–30 BC).
21/11/2024 - 1/06/2025
Benaki Museum of Greek Culture, 1 Koumbari St. & Vas. Sofias Ave., 106 74 Athens, Greece
Etruscan Treasures. The Castellani Collection between History and Fashion
This exhibition brings to Milan the most important archaeological finds and the amazing jewellery belonging to the Castellani Collection, one of the most prestigious and rich Roman antiquities collections. The hosting of the most important collection of Villa Giulia’s Museo Nazionale Etrusco, never displayed in its entirety, is the result of the collaboration between a private and a public organization, both committed to enhance the Etruscan legacy and the history of collecting which developed around it.
The activity of Fortunato Pio Castellani and his sons Alessandro and Augusto, renowned goldsmiths, collectors and antiquarians, is tied to the season of the great archaeological finds in the areas formerly inhabited by the Etruscan and Italic populations. The family start and develop an intense work of collecting artefacts and promote their exchange across the Peninsula, spurred on by a mix of historical interest, research demands, national identity and international trade. The exhibition offers an in-depth analysis of the history of the Castellani family, detailing how the goldsmith’s shop launched the antique jewellery fashion; it also recounts the history of the extraordinary collection gathered over the years and partly donated to the Villa Giulia’s Museum in 1919 and partly scattered across cultural institutes around the world.
More than 80 artefacts coming from Rome will join the Art Museum permanent collection in a process of collaboration which follows Fondazione's exhibition strategy. The six sections forming the exhibit display numerous examples of antique jewellery next to their faithful 18th-century reproductions, such as the gold Achelous head pendant; attic ceramics, like the kylix attributed to the Phrynos Painter; and mediterranean ceramics, like the Caeretan hydria attributed to the Eagle Painter.
25/10/2023 - 3/03/2024
Fondazione Luigi Rovati, Corso Venezia, 52, 20121 Milano (MI), Italy
Forme e colori dall’Italia preromana
The diadem and sceptre of Daunian princess Opaka Sabaleida are about to return to Puglia, after a long exhibition journey that has touched some of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions. The jewels of Opaka Sabaleida were discovered in 1928 in a hypogeic tomb located along the road that connects Canosa to Cerignola, in an area that runs parallel to the route of the Appia Traiana. The burial, datable to the end of the 3rd century B.C., returned a rich trousseau, with artifacts that testify to the very high level reached by Tarentine goldsmith production. In fact, alongside the golds, other works of great interest will be presented, including ceramics and handicrafts characteristic of this ancient civilization, to allow a deeper understanding of the historical and artistic context in which these treasures were made.
15/03/2025 - 18/05/2025
Museo Archeologico Nazionale Di Canosa Di Puglia, l'Edificio Mazzini, Via Piave 86 Canosa di Puglia (BT), Italy
Luxury and power. Persia to Greece
'Treasure there was in plenty – tents full of gold and silver furniture… bowls, goblets, and cups, all made of gold'
When Greek soldiers captured the royal command tent of the Persian king during the Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC), they were confronted suddenly and spectacularly by luxury on an unimaginable scale. To many ancient Greek writers, the victories of the small Greek forces against the mighty Persians were a triumph of discipline and restraint over an empire weakened by decadence and excess.
Drawing on dazzling objects from Afghanistan to Greece, this exhibition moves beyond the ancient Greek spin to explore a more complex story about luxury as a political tool in the Middle East and southeast Europe from 550–30 BC. It explores how the royal Achaemenid court of Persia used precious objects as markers of authority, defining a style of luxury that resonated across the empire from Egypt to India. It considers how eastern luxuries were received in early democratic Athens, self-styled as Persia's arch-enemy, and how they were adapted in innovative ways to make them socially and politically acceptable. Finally, it explores how Alexander the Great swept aside the Persian empire to usher in a new Hellenistic age in which eastern and western styles of luxury were fused as part of an increasingly interconnected world.
Featuring star loans as well as objects from the British Museum collection, the exhibition brings together exquisitely crafted objects in gold, silver and glass, including the extraordinary Panagyurishte Treasure from Bulgaria. Whether coveted as objects of prestige or disparaged as signs of decadence, the beauty of these Persian, Greek and Hellenistic luxuries shaped the political landscape of Europe and Asia in the first millennium BC – and their legacy persists in our attitudes to luxury today.
4/05/2023 - 13/08/2023
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, UK
Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean
Bringing together extraordinary antiquities, Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean takes visitors on a 4,000-year journey from life in the ancient Mediterranean to today.
Many of the more than 200 objects from three of the largest Mediterranean islands, Cyprus, Crete and Sardinia will be seen in the UK for the first time. They help us understand the ways these island cultures reflected, and even shaped the larger Mediterranean world with its migrations and movement of peoples. And they reveal how islanders lived every day, their communities, memories, myths, art and creativity.
Highlights include striking bronze votive figurines made around 4,000 years ago by the Nuragic people of Sardinia; exquisite pottery, jewellery and bronze figures from the palaces, sanctuaries and caves of Minoan Crete; and from the sanctuary of Agia Eirini, a selection of clay-modelled humans, deities, sphinxes and horse-drawn chariots that reveal the complexities of Cypriot society in the 6th and 7th century BC.
24/02/2023 - 4/06/2023
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RB, UK
First Kings of Europe
This gathering of more than 700 exquisite objects — including jewellery, weapons, armour, and more — has never before been shown together.
Explore the rise to power of ancient Europe’s first kings and queens and discover how once egalitarian farming communities developed power, inequity, and hierarchy for the first time. Travel back to 5000 BC to uncover what prehistoric tools, weapons, and ritual sculptures can tell us about life in the Balkans’ earliest societies. Venture through the trade routes that shaped the world as we know it today. Immerse yourself in the ceremonies of the Ages as you view a Neolithic altar, and hear the crackling fire of a life-sized funerary pyre simulation. See the precious axes, swords, and crowns that turned warriors into royals and forever changed the structure of society.
31/03/2023 – 28/01/2024
The Field Museum, 1400 South DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA
Ice Age Art Now
This visually stunning exhibition shows how artistic creativity existed thousands of years before traditional art histories suggest – as an essential part of human life.
'Ice Age Art Now' presents work by people living in Europe at the end of the last Ice Age, some as much as 32,000 years old. These astounding works reveal the deep roots of drawing, sculpture, realism, abstraction, signs, symbols and more – and the extraordinary skill and imagination of these early image makers find echoes in modern and contemporary art.
This family-friendly exhibition features a wealth of rare items from the British Museum and local treasures from the collections of Bradford District Museums & Galleries, arranged into such themes as decorating the body, drawing animals and abstracting the female form. The exhibition also features an installation reimagining cave art and other imagery from thousands of years ago for the 21st century.
21/06/2025 - 14/09/2025
Cliffe Castle Museum, Spring Gardens Lane, Keighley West Yorkshire, BD20 6LH, UK
The Oldest Jewellery & Body Ornaments
Body adornment is common to all known human cultures. Interest in jewels, tattoo and other body decoration is probably inherent to each of us and is considered as expression of personal taste. But how was it with our ancestors? Thanks to rare depictions of humans we can have an idea of how those people looked like. Exceptionally, originals of all Palaeolithic venuses found on the territory of Czech republic will be on display and also very rare depiction of men e.g. the shaman’s puppet from Brno.
22/09/2023 - 29/02/2024
Museum Complex of the National Museum, Václavské náměstí 68, Praha 1, Czechia
Adornment. Jewelry and Body Decoration in Prehistoric Times
This exhibition examines adornment in the prehistoric world. Through this prism, we shall attempt to connect with the people who lived here thousands of years ago and gain insight into their lifeways, beliefs, and thoughts. The importance of jewellery and other ornaments in these early periods finds particular expression in their use as burial goods, which accompanied the deceased after death. It is also expressed by production techniques, since even the simplest pieces, such as the ostrich eggshell beads, required tremendous effort and skill.
Much is still unknown about adornment in prehistoric times. Comparisons with the practices of contemporary tribal societies provide some explanation for the role of adornment among our prehistoric ancestors. Through the pairing of such insights with the fruits of archaeological research, it has been possible to uncover secrets regarding identity and significance, life and death, in the prehistoric world, some of which are still inherent in jewellery worn today.
2/06/2022 – 15/04/2023
Israel Museum, Derech Ruppin 11, Jerusalem, Israel
The Bronze Age, Fires of Change
Curated by the Archaeological Park of Sepino - Molise Museums Regional Directorship, this exhibition unfolds the story of jewellery in Italy from prehistory to the Middle Ages. After opening at the ‘G.A. Sanna’ Museum in Sassari, the exhibition will later continue in other venues in southern Italy.
The Bronze Age (2000-800 BC) marked a key period in prehistory, when the emergence of a new metal – bronze – sparked profound changes in society. This alloy of tin and copper – tough, hard, and shiny like gold in the sun – proved a suitable material for superior weapons, jewellery and tools. Trade, migration and far-flung networks gave rise to a web of intensive connections in Europe. This major exhibition sheds light on this vital period in our history. An extensive and unique collection of national and international masterpieces from this period has been brought together in the Netherlands for the first time.
18/10/2024 - 16/03/2025
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Rapenburg 28, 2311 EW Leiden, netherlands
The world of Stonehenge
Shrouded in layers of speculation and folklore, this iconic British monument has spurred myths and legends that persist today. In this special exhibition, the British Museum will reveal the secrets of Stonehenge, shining a light on its purpose, cultural power and the people that created it.
The human story behind the stones reveals itself through a variety of fascinating objects. Among these are stone axes from the North Italian Alps, stunning gold jewellery and astonishing examples of early metalwork including the Nebra Sky Disc – the world's oldest surviving map of the stars. A remarkably preserved 4,000-year-old timber circle dubbed Seahenge also takes centre stage in the show, on loan for the very first time. All these objects offer important clues about the beliefs, rituals, and complex worldview of Neolithic people, helping to build a vivid sense of life for Europe's earliest ancestors.
17/02/2022 - 17/07/2022
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, UK
Celtic Art Across the Ages
When you think of the word “Celtic,” what do you picture? Perhaps intricate knotwork designs, legendary warriors, or mystical spirituality? Maybe even a certain NBA team? 'Celtic Art Across the Ages' will introduce visitors to the worlds of the various peoples who were historically labeled “Celts” — through the objects they created, the interactions they had across the European continent, and the myths that shaped their legacy, then as now. The exhibition stretches from 800 BC through today, showcasing the craftsmanship, innovation, cultural connections, and multilayered reception that characterised Celtic art in Europe and beyond.
The first major exhibition on this topic to take place in the United States, 'Celtic Art Across the Ages' offers an unprecedented opportunity to explore masterful metalwork, including exquisitely decorated weaponry, jewellery, and horse and chariot trappings of the first millennium BC Iron Age and early medieval times, all brought to light through archaeological discoveries of the last 200 years. See how imagery transformed under Roman rule, and trace the revival of Celtic art and identities in the modern era. From shape-shifting ancient ornaments to the more well-known Celtic iconography of medieval Ireland and Scotland, the objects in this exhibition reveal rich and complex artistic traditions that defy stereotypes of what constitutes “Celtic art.”
6/03/2026 – 2/08/2026
Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Lavau, un prince celte en bord de Seine
Lavau, a Celtic Prince on the Banks of the Seine
Ten years after its discovery, the exhibition "Lavau, a Celtic Prince on the Banks of the Seine" will present the complete restored princely accoutrements to the public for the first time at the beautiful Pierre and Denise Lévy Museum of Modern Art in Troyes. Within a necropolis, in a 14-square-meter burial chamber, the skeleton of a Celtic prince of the 5th century BC was laid out on a two-wheeled chariot, adorned with a gold necklace and bracelets and accompanied by tableware used for banquets and wine service, including a large Etruscan bronze cauldron and an Attic ceramic jug (oenochoe) depicting Dionysus, as well as a silver strainer and goblet. Some 80 pieces from the necropolis will be on display, as well as objects from the same period loaned by other institutions in France and Europe to contextualise and illuminate the grave goods found at Lavau.
24/01/2026 - 21/06/2026
Musée d’Art moderne, 14 Place Saint-Pierre - 10000 Troyes, France
Königreiche der Eisenzeit
Iron Age kingdoms
With the advent of the new material iron, there were fundamental upheavals in society in the 8th century BC, which were reflected in numerous technical, economic and religious innovations. A high-ranking upper class was buried in distinctive large burial mounds. These contained valuable objects, including weapons, jewellery, imports from the Mediterranean region, as well as large tableware sets for feasts in the afterlife and cult vessels.
The focus of the exhibition is on the representational culture of the ruling elites, who have decisively shaped Central Europe, not least through their international networks. Import finds from the Mediterranean area suggest an intensive exchange with the early Mediterranean civilizations.
19/3/2022 - 27/11/2022
Museum Mistelbach, Waldstrasse 44-46, 2130 Mistelbach, Austria
Gold of the Great Steppe
The Saka culture of Central Asia, flourishing 2,500 years ago, is largely unknown outside Kazakhstan. This exhibition will present artefacts from the extraordinary burial mounds of the Saka people of East Kazakhstan: Berel, Shilikty and Eleke Sazy.
Recent excavations and analyses led by archaeologists from Kazakhstan have helped us understand much better how the Saka lived and travelled, the things they made and what they believed in. They have revealed a distinctive, advanced society, which is still being uncovered as modern archaeological methods enable scholars and scientists to find and analyse not only burial mounds but also the remnants of settlements.
The Saka occupied a landscape of seemingly endless steppe to the west, bounded by mountains to the east and south. Known as fierce warriors, they were also skilled craftspeople, producing intricate gold work. Their artistic language indicates their deep respect for the animals around them – both real and imagined. They dominated their landscapes with huge burial mounds of ambitious construction, burying elite members of their society with their horses.
28/09/2021 - 30/01/2022
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB, UK
Made in Ancient Egypt
From elaborately decorated coffins to the Books of the Dead, ancient Egyptians produced objects which remain iconic today. But who were the makers behind them and how were they made?
Revealing the untold stories of the Egyptian makers, technology and techniques behind these extraordinary objects, our exciting new exhibition is the first to explore ancient Egypt through the lives of its craftspeople, bringing together jewellery, ceramics, sculpture and more, including spectacular objects never before seen in the UK.
From the domestic to the divine, discover how these captivating artefacts were made and meet the makers behind them. 'Made in Ancient Egypt' brings to life fascinating cutting-edge research which sheds new light on the ancient Egyptians’ technical processes, many of which are immediately recognisable today, as well as how they lived, worked and worshipped.
3/10/2025 - 12/04/2026
Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RB, UK
Pharaoh
In 2024, the NGV will partner with the British Museum to present 'Pharaoh', a landmark exhibition that celebrates three thousand years of ancient Egyptian art and culture. Through more than 500 works, including monumental sculpture, architecture, temple statuary, exquisite jewellery, papyri, coffins and a rich array of funerary objects, the exhibition will unpack the phenomenon of pharaoh, those all-powerful kings claiming a divine origin.
From imagery on rings, bracelets and personal treasures, to statues and monuments of colossal scale, the pharaohs presented an idealised image of themselves as invincible warriors and fervent worshippers of the gods, who held a unique position as intermediaries between these divine beings and the rest of humanity. Nevertheless, behind these idealised representations the reality of kingship was much more complex. Not all the pharaohs were male, or even Egyptian. Despite the king’s supreme status as ruler over all, Egypt was periodically wracked by civil war, conquered by foreign powers and even ruled by competing kings. Through a carefully curated selection of exceptional works, 'Pharaoh' will explore the realities, mythologies and iconographies of kingship in ancient Egypt.
14/06/2024 - 6/10/2024
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3006, Australia
Gioielli e amuleti. La bellezza nell’antico Egitto
Jewels and amulets. Beauty in ancient Egypt
This exhibition is the result of a synergistic collaboration between the Museo Egizio and The Jewellery Museum. It was born in the laboratories and warehouses of the museum in Turin, where some ornaments and cosmetic products were selected and analysed, with modern investigation systems. Objects capable of opening a temporal and geographical window onto an ancient and distant world, where once again the precious accessory, the necklace, acquires multiple meanings and values, lends itself as a symbol of something else, be it beauty, luck, power and magic.
23/12/2022 – 28/05/2023
Museo del Gioiello, Piazza dei Signori, 36100 Vicenza, Italy
Alltag - Luxus - Schutz. Schmuck im Alten Ägypten
The Everyday - The Luxurious - The Protective: Jewellery in Ancient Egypt
This small exhibition presents selected pieces of jewellery, pectorals, and amulets, as well as scarabs from various periods in Egyptian history. The display provides an overview of each of the different types of jewellery, explains their production, and notably features excellent examples of silverwork. Spread over several separate cases, the display explains the importance of jewellery in everyday life, as luxury objects, and as protective amulets. Many of the exhibits from Berlin's Ägyptisches Museum collection have never gone on public display before.
27/09/2014 - 25/01/2015
Neues Museum, Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs
Exclusive to Sydney, this exhibition is an interactive museum experience that features 181 priceless artefacts and ornate golden treasures from the tomb of King Ramses II, including one-of-a-kind relics such as sarcophagi, animal mummies, magnificent jewellery, spectacular royal masks, exquisite amulets - many of which have never left Egypt before.
18/11/2023 – 19/05/2024
Australian Museum
1 William Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia
Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs
Ramses II was the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty in Egypt and is regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom — Egypt’s Golden Age — when it was a wealthy and powerful empire. The multisensory exhibition is filled with exquisite sculptures and objects related to this pharaoh, who was not only worshipped as a god during his lifetime but was venerated far into the future. Within the exhibition, there is a dazzling display of gold jewellery and other objects that demonstrate the fabulous wealth of the pharaohs, the extravagance and the luxuriousness of their tombs, and the superb workmanship of Egyptian artists.
7/04/2023 - 10/09/2023
Grande Halle de La Villette, 211 Av. Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris, France
20/08/2022 - 12/02/2023
Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA
Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt
Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt, a stunning new exhibition at Glencairn Museum, explores how jewellery in the Museum’s collection was used by the ancient Egyptians to adorn, to protect, and to express devotion to the divine. By examining the materials and symbols present in these ornaments, we can come away with a deeper understanding of the complex ideas that guided the artists, as well as the hopes and beliefs of those who wore this jewellery in ancient times. When Raymond Pitcairn purchased the ancient jewellery now in the Glencairn’s collection during the 1920s and 1930s, he intended for it to be worn by Mildred, his wife. It was later also worn by their daughters and granddaughters. Raymond designed dresses and gowns for Mildred to wear on special occasions, and it was not uncommon for elements of ancient jewellery to be incorporated into the dresses’ embellishments. One of these dresses will be on exhibit at Glencairn during the Sacred Adornment exhibition.
29/02/2020 – 8/11/2020, 19/01/2021 - 31/10/2021
Glencairn Museum, 1001 Cathedral Road, PO Box 757, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009, USA
Nero. the man behind the myth
Nero is known as one of Rome's most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and madness. Drawing on the latest research, this major exhibition questions the traditional narrative of the ruthless tyrant and eccentric performer, revealing a different Nero, a populist leader at a time of great change in Roman society. The exhibition includes military armlets and fashionable jewellery hidden during the attack on Colchester by British tribes led by Boudica - known as the Fenwick Hoard it was discovered in 2014 beneath the floor of a shop on Colchester’s High Street.
27/05/2021 - 24/10/2021
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, UK
Troy: myth and reality
The story of a great city, plunged into a 10-year war over the abduction of the most beautiful woman in the world, is irresistibly dramatic and tragic. This allure has sent adventurers and archaeologists in quest of the lost city, which is now widely believed to have existed. From Helen of Troy's abduction to the deception of the Trojan Horse and the fall of the city, tread the line between myth and reality in this phenomenal new exhibition.
21/11/2019 - 8/03/2020
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, UK
A View from the Jeweler’s Bench: Ancient Treasures, Contemporary Statements
This exhibition explores how contemporary jewellery makers are drawing from antique forms and techniques to create modern works of art. It is curated by Sasha Nixon, a recent alumna of Bard Graduate Center. Our Gallery presents the exhibition at a time when art and academic institutions are increasingly focused on contemporary art jewellery, and in a moment when ancient jewelry has become a prevalent source of inspiration for contemporary jewellery artists. The exhibition focuses on how contemporary artists working with jewellery create the final form of a piece at the jeweller’s bench, the place where jewellery is wrought by hand. To convey this process, the exhibition includes a jeweller’s bench, sketches, and tools. It also considers how jewellery from the ancient world to the present informs contemporary practice by comparing recent pieces to their precedents. This organizational structure illuminates the connections between present and past — in terms of form, technique, and materials — so that visitors can better see how artists are re-considering the art of adornment and age-old jewellery forms in exciting new ways.
14/02/2019 - 7/07/2019
Bard Graduate Center Gallery
38 West 86th St. New York, NY 10024
Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Adults: $7, Concessions $5
Das älteste Gold der Welt. Der Schatz aus Varna
The Oldest Gold in the World. The Treasure of Varna
Since time immemorial, people have been fascinated by the magic of brilliant gold. More than 6,500 years ago, there was an ancient culture on the west coast of the Black Sea. At that time, a nation of peasants in the area of Varna discovered the cultivation of copper and gold. At first it was copper, with which people covered the bodies of their deceased chiefs, tribal elders and priests. But soon they gave the dead gold for eternity. More than 3,000 gold objects and other burial objects from prehistoric Varna were discovered during an archeological dig in the 1970s. The golden grave goods from the middle of the 5th millennium BC are among the oldest known jewels in the world. The exhibition shows a spectacular selection from the grave finds of gold, copper and clay and leads into the world of one of the oldest cultures in the world and the beginning of civilization. The finds have already been shown in Bulgaria, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, Israel and the Netherlands, among others. Now the exhibition of the Archaeological Museum Varna, with one of the most spectacular gold discoveries in the world, comes to Rostock.
30/11/2018 - 28/04/2019
Kulturhistorisches Museum Rostock, Klosterhof 7, 18055 Rostock, Germany
Le luxe dans l’Antiquité. Trésors de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
As part of a national and international partnership with the National Library of France and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Musée départemental Arles antique will host the only French view of this exceptional and unique exhibition: "Luxury in Antiquity ". The interaction between this temporary exhibition and the permanent collections of the MDAA, plus fragments of murals discovered on the site of the Glassworks, gives rise to an unprecedented exhibition that reveals how luxury is inseparable from human development. This prestigious array of Roman silverware from the very beginning of our era is one of the jewels of the collection of the Cabinet of Medals of the National Library of France. Composed of more than one hundred pieces, including genuine works of art decorated with reliefs and emblemata which constituted the ceremonial silverware of rich households, the treasure will be accompanied by a selection of jewels, gold and silver, engraved stones, statuettes and most valuable decorative objects. Also included are some of the most beautiful pieces from the permanent collections of the Musée départemental Arles antique. The works presented will highlight the different aspects of Roman and Gallo-Roman luxury.
8/07/2017 - 21/01/2018
Musée départemental Arles antique, Presqu'île du cirque romain, BP205 - 13635 Cedex Arles, France
Da Matera a Pompei. Viaggio nella bellezza
From Matera to Pompeii. A journey into beauty
This exhibition describes the role of women in the ancient world, through ornaments and jewels, an expression of the aesthetic taste of different eras and contexts, but also a symbol of social status. Fruit of the collaboration between the National Museum of Matera and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and the Ministry of Culture, it compares and unites two archaeological contexts that are very different from each other and distant in space and time: on the one hand, ancient Basilicata, influenced by the customs and fashions of the Greek colonial world; on the other, Pompeii and the Vesuvian area, where Roman style and taste are well documented in the 1st century AD. Ornaments in glass paste, silver and gold, produced both in Magna Graecia and in the Eastern Mediterranean , were a real status symbol for women of high rank. The processing of particular materials, such as amber that was extracted in the Baltic Sea area and worked by Etruscan-Campania artisans, also indicates a thriving trade linked to this type of exclusive objects.
18/11/2021 – 15/09/2022
Museo Archeologico, Via Domenico Ridola, 24, Centro Storico, Matera, Italy
Venustas: Grace and Beauty at Pompeii
Creams, make-up, perfumed baths, mirrors for admiring oneself, ornaments for clothes and jewels, amulets, statuettes and precious objects dedicated to the gods. Accessories and fashionable objects which allowed one to pursue an ideal of perfection and beauty. Today just as in Antiquity. In one word, VENUSTAS. To be precise, ‘beauty, grace, elegance and charm’. The Latin term succinctly conveys these ideals which have been particularly sought-after and coveted by women throughout history, and gives its name to this rich exhibition. It is an immersion into what the norms and aesthetic tastes of the populations who lived around Vesuvius were in ancient times (from the 8th/7th centuries BC to the 1st century AD), on the basis of the roughly 300 finds which have been discovered in the various sites of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, including: the protohistoric village of Poggiomarino, the protohistoric necropoleis of Striano and the Archaic Necropolis of Stabiae, the sanctuaries of Pompeii and Stabiae, the villas of Oplontis and Terzigno, and finally the ancient settlement of Pompeii and its surroundings.
31/07/2020 - 30/09/2021
the Large Palaestra, Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Italy
Vanity: Stories of Jewels from the Cyclades to Pompeii
Vanity, ephemeral pleasure, the captivating illusion of happiness, invariably displayed through riches, even in the Greek and Roman world. This is the theme of the refined exhibition “Vanity: Stories of Jewels from the Cyclades to Pompeii”, scheduled to run from 10 May to 5 August 2019, at the Great Palaestra of the excavations of Pompeii (west portico).
10/05/2019 - 5/08/2019
Great Palaestra of the excavations of Pompeii (west portico), Via Marina, 6, 80045 Pompei NA, Italy
Vanity: Stories of Jewelry in the Cyclades
A new display featuring jewellery from the 6th century BC to the 1970s takes centre stage at the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos, casting a spotlight on ancient Greek jewellery design and how it has inspired artists through time. The exhibition is organized by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades and features more than 230 pieces of jewellery as well as 12 specially-commissioned pieces from contemporary Greek craftsmen.
10/08/2016 – 31/10/2017
Archaeological Museum of Mykonos, Τ.Κ. 84600, Mykonos, Greece
Torques et compagnie
Since the 19th century, the chalk of Champagne has delivered a considerable number of objects buried in Iron Age necropolises, that have helped successive generations of archaeologists to forge shared references to build and rebuild the image of the Gauls. This exhibition hoghlights the most characteristic of Gallic jewels, the torc.
8/03/2018 - 16/09/2018
Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, 14 rue de la libération, 21400 Châtillon-sur-Seine, France
The Star Carr shale pendant
This is the first opportunity to see an 11,000 year old engraved shale pendant discovered by archaeologists in 2015 during excavations at the Early Mesolithic site at Star Carr in North Yorkshire. The artwork on the tiny fragile pendant, uncovered by a research team from the Universities of York, Manchester and Chester, is unique. Engraved motifs on Mesolithic pendants are extremely rare and no other engraved pendants made of shale are known in Europe. The display at the Yorkshire Museum will also feature other Star Carr finds including flints, a rare barbed point used for hunting or fishing and 11,000 year old fire lighters – amazingly preserved birch bark rolls. These will feature alongside digital interpretation and high resolution imagery of the pendant.
27/02/2016 – 5/05/2016
Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, York YO1 7FR, UK
Amaranthine: Flowers of Hellenic Adornment
A celebration in garnets and gold of ancient jewellery, and the unfading obsession with ageless beauty.
7/10/2015 – 18/12/2015
Kallos Gallery Limited, 14-16 Davies Street, London W1K 3DR
Treasures and Talismans. Rings from the Griffin Collection
Rings are one of the oldest and most familiar forms of bodily adornment. Worn by both women and men, they serve as declarations of status, markers of significant life events, expressions of identity, and protective talismans. They also have been a source of boundless invention for goldsmiths and their clients. The rings featured in this exhibition come from the Griffin Collection. While the collection includes finger rings from across the ages, our selection focuses specifically on objects made in the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance periods. Related works from the Metropolitan's collection highlight the connections between rings and other works of art, such as painting, metalwork, and manuscript illumination. Also discussed will be the connection of rings to religion, superstition, love, marriage, and identity.
1/05/2015 - 18/10/2015
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, 99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park, New York, NY 10040, USA
Recreating Gesture: the Replica of the Celtic Torque of Montans
The aim of this collaborative adventure in experimental archeology was to achieve an understanding of the skills and techniques of a given period by reproducing the object studied. In this case, it is a Celtic neck collar discovered in 1843 at Montans in the Tarn region and dating back over 2,000 years.
3/07/2025 - 21/09/2025
L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts (Paris), Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau, 16 bis, boulevard Montmartre, 75009 Paris, France
Die Bilderwelt der Kelten
The imagery of the Celts
In the 1st century BC, the Celts inhabited large parts of Central Europe, but did not produce any written records. However, thanks to many years of research, Celtic culture can be interpreted through its everyday objects, which are often enhanced by ornate decoration. Starting from the abstract art of the late Hallstatt period, originating in the 5th century BC - influenced by suggestions from the Mediterranean and the Middle East - an independent Celtic art style evolved: humans and animals are represented as fantastic mixed beings. Floral motifs on jewellery, costume and everyday objects, figural ornaments and individual coin designs were created. They are impressive sculptures of the Central European Iron Age. The Archaeological State Collection presents more than 100 highlights in the Kelten Römer Museum at Manching, many of which will be seen outside Munich for the first time. This special exhibition transports the visitor to a bygone world whose art is both alien and fascinating today.
5/07/2018 - 27/01/2019
Kelten Römer Museum Manching, Im Erlet 2, 85077 Manching, Germany
Celts, Art and Identity
This is the first major exhibition to examine the full history of Celtic art and identity. The story unfolds over 2,500 years, from the first recorded mention of ‘Celts’ to an exploration of contemporary Celtic influences. Discover how this identity has been revived and reinvented over the centuries, across Britain, Europe and beyond. Many objects provide clues to and raise questions about Celtic identity. From the depths of the River Thames come magnificent Iron Age treasures such as the Waterloo helmet and Battersea shield. Roman jewellery, early medieval manuscripts and crosses, a Liberty tea set and even a modern football shirt tell a constantly evolving British and Irish story. Major loans, such as the spectacular Gundestrup cauldron, reveal profound cultural connections across Europe.
24/09/2015 – 31/01/2016
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, UK
10/03/2016 – 25/09/2016
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK
Treasure : Uncovering Celts and Romans
Discovered in 2012 Le Catillon II is the World’s largest Celtic coin hoard; it has been estimated that it contains up to 70,000 silver alloy coins plus gold and silver jewellery. It will be the centrepiece of a major exhibition which looks at the Channel Islands as part of the Celtic and Roman worlds two thousand years ago when they were at the edge of the Empire. In addition to the hoard placed in its own laboratory with conservators taking it apart in public, the exhibition will feature major Celtic treasures from the region. These include the 12,000 piece La Marquanderie hoard from Jersey, items from the Orval Chariot burial from Normandy and the King’s Road Warrior burials in Guernsey, and material from the Gallo-Roman trading vessel from Guernsey (and for the first time two of the major timber frames).
26/05/2014 - 31/12/2014
Jersey Museum and Art Gallery, The Weighbridge, St Helier, JE2 3NG, Jersey
Re-Making the past. 6 Makers Respond to Pre-history
This exhibition brings together a group of artists who have in common a fascination with the ancient past. They will focus on themes that forge links across the visual arts and archaeology, inspired by sources including Bronze Age artefacts and Neolithic sites. Gary Wright & Sheila Teague imagined one prehistoric traveller on a journey from Britain through Europe to the Middle East. Seeing unimagined worlds for the first time, fashioning objects to preserve memories and sensations. He begins with only a gold encased sycamore staff as a precious connection with home. With each encounter, he creates a memento of each unfamiliar culture visited, channelling the emotive power of scents to evoke memories of places and peoples. Feather-light aluminium vessels hold wax impregnated with iconic and indigenous fragrances from significant points on his journey. And then the man takes his treasures back, vivid in their story-telling - an Odyssey.
21/03/2015 – 10/05/2015
The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AF, UK
Neues aus dem Perm - Internationale zeitgenössische Schmuckkunst und der Versteinerte Wald Chemnitz
News from the Permian. Contemporary international jewellery and the petrified forest of Chemnitz
The 291 million year old silicified wood from the Petrified Forest of Chemnitz is the focus of this international jewellery exhibition. Eleven jewelery designers from seven countries were invited to contribute to an exciting dialogue between natural history and artistic interpretation under the curatorship of Prof. Ines Bruhn. Inspired by current research by the Museum of Natural History at Chemnitz, by current excavations in the city as well as scientifically significant findings, the artists opened up completely individual thematic connections and creative possibilities. After six months in the studio the jewellery and objects created gave the material from the Permian a strong contemporary presence.
30/10/2013 - 5/01/2014
Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz, Moritzstraße 20, 09111 Chemnitz, Germany
Pravěký a současný šperk
Prehistoric and Contemporary Jewellery
Includes antique jewellery ranging from buckles of the Duchcov type that made a part of the votive gift found during the reconstruction of the Giant Spring (Obří Pramen) in Lahošť at Duchcov, buckles from the Roman period, armbands of Únětice culture to fashionable shapes of armbands from the La Tene period, the valuable findings of brooches made from shells, amber beads and golden earrings from Blšan in Louny area and jewels from nearer destinations (for example, a glass bead from the fort in Frýdlant area or S-shaped earrings from Dubá at Mnichovo Hradiště) aranged side by side with contemporary jewellery, including work from renowned Czech and foreign authors from their own studios but also from the collections of several institutions - the Northern Bohemian Museum in Liberec, the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou, the Museum of the Czech Paradise in Turnov and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, among others
14/07/2012 - 29/09/2013
Severočeské muzeum v Liberci, Masarykova 11, 460 01 Liberec, Czech Republic
Bijoux Celtes – De trésors en créations
This exhibition proposes a confrontation between Celtic Iron Age jewellery from the extensive collections of the Musée Historique de Haguenau - ornaments, bracelets, necklaces and other torques - and contemporary art with the assistance of independent designers and established art institutions and jewellery schools.
21/06/2014 - 9/11/2014
Takes place in 3 locations:
Musée Historique, Chapelle des Annonciades and Espace Saint-Martin, Haguenau, France
Creativity in the Bronze Age – a response
This is an intervention into MAA’s experimental World Archaeology Gallery by a group of seven contemporary craft artists, ranging from artist jewellers to potters. Their work, which is displayed in and around six of the museum’s recently refurbished hundred-year-old display cases alongside Bronze Age items from the museum’s collection, is a direct expression of their engagement with the creativity and craft of the European Bronze Age, c. 2500 – 800 BC. The artists have experienced excavations of Bronze Age sites in Hungary, handled precious Bronze Age razors at the National Museet in Denmark, and explored key sites in the UK alongside archaeologists, including Stonehenge in Wiltshire. This is the story, told through their work, of their Bronze Age explorations so far. The CinBA Artists: < br> Mary Butcher, Basketry Artist, Susan Kinley, Multimedia Artist, Helen Marton, Ceramic Artist, Syann Van Niftrik, Jewellery Artist, Julian Stair, Potter, Sheila Teague and Gary Wright, Artist Jewellers
2/04/2013 – 30/06/2013
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Collection of the Worcester Art Museum
This exhibition puts the Museum’s collection of early Egyptian jewellery on view for the first time in a century. Remarkable for both its breadth and quality, this collection was assembled by Kingsmill Marrs (d. 1912) and Laura Norcross Marrs (1845 – 1926) and given to WAM by Mrs. Marrs.
'Jewels of the Nile' showcases 300 objects, ranging from tiny beads and gems to large sculptures from the Museum’s other Egyptian holdings. Through the singular story of Kingsmill and Laura Marrs and their friendship with British archaeologist Howard Carter, the exhibition also delves into the materials and techniques used in the creation of personal adornments, the evolution of style over the centuries, and the early twentieth-century phenomenon of Egyptomania sparked by archaeological exploration in the region. Interactive components and interpretive programmes will allow visitors of all ages to explore and experience themselves this fascinating aspect of ancient Egyptian culture.
18/06/2022 - 8/01/2023
Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA 01609, USA
PharaonenGold - 3.000 Jahre altägyptische Hochkultur
Pharaohs' Gold: 3,000 Years of Ancient Egypt
Few civilisations have been as rich and as enduring a source of fascination as the advanced civilisation of ancient Egypt. Comprising 160 individual exhibits, this exhibition presents an exceptional array of golden treasures of ancient Egyptian origin. The exhibition marks the first time that the pieces have been showcased in this way. It therefore offers an entirely new perspective on gold in ancient Egypt and the enormous religious and symbolic power that was attributed to it. Gold is enduring, indestructible. It is the symbol of eternity and, to ancient Egyptians, the holiest of all metals. So much so that they referred to it as the “flesh of the gods”.
18/05/2019 - 24/11/2019
Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte, Rathausstraße 75-79, 66333 Völklingen, Germany
Gold and the Gods: Jewels of Ancient Nubia
This dazzling exhibition focuses on the Museum’s world-class collection of jewelry from Ancient Nubia (located in what is now Sudan). The Nubian adornments housed at the MFA constitute the most comprehensive collection outside Khartoum. As the conduit between the Mediterranean world and lands south of the Nile Valley, Nubia was known for its exotic luxury goods—especially gold. “Gold and the Gods” focuses on excavated ornaments from an early 20th-century expedition by the Museum with Harvard University, dating from 1700 BC to 300 AD, including both uniquely Nubian and foreign imports, prized for their materials, craftsmanship, symbolism, and rarity.
19/07/2014 – 8/01/2017
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Avenue of the Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great
This exhibition invites visitors on a breathtaking and illuminating journey through 5,000 years of Greek history and culture. It is the most comprehensive exhibition about Ancient Greece to tour North America in a generation and features some of the finest artifacts of the classical world. Many of the objects have never before travelled outside of the country. The exhibition includes priceless treasures, the fruit of fascinating archaeological discoveries, along with items recounting the epic adventures of heroes of Ancient Greece, from the siege of Troy by Agamemnon to the triumphs of Alexander the Great. Among the many exceptional pieces are the iconic portrait of Alexander the Great, found near Pella, the impressive kouroi statues of young men and women dating from the 6th century BCE, and a dazzling array of golden jewellery from royal tombs. All in all, hundreds of golden objects will be presented, including two magnificent death masks from Mycenae (16th century BCE); superb warrior’s helmets; and the beautiful myrtle wreath of Queen Meda from the antechamber of the tomb of Philip II of Macedonia (about 336 BCE)
12/12/2014 – 26/04/2015
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, 350 Place Royale, Corner of de la Commune, Old Montréal (Québec) H2Y 3Y5, Canada
5/06/2015 – 12/10/2015
Canadian Museum of History, 100 Laurier Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 0M8, Canada
Heracles to Alexander The Great: Treasures From The Royal Capital of Macedon, A Hellenic Kingdom in the Age of Democracy
In the first major archaeological exhibition in the new temporary exhibition galleries, the Ashmolean Museum will showcase over five hundred treasures made of gold, silver and bronze, recently found in the royal burial tombs and the palace of Aegae, the ancient capital of Macedon. These extraordinary new discoveries will go on display for the first time outside Greece. They re-write the history of early Greece and tell the story of the royal court and the kings and queens who governed Macedon, from the descendents of Heracles to the ruling dynasty of Alexander the Great.
7/04/2011 – 29/08/2011
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford OX1 2PH
The immortal Alexander the Great. The myth, the reality, his journey, his legacy
No ruler in antiquity appeals to the imagination as much as Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC, king from 336 BC). Everywhere he went - Egypt, Syria, Bactria, Persia, India and Mongolia - he founded new capitals and named them all Alexandria. He left behind a legacy of Greek culture in the form of Hellenism. His fame lived on, long after antiquity. He was an example to many European, Russian and Islamic rulers. Paintings, tapestries and decorative art depicted Alexander’s life and history. The exhibition covers all these aspects, with over 350 objects from classical antiquity to the modern age, of Western and non-Western origins, including important Hellenistic jewellery and cameos.
18/09/2010 - 18/03/2011
Hermitage Amsterdam, Netherlands
Une odyssée gauloise. Parures de femmes à l'origine des premiers échanges entre la Grèce et la Gaule
Around 650-600 BC, the Gauls and Greeks meet for the first time on the coasts of Languedoc. At the heart of their trade is the bronze jewellery worn by high status women which passed through Gaul and the Mediterranean: in Sicily, they are adorned with magic inspired by the limits of the known world ... The exhibition " A Gallic odyssey" invites visitors to follow the footsteps of Gallic bronze ornaments - bracelets, anklets, pendants, brooches and torques - that belonged to women who, in the early Iron Age, occupied a prominent place in their community. In the late seventh and early sixth century BC, these ornaments accompany the dead to the grave, or are buried in pits in Burgundy, Franche-Comté, Auvergne, Poitou ... Many of these ornaments also circulate, whole or fragmentary, and reach the communities of Languedoc and the sands of archaic Greek sanctuaries in Sicily. Through more than 700 pieces of jewellery and fragments from the collections of museums and archaeological deposits in eastern, central and southern France, Sicily, and Switzerland, the exhibition traces the fascinating journey of these objects, their Odyssey ... They depict a complex network of terrestrial and maritime trade routes, along which men, metals and jewellery circulated, but also hospitality rituals, religious practices and world views ... In sum, they tell the ancientness of the first contacts between Greek and Celtic communities, even before the foundation of Massalia (Marseille) by the Greeks from Phocaea
15/03/2014 - 7/09/2014
Bibracte, F-71990, St-Léger-sous-Beuvray, France
Krim - Goldene Insel im Schwarzen Meer. Griechen - Skythen - Goten
The Crimea - a golden island in the Black Sea. Greeks, Scythians, Goths
Located at the end point of the Eurasian steppes, the Crimea was for many centuries a unique cultural hub between Asia and the civilizations of the Mediterranean. The tension between the urban centres on the coast and the equestrian nomadic peoples is at the center of this exhibition. It is based on a cultural richness that is reflected not only in numerous ornate gold works, but the whole spectrum of Greek architecture, sculpture and ceramics up to the nomadic equestrian burials discovered in Kurgan grave mounds. Singular evidence of the wide-ranging contacts of the peoples of the Crimea is a Chinese lacquer box from the cemetery of Ust'Alma that is currently being restored in Japan with enormous effort and is being made accessible to the public for the first time here in Bonn. The Landesmuseum Bonn has obtained the co-operation of the most important museums in the Crimea for this project, and many objects are shown for the first time outside the Ukraine.
4/07/2013 - 19/01/2014
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Colmantstr. 14-16, 53115 Bonn, Germany
I Due Imperi
The Two Empires: the Eagle and the Dragon
Two ancient cultures collide in an exhibition where the Roman Empire meets the Chinese Qui and Han dynasties (200 BC-200 AD), considered a golden age in China’s history. The exhibition displays 450 similar yet contrasting artefacts relating to both empires. Jade, lacquer and silks combine with marble statues, glass, mosaics, silver and bronze. With the participation of almost 50 museums, the exhibition is the result of extensive collaboration between China and Italy and is held in honour of the Cultural Year of China in Italy. This is the first time many of the Chinese treasures have left China and in addition to the items on view, the exhibition examines the role that both cultures played in world civilisation and how their legacies have contributed to modern-day philosophy, engineering, arts and politics. It also highlights their differences and similarities: both empires regarded themselves as the centre of the world and both empires ultimately fell.
19/11/2010 - 6/02/2011
Palazzo Venezia, Rome, Italy
Masters of Olympus, Treasures from the Greco-Roman Collections of Berlin
A rendez-vous with history—and a North American first! Meet the 12 supreme gods and goddesses of Greek mythology: Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hermes, Heracles, and Hephaestus, including their representation in jewellery. In partnership with the Berlin State Museums’ Collection of Classical Antiquities.
14/06/2014 – 5/10/2014
Musée de la civilisation, 85, rue Dalhousie, P.O. Box 155, station B, Québec City, Québec G1K 8R2, Canada
The Barbarian Treasure
Organised by the Speyer Museum of Palatinate History and the Alicante Provincial Archaeological Museum, this exhibition presents for the first time in Spain the items from the spectacular Treasure of Neupotz, which was found under the waters of the Rhine River. The Treasure of Neupotz is one of the largest archaeological collections of Roman metal items in Europe. It includes 1,100 items from the 3rd century A.D. This exhibition presents more than half of these items, together with other treasures such as Hagenbach and Lingenfeld. Visitors will be able to see everyday objects, such as tableware, as well as work tools, jewellery and weapons. The Treasure of Neupotz, as well as being outstanding because of its high quality and beautiful items, teaches us about one of the lesser-known periods of the history of the Roman Empire, when its northern territories were often plundered by Germanic tribes.
31/05/2012 - 14/10/2012
Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante (MARQ), Plaza Doctor Gómez Ulla s/n, 03013 Alicante, Spain
Glorious Splendor: Treasures of Early Christian Art
Christian art borrowed heavily from non-Christian traditions in terms of its techniques and choice of media, its style and its iconography. This exhibition traces these continuities through the most remarkable objects of the period – precious stones, metals and jewelry. The objects in the exhibition date from the 2nd century B.C. to the 7th century A.D. and include a large silver paten showing the earliest surviving image of the Communion of the Apostles (A.D. 542); a gold pendant cross with openwork decoration and sapphires (6th-early 7th century A.D.); a cameo with pearls depicting the annunciation (6th century A.D.); and gold earrings with garnets (1st century A.D.).
18/11/2017 - 18/02/2018
Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe Street, Toledo, OH, USA
Archaeology: Treasures of the Swiss National Museum
For the first time in French-speaking Switzerland, the Château de Prangins is exhibiting masterpieces from the archaeological collection of the Swiss National Museum. First established back in the 19th century, this exceptional collection spans the millennia, from 100,000 BC to 800 AD: the Palaeolithic Era to the Early Middle Ages. It is also unique in Switzerland in that it illustrates the archaeology of all the country's regions. It includes the 4th century BC Erstfeld Treasure of gold torcs and bracelets, and the 3rd century Lunnern Treasure of gold jewellery.
27/04/2012 – 14/10/2012
Musée national suisse – Château de Prangins, Switzerland
The Thetford Treasure
This display shows 11 items of the Thetford Treasure found at Gallows Hill, Thetford in 1979.
The Thetford Treasure was found by metal detectorists Arthur and Greta Brooks in 1979 and consists of 44 pieces of jewellery, 33 silver spoons and a shale jewellery box. The treasure was buried in around 390 AD when opposition to religious cults was rife. The treasure was not declared straight away so the opportunity to study the site where it was found was sadly lost. This will be the first-time items from the hoard have been on display in the town’s museum since 2008.
This special exhibition will include items such as the gold belt-buckle, a gold chain necklace, gold bracelets, gold finger rings, a pendant, a silver strainer and inscribed silver spoons. They represent exquisite workmanship both in terms of their manufacture and their decoration; many pieces detail inscriptions and depictions connected to Roman mythology. The imagery featured on some of the objects connect to Roman deities including Faunus, Bacchus and Diana.
Other objects in the exhibition highlight the importance of recording archaeological discoveries in helping us understand our past, using the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The finds on display include a large assemblage of Roman pewter and glass from a Roman temple site in Hockwold-cum-Wilton.
22/07/2021 - 1/07/2022
Ancient House Museum of Thetford Life, White Hart Street, Thetford, IP24 1AA, UK
Adorn: Jewellery, The Human Story
From Bronze Age torcs to modern bling, people have adorned themselves with jewellery for thousands of years. What hidden stories do these objects hold and why do we still choose to express ourselves in this way? We have brought together objects from collections across the region to reveal the jewellery worn by the people of Essex through time. Meet modern makers and local people to discover the inspiration and personal stories of love, friendship, loss and status behind the jewellery we wear. Featuring loans from the British Museum and other major collections.
27/07/2019 - 16/02/2020
Colchester Castle Museum, Castle Park, Essex, CO1 1TJ, UK
Unearthed – Riches of the Romans and Anglo Saxons
This archaeology exhibition features some brilliant Anglo-Saxon and Roman objects along with some exciting new technology to display and interpret some of the star items. It’s an opportunity to showcase a lot of work the museum has been doing with different community groups over the past year as part of our ASPIRE funded project, History in the Making.
8/02/2014 - 27/04/2014
The Oxfordshire Museum, Fletcher's House, Park Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SN, UK
A Glimmer in the Earth: The treasures of Rhayader and its region
This exhibition brings home for the first time the Bronze Age Llanwrthwl Gold Torcs and the Romano-British Rhayader Jewels: treasure hoards which were unearthed in the locality. As well as showcasing these exceptional pieces, returned from the National Museum of Wales and the British Museum, the exhibition brings the eras of the two treasure hoards to life, with interactive activities, vibrant displays, sculpture, creative writing and film. This, the Gallery's most spectacular exhibition to date, is a nationally significant exhibition that takes visitors into the history and myth of Mid Wales.
4/06/2011 – 4/09/2011
Rhayader Museum and Gallery, Powys, UK
Sein und Schein. Schmuck im römischen Augsburg
Being and appearance. Jewellery in Roman Augsburg
As part of a seminar, students of the master's degree in art and cultural history worked on an exhibition on "Roman jewellery". At the beginning of the 2nd century AD the Roman jewellery trade enjoyed a tremendous upswing: the lex Oppia, which had heavily regulated the possession of gold, had been abolished, and by conquering new territories luxury goods, especially jewellery, became more popular. The economic boom of Rome in the 1st century AD and the possibility of relatively easy transportation over land meant that Roman jewellery reached the provinces north of the Alps. Over time, specialized craftsmen settled in Roman Augsburg. Jewels were aesthetic, glamorous accessories, as well as symbolically charged accessories. The aim of the exhibition is to give visitors, large and small, an insight into the everyday significance and the handling of jewellery in Augsburg, especially during the Roman Empire.
26/10/2018 - 24/02/2019
Römisches Museum, Römerlager im Zeughaus, Zeugplatz 4, 86150 Augsburg, Germany
Bellezza e cura del corpo nell'antichità
Beauty and the care of the body in antiquity
This exhibition shows around 140 objects not normally exhibited, many of which have been restored for the occasion. Precious ornaments, in addition to enhancing the appearance of the wearer, often indicated their well-being or position in society. The jewels often had the function of protecting their owner, with appropriate representations or for their own constituent material. For example, Pliny the Elder reminds us that amber jewels, in addition to beautifying women, safeguarded from diseases, in particular the throat.
26/10/2018 – 29/09/2019
Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano, Regaste Redentore 2 Verona, Italy
Reiche Römer in Vindobona: Gold und Edelsteine aus dem Albertina-Gräberfeld
Roman gold jewellery from the rich 2nd - 4th century Albertina cemetery.
4/03/09 – 2/06/09
Das Naturhistorische Museum, Vienna, Austria
SplendORI. Il lusso negli Ornamenti ad Ercolano
SplendOri: Luxury in the Ornaments of Herculaneum
The Antiquarium of Herculaneum opens for the first time to the public, offering a glimpse of the life of Herculanean society through its precious objects, not only in the strict sense but all that they represented in terms of wealth, economic value, social and personal content. It includes jewellery and other objects previously in storage, as well as loans from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples and the Moregine silver treasure from Pompeii.
20/12/2018 – 30/09/2019
Parco archeologico di Ercolano, corso Resina, 187 80056 - Ercolano (NA), Italy
¡Y yo con estos pelos!
And me with this hair! Bone hair pins
Human beings have used bone since prehistory, as a raw material for the elaboration of different tools and decorative objects. In Roman times they also achieved a great success, as indicated by the abundant objects found in Rubina (Nanclares de la Oca, Iruña Oca), which surely were made there. It is worth noting that hair pins were essential to carry out the elaborate hairstyles that followed the fashion of the Empire and to show the wearer's social status.
1/03/2020 - 31/08/2020
Museo de Arqueología de Álava, Cuchillería, 54, 01001 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Roman Treasures – buried and rediscovered
In this special exhibition the Swiss National Museum in Zurich presents the famous late Roman hoard from Lunnern (Canton Zurich), which was discovered in 1741 and consists of precious gold jewellery and coins.
21/11/2008 – 22/3/2009
Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zurich, Switzerland
2000 year-old glass - Jewellery and everyday objects
This exhibition shows, largely for the first time, ancient Egyptian jewellery, Mycenaean and Phoenician beads, Greek Perfume bottles, Hellenistic mosaic glass and Roman Oil bottles, tableware and gold glass fragments 2000 years old. Glass manufacturing and glass art brought to life.
5/09/2010 – 13/02/2011
Martin von Wagner Museum, Würzburg, Germany
Die Welt der Kelten. Zentren der Macht - Kostbarkeiten der Kunst
The World of the Celts. Centres of power – Treasures of art
Under the title “The World of the Celts. Centres of power – Treasures of art”, the Baden-Württemberg State Museum of Archaeology and the Württemberg State Museum are showing a special exhibition dedicated to the Celts of the first millennium BC and their role as one of the formative forces in European history. Visitors can experience what will probably be the largest exhibition of Celtic artefacts in the last thirty years. The special exhibition will present outstanding original finds, in some cases objects never before exhibited in Germany, in two large topical blocks on display at two locations near Schlossplatz at the very centre of Stuttgart. 'Centres of power' will be at the Stuttgart “Kunstgebäude”, and 'Treasures of art' in the “Altes Schloss”.
15/09/2012 – 17/02/2013
Baden-Württemberg State Museum of Archaeology, Kunstgebäude Stuttgart, Schloßplatz 2, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany
Württemberg State Museum, Old Castle, Schillerplatz 6, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany
Gold of the Celts
Gold jewellery from the necropolis of Osimo and Filottrano, including new discoveries.
10/10/2009 – 30/06/2010
Archaeological Museum of State Arcevia, Arcevia, Marches, Italy
Oro y Plata. Lujo y distinción en la Antigüedad Hispana. Colecciones de orfebrería del Museo Arqueológico Nacional
Gold and silver. Luxury and distinction in ancient Hispania. Treasures from the National Archaeological Museum
This exhibition will offer visitors the opportunity to view a selection of the treasures of gold before the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula preserved in the National Archaeological Museum, which by their nature, have rarely left the same and never in such quantities and wealth. Treasures important not only in the strict sense, but also by the knowledge provided from a distant time in which the accumulation of luxury items was assimilated to social distinction and political power or religious. The nearly 300 pieces that make up the exhibition have been selected for their aesthetic quality and its ability to explain the technology, behavior and tastes of the societies that lived in the Peninsula from prehistory to the Romanization.
12/05/2011 - 26/06/2011
Centro Cultural Las Claras Cajamurcia, Murcia, Spain
The magic of amber - amulets and jewellery from classical Basilicata
The exhibition shows 180 specimens in amber found in Basilicata, dating from the eighth to the fourth centuries BC, including small sculptures by carvers from the Greek cities of the Ionian, and the Etruscan cities of Campania, but also necklaces or belts of inestimable value. Myths, mysteries and legends accompany more than two thousand years history of amber, which are obtained with precious jewels and amulets. The Greek tradition maintained that the raw amber came from the remote and legendary West, perhaps because it came mainly from Italy to Greece, across the Adriatic. The spread of amber in Basilicata dates from the second millennium BC, so that a major fossil-guide can be used to reconstruct the archaeological history of the region. The exhibition also shows rare amber from ancient Macedonia.
22/07/2009 – 15/02/2010
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
28/01/2011 - 25/04/2011
Das Römisch-Germanische Museum, Cologne, Germany
3/09/2010 - 9/01/2011
Italienisches Kulturinstitut, Zurich, Switzerland
Byzantine Antiquities
The Moscow Kremlin collection of Byzantine antiquities was formed over a long time, the most intensive period being that of the formation of the Russian state and the Russian patriarchate. The core of the collection is the sacred relics from the grand princes' and tsars' treasury, icons from the Kremlin churches and pieces of the state regalia. These deeply venerated objects came to Moscow either from the Imperial City, or via other Russian lands, joined to Muscovy; and after the fall of Constantinople they were being granted by the clergy of the Christian East to the Moscow sovereigns in the XVIth and XVIIth centuries as the heritage of the Orthodox Empire. The exposition includes sacral objects and secular items - icons, crosses, panagias, reliquaries, a gospel covered with gold bindings, as well as coins, steel helmet, silver spoon, bowl and dipper. Each article, as being closely connected with particular events in the history of our country or with certain political figures, is of great artistic and historical value. Some of the masterpieces are being exposed for the first time.
7/06/2013 – 25/07/2013
Moscow Kremlin, Moscow
Byzantium and the West: Jewelry in the First Millennium
The exhibition assembles approximately 40 objects made of precious metals and including rings, pendants, earrings, and brooches from the third to the tenth centuries and explores the interrelationships between East and West during the first millennium.
1/11/2012 - 30/11/2012
Les Enluminures, 23 East 73rd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10021, USA
Byzantium: Splendour and Everyday Life
The exhibition will make use of magnificent and historically meaningful exhibits and important artefacts from collections and archaeological excavations to shed light on many aspects of the history, archaeology and art of the Byzantine Empire. It will offer an overview of the “Byzantine Millenium” (from the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324 A.D. to the conquest by the Ottomans in 1453), but will concentrate above all on the prospering of the Empire from the time of Justinian I (527–565 A.D.) until the plundering of Constantinople by western crusaders in 1204. The main questions of the Byzantine state, Byzantine art and culture, society, economy, the Byzantine military, as well as daily life, etc., are to be discussed on the basis of “scenes”, by means of which these themes can be made highly accessible.
26/02/2010 - 13/06/2010
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland GmbH, Bonn, Germany
Byzantium 330-1453
Highlighting the splendours of the Byzantine Empire, the exhibition will comprise around 300 objects including icons, detached wall paintings, micro-mosaics, ivories, jewellery, enamels, textiles, gold and silver metalwork. Some of the works have never been displayed in public before
25/10/2008 – 22/3/2009
Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
Precious jewellery of the past
Exhibition of Sicilian jewellery of 8000 years, from the Mesolithic to the Byzantine age, from the medal collections of the Archaeological Museum Antonio Salinas in Palermo.
19/12/2009 – 23/05/2010
Chiesa San Francesco Borgia, Catania, Sicily, Italy
The Valley of the Thracian Kings
The region near the town of Kazanlak, Bulgaria, served as an important ruler’s burial place in the ancient times. Researchers called the region the Valley of Thracian Kings. The bombing of Kazanluk on the 19th April 1944 uncovered Thracian tomb from 4-3 century BC, which since 1979 has become one of the emblematic sites of UNESCO World Heritage. This exhibition features a gold deathmask of King Seuthes III, the monarch's gold ring, as well as jewellery, jars, vases and breastplates, shown outside Bulgaria for the first time.
19/03/2010 – 30/04/2010
Magyar Plakat Haz, Nagykanizsa, Hungary
The Treasures of ancient Syria - Discovery of the kingdom of Qatna
More than 3500 years ago, the Syrian Kingdom of Qatna, which had grown rich through trade, was one of the most prosperous metropoles of the ancient Orient. Around 1340 BC, a withering attack by the Hittites led to the destruction of Qatna. This exhibition shows about 400 exhibits of art and daily life that span the entire history of the site of Qatna, from its founding around 2600 BC, to its abandonment, in 600 BC, including, in particular, jewellery, works of art and crafts, collections of cuneiform tablets, seals and arms.
17/10/09 – 14/03/10
Württemberg State Museum, Stuttgart, Germany
The Gold of Troy: Ancient Jewelry from the University of Pennsylvania Museum
Regarded as one of the world's most spectacular archaeological finds, the discovery of the Gold of Troy confirmed the existence of the flourishing pre-classical civilization and its legendary treasure. Excavated between 1870-1873 by German businessman-turned-archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, the hoards of treasure included thousands of gold and semi-precious stone objects dating to 2500 BC, pre-dating the famous Trojan and Greek war described by Homer in his epic The Iliad by over one thousand years. This exhibition features 20 pieces of fine ancient women's jewelry exemplary of Trojan craftsmanship. Their age and style indicate they were likely discovered at Troy, home of the most famous treasure ever to be unearthed.
13/12/2009 - 14/02/2010
Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, CA, USA
Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani
From the Land of the Golden Fleece: Tomb Treasures of Ancient Georgia
The Georgian site of Vani lies in what was the ancient kingdom of Colchis, known in Greek myth as the destination of Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. Colchis was renowned as a region rich in gold, and excavations at Vani have confirmed this reputation. The archaeological finds not only demonstrate the highly refined craftsmanship of local goldworkers but also testify to contacts with both the Greek world and the Persian Empire. This exhibition presents an array of precious objects from Vani, including jewelry from five of the elite burials, bronzes from a sanctuary devoted to wine production, and an enigmatic group of ritual figurines.
2/10/2008 – 14/1/2009
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK
20/01/09 - 6/04/09
The Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
16/07/2009 - 5/10/2009
The Getty Villa, Malibu, Los Angeles CA, USA
17/11/2011 – 5/02/2012
Mercati e Foro di Traiano, Roma, Italy
The Amazons - mysterious warrior women
Exhibition about the legendary warriors of ancient times with sensational grave finds from the Eurasian steppes, such as jewellery, weapons and skeletons, presented in public for the first time.
5/09/2010 – 13/02/2011
Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
In the late 1970s archaeologists working in Afghanistan discovered the remnants of an ancient cemetery dating from around the time of Christ’s birth. Some of the graves yielded large numbers of spectacular gold ornaments of incalculable artistic and cultural value. The legendary finds bear witness to the ancient kingdom of Bactria, situated at the crossroads of a wide range of Eastern and Western cultures. Conceived by the Musée Guimet in Paris, the exhibition presents some 220 works that have miraculously survived the decades of war and destruction that have ravaged Afghanistan.
22/02/2009 - 17/05/2009
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA
23/06/2009 - 20/09/2009
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY, USA
23/10/2009 – 24/04/2010
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
11/06/2010 - 3/10/2010
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland GmbH, Bonn, Germany
Gandhara – The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Legends, Monasteries and Paradise
Between the first and fifth centuries CE, an art form flourished in Gandhara, on what is today the Pakistani-Afghan border, that seems strangely familiar to western eyes: influenced by the culture of Mediterranean antiquity, artists in Gandhara created the earliest figurative representations of Buddha. The best-known legacy of the Gandhara civilization were the monumental Buddha statues of Bamiyan, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Some 300 objects, including masterpieces of stone sculpture, delicately wrought reliefs, precious coins and magnificent gold jewellery lure visitors into the world of early Buddhism. With the support of Novartis and the Parrotia Foundation. An exhibition of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn
6/09/2008 – 3/01/2010
Museum Rietberg, Werner Abegg Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
The Kingdom of the Vandals
This exhibition presents for the first time a comprehensive picture of the Vandals, who were considered proverbially, but wrongly, as destroyers, in a well-organized state, and using the Roman way of life. Some 300 high-level objects, including precious jewellery, unique mosaics and large format photographs of works from renowned European and North African museums bear witness to the culture and history of North Africa at the time of the Vandal rule.
24/10/2009 - 21/02/2010
Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe, Germany
The art of the Celts - from 700 BC to AD 700
For the first time an exhibition is being dedicated to the «Art of the Celts» from its origins in Central Europe to its final flowering in Ireland around AD 700. The exhibition in the new extension of the Historisches Museum in Berne is showing an exquisite selection of some 450 Celtic art treasures from all over Europe in an area covering 1200 sq. m. Magnificent jewellery and richly decorated utilitarian objects made from bronze, iron, silver and gold, precious grave goods and cult objects with complex patterns or representations of fantastic beings testify to the masterly artistic creation achieved by the Celts. The exhibition offers the chance to see for the first time some recently discovered and spectacular new finds from France that have not yet been displayed to the public. As a particular highlight it is also showing for the first time outside Germany the treasure from the burial chamber of the famous Celtic chieftain at Hochdorf.
18/06/2008 – 18/10/2009
Historisches Museum, Berne, Switzerland
Roman to Renaissance: A private collection of rings
An exhibition devoted to a private collection of thirty-five rings dating from 300 to 1600 AD, from the Paris gallery LES ENLUMINURES. The collection comprises fine examples of rings from the Merovingian, Byzantine, Medieval and Renaissance periods including marriage rings, seal rings, stirrup rings, tart mould rings, iconographic rings, merchant rings and gemstone rings.
12/5/2009 – 22/5/2009
Wartski, London, UK
Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization
Featuring over one hundred twenty jewelry objects and accessories from the far reaches of history and the birthplace of civilization, the collection includes important pieces from the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Princeton University Art Museum.
26/09/2008 – 31/12/2008
The Forbes Galleries, New York, NY, USA
13/02/2009 – 5/07/2009
The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA
Jewellery, a language without words.
An exhibition of pre-historic jewellery, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
18/04/09 – 01/11/09
Musée des Tumulus de Bougon, Bougon, France