"Italian Treasures from the Calabria Region" Exhibition
The Morgan Library & Museum
This event has ended.
On view for the first time in the United States are 10 extraordinary objects that highlight the splendid yet relatively little-known artistic achievements of Calabria, the southernmost part of the Italian peninsula and a crossroads of peoples and cultures for more than 2,700 years. The objects on display represent two major periods: the region's era as an important Greek colony (sixth- to fourth century B.C.) and the Baroque era (seventeenth–eighteenth centuries), when Calabria was an integral part of the vast Kingdom of Naples. On display are 5 masterpieces of Greek-Roman art from the National Archaeological Museum in Reggio Calabria. The Bronze Head "from Basel" was part of a ship's cargo of goods looted from the Carthaginians resident in nearby Sicily. The ship was wrecked between 415 and 385 B.C. The Bronze Head, whose features suggest a god or king, resurfaced in 1970 and was first exhibited in Italy in 1996. Also on display are 5 exquisite Baroque silverworks, all used for liturgical purposes, on loan from churches owned by the Fondo Edifici per il Culto. These works include the Chalice Lamezia Terme (late 17th – early 18th c.), which is decorated with 11 small sculptures including figures of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Anthony of Padua, and Saint Bonaventure. From the earliest times until today, the culture of Calabria has been vibrantly multi-ethnic, with indigenous traditions blending with those of colonizers and immigrants. The flourishing of the arts began in the eighth century B.C. with the arrival of the Greeks, who developed such an important civilization in the region that Calabria became known as Magna Graecia. A Jewish community, which is still active today, dates to antiquity. It endowed Calabria with one of the oldest synagogues in the West (fourth–sixth centuries in Bova Marina). An Albanian community, which reached Calabria in the fifteenth century, continues to maintain rites and customs that link it to the Greek Orthodox world.
[Image: "Bronze Head from Basel" (Mid 5 c. B.C.) National Archaeological Museum, Reggio Calabria]
Media
Schedule
from November 12, 2008 to December 07, 2008