Exhibition | Precious Antiquities: The Profane Museum
From the Vatican Museums:
Precious Antiquities: The Profane Museum at the Time of Pius VI
Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding, Vatican Museums, Rome, 2 October 2013 — 4 January 2014
Curated by Guido Cornini and Claudia Lega
For the first time in over two hundred years, an exhibition will bring back to life in the Vatican the charm of the eighteenth-century collections of the Profane Museums at the time of Pius VI, before the Napoleonic requisitions. It offers a unique opportunity to see reunited, in their original museum context, works previously exhibited in the Museum and now conserved in prestigious international cultural institutions. The exhibition will open simultaneously with the new display of the historical collections of the Profane Museum.
The Profane Museum, the original nucleus of the collections of profane antiquities in the future complex of the Vatican Museums, was created by Clement XIII (Rezzonico, 1758–1769) and enriched with further collections and furnishings under Pius VI (Braschi, 1775–1799). The conclusion of this demanding restoration project, which involved the entire collection and its context, is an opportunity to imagine a momentary “homecoming” of a nucleus of antique gems and cameos, mounted in elaborate Neoclassical settings at the end of the eighteenth century, and a valuable numismatic collection of Greek, Etruscan and Roman exemplars. Involved in the dramatic wartime events of the Napoleonic period, these works were transported to France as a war indemnity following the assassination of General Mathurin-Léonard Duphot in Rome in 1798.
Curated by Guido Cornini and Claudia Lega, curator and assistant in the Department of Decorative Arts of the Vatican Museums, the exhibition Precious Antiquities: The Profane Museum at the Time of Pius VI – presented in the evocative surroundings of the Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding – displays for the first time in over two hundred years works such as the Augustus Group, with its splendid portrait of the emperor in chalcedony, the famous Carpegna Cameo of magnificently engraved onyx depicting the Triumph of Bacchus, the “Delle Paste” Group, with a glass cameo pinax depicting the loves of Bacchus and Ariadne, and other Groups and cameos masterfully reinterpreted and infused with new life by Luigi Valadier, celebrated silversmith in Rome at the time of Pius VI. (more…)
Call for Papers | Galloping History
Galloping History
Ankara, Turkey, 16-19 April 2014
Proposals due by 20 December 2013
There would hardly be any exaggeration in assuming that horses have been one of the most important companions to humankind since the development of civilized societies. Horses and equine culture have played a great many roles in almost all historical epochs. Thus, historical inquiry has encountered this phenomenon in a diverse spectrum of fields, including but not limited to military, social, economic, cultural, and literary aspects of human life and its historical evolution. However, since the Industrial Revolution and the technological progress it brought about, especially in transportation, horses and equine culture gradually digressed from the realm of everyday life. The perception of horses and the culture associated with an interest in horses in the contemporary world, as being distinctive of a certain socio-economic class, undermines the true significance of humankind’s relationship with these animals.
For the purpose of elucidating this point, I. D. Bilkent University Department of History and Bilkent Historical Society are jointly organizing a symposium entitled Galloping History, whose scholarly framework utilizes horses and equine culture. Accompanied by relevant social activities, the symposium aims both to bring together the most recent scholarly research, thereby opening up new and innovative discussions in the field, and to enhance the dialog between the world of academia and a wider audience. The panels to take place on the 17th and 18th of April will focus on horses and equine culture in Ottoman, European and American history, in accordance with the Department of History tracks. Researchers in the field, graduate students of all levels and history enthusiasts are welcome to submit abstracts to be evaluated by a board comprising of the Department of History faculty.
During the course of the four-day event, all expenses at I.D. Bilkent University (accommodation and meals) will be covered, but the participants are otherwise responsible for their own travel expenses. The finalized schedule of events and panels will be shared with the participants soon after the evaluation of abstracts is completed. (more…)
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