Colloquium | Smyrna: The Eye of Asia
William Pars, Sepulchral Monument at Mylasa, 1765
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From The British Museum:
The British Museum Classical Colloquium | Smyrna: The Eye of Asia
The British Museum, London, 5–6 December 2014
This colloquium over two days, in honour of Charles Sebag-Montefiore, will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the first Ionian expedition to the west coast of Turkey, commissioned by the Society of Dilettanti. The travellers were to settle at Smyrna, modern Izmir, the home of the Levant Trading Company, traditionally an international centre for foreigners travelling in the Ottoman world. Together with its unscheduled sequel in mainland Greece, the expedition was one of the most important cultural enterprises of the 18th century. It comprised a team of three talented men: the Classical scholar Richard Chandler, the architect Nicholas Revett, and the young painter and draughtsman William Pars. The published record of their experience had far- reaching consequences for modern understanding of Classical Turkey.
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F R I D A Y , 5 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4
Pilaster capitals from the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, drawn by William Pars, 1765 (London: British Museum)
Starting at 5:30, two lectures and a musical performance:
Compound Eyes: A ‘Prehistoric’ Perspective on Mediterranean Cosmopolitanism,
Professor Cyprian Broodbank (John Disney Professor of Archaeology, McDonald Institute, University of Cambridge)
Smyrna: The Eye of Asia, Dr Philip Mansel (Institute of Historical Research)
Reception, book signing and musical performance by PAKAW!
S A T U R D A Y , 6 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4
9.30 Registration
10.00 Welcome and opening remarks by Lesley Fitton (Department of Greece and Rome, British Museum)
10.15 This Wonderful Day, Ian Jenkins (Department of Greece and Rome, British Museum)
10.30 A New Species of Human Being, Tuğba Tanyeri Erdemir (Centre for Science and Society, Science and Technology Museum, Middle East Technical University, Ankara)
11.30 Coffee
12.00 The Society of Dilettanti and Mediterranean Archaeology in the Eighteenth Century, Jason Kelly (Director, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Arts and Humanities Institute, Associate Professor of British History, IUPUI)
12.30 Travels with Richard Chandler, Alastair Blanshard (School of History, Philosophy, Religion & Classics, The University of Queensland)
13.15 Lunch
14.30 Chandler the Epigrapher, Robert Pitt (Athens)
15.00 The Troad, Lesley Fitton (Department of Greece and Rome, British Museum)
15.30 Quorum Pars Magna Fui: The Role of William Pars, Kim Sloan (Department of Prints and Drawings, British Museum)
16.00 Discussion and concluding remarks by Charles Sebag-Montefiore
Throughout the break periods a captioned slide show of William Pars drawings assembled by Celeste Farge will play in the auditorium.
Enfilade 
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