Past special exhibitions

23. June 2022 to 31. March 2023

When the Antikenmuseum was established in Leipzig around 1840, the first clay vessels made in ancient Athens also arrived. The city was a national centre of ceramic production for over 200 years from the 6th century BC. During the museum's heyday, the collection grew considerably: in 1897, the collection of the archaeologist Friedrich Hauser was acquired, followed shortly afterwards by donations from the art dealers Edward Perry Warren and John Marshall. Thanks to these additions, the museum now has several thousand vessels and fragments.

Collections like the one in Leipzig can be found in museums all over the world. A scientific endeavour founded in 1921 is dedicated to systematically cataloguing them: The Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum. The aim is to document the painted Greek vessels of antiquity in the museums and collections of the 25 participating countries and make them accessible to experts.

With our presentation, we are visualising collections from the depots of the Antikenmuseum and their research in the heart of Leipzig. The tour begins with the obvious, the décor. It mainly includes depictions of people and scenes from the world of Greek myth with its gods and heroes. The traces of production are easy to overlook. However, drawings can also be used to visualise the path from the designed to the finished picture. The same applies to history. It left behind recognisable traces such as repairs, but also separated things that belonged together and even made objects completely invisible through accidents of loss. It is therefore all the more wonderful when some things that were thought to be lost can be (re)found and at least some of them can be shown in the course of the exhibition.

A joint exhibition of the collections of Leipzig University at the Egyptian Museum - Georg Steindorff - and the Antikenmuseum

2. June to 14. November 2021

Introduction

The exhibition STONERICH uses selected objects from the rich holdings of Leipzig University's collections to explore the question of how the use of ‘stone’ has shaped our culture over the millennia in practical, artistic and metaphorical terms. The focus is on the early history of mankind and antiquity, i.e. the first heyday of the material ‘stone’, as researched specifically by the subjects of prehistory and early history and Egyptology as well as by classical antiquity studies (classical archaeology, ancient history, classical philology). This does not exclude views into geological history as well as the Middle Ages and modern times. In some respects, the exhibition also ties in directly with our everyday knowledge and contemporary issues.

This broad cultural-historical perspective is complemented by a focus on the history of science. The exhibition also addresses the changes in scientific views on the subject of ‘stone’ over the past centuries. Selected researchers from within and around Leipzig University have their say.

We have deliberately avoided organising the exhibition along a timeline. Instead, visitors can expect a tour through sixteen interdisciplinary themed stations - eight in the Egyptian Museum and eight in the Antikenmuseum - each of which illuminates different facets of the general theme of ‘stone’ in independent presentations. The large number of participating collections makes it possible to present well-known and lesser-known objects in an unprecedented combination. In this respect, the exhibition also has the character of a research laboratory, which, in surprising constellations of objects, sheds new light on the familiar and thus raises new questions.

The participating museums and collections of Leipzig University

• Egyptian Museum - Georg Steindorff
  Antikenmuseum 
  Geological-Palaeontological Collection
  Custody of the Art Collection
  Teaching Collection Anatomy
  Teaching Collection Pathology
  Zoology teaching collection
  Medical History Collection at the Karl Sudhoff Institute
  Mineralogical-Petrographic Collection
  MusicInstrumentMuseum
  Collection of Prehistory and Early History
  University Library Bibliotheca Albertina

21. April to 15. July 2018

An exhibition by the Antikenmuseum at Leipzig University in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) Istanbul Department and the Chair of Representation Studies at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg

Introduction

At the centre of the exhibition is a new virtual 3D reconstruction of ancient Pergamon, developed by the Chair of Representation Studies at the BTU Cottbus in cooperation with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). The show provides visitors with a modern, vivid image of ancient urban spaces. At the same time, it is intended to encourage visitors to reflect on their own urban environment.
As the seat of power of the Hellenistic Attalid dynasty and as a Roman metropolis, Pergamon on the west coast of Turkey was one of the most prominent urban centres of the ancient world. For over 130 years, archaeologists led by the DAI have been researching the urban organism as a whole, the necropolises and the surrounding area of the city.

The exhibition focuses on the numerous scientific reconstructions that have been made since the start of the excavations, bringing the ruins of Pergamon's buildings to life. They help archaeologists, building researchers and the lay public to understand ancient architecture as a whole, including its relationship to the living and natural environment created by man.

At the beginning, visitors can look forward to the film installation of the new 3D reconstruction of Pergamon, which illustrates the urban city organism as a whole in a walk to the Acropolis with the rulers' palaces. The show then turns to central urban spaces in which the inhabitants lived and worked and which were of great importance for their education, religion and cults.  The following chapter presents the archaeological and architectural-historical work and scientific documentation of the preserved building remains, on which the scientifically correct and vivid reconstruction of individual buildings, architectural ensembles and entire cities is based.

Finally, the exhibition turns to various media for visualising ancient architecture. In addition to older graphic reconstructions of individual building complexes, a miniaturised printout of the 360° Pergamon panorama by the artist and architect Yadegar Asisi is on display. Particular attention is paid to the digital visualisations that have been perfected in recent years. Archaeologists use them not only to visualise research results, but increasingly also as an important tool for producing new findings and broadening scientific horizons.

Lender

• Cast Collection of Ancient Sculpture of the Free University of Berlin
• Archaeological Museum of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
• Asisi Panorama International GmbH
• German Archaeological Institute, Archive of the Head Office
• Collection of Plaster Casts of the Archaeological Institute, Georg-August-University Göttingen
• National Museums in Berlin, Prussian Cultural Heritage, Collection of Classical Antiquities
• University Library Bibliotheca Albertina Leipzig

Sponsors and supporters
In co-operation with:
German Archaeological Institute - Istanbul Department
BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg

With the kind support of:
Sparkasse Leipzig
Lions Club Leipzig Saxonia
Association of Friends and Sponsors of Leipzig University e.V.
asisi Panorama International
HPP Architects
Dr Rohde - Law firm

Imprint

Exhibition design and graphics: museumsfreunde Berlin
Exhibition organisation: Grit Karen Friedmann, Hans-Peter Müller, Marco Blechschmidt and students of the course ‘Archaeology of the Ancient World’
Texts: Frederike Armonies, Samuel Aster, Marco Blechschmidt, Paula Büttner, Burkhard Emme, Marlene Götz, Dominik Lengyel, Pavel Lubentsov, Cornelia Neubauer, David Rohm, Sabine Schleiffer, Johanna Scholz, Martin Stange, Hanna Vetterlein, Sandra Zentile
Editors: Jörn Lang, Hans-Peter Müller, Felix Pirson
Restoration supervision: Grit Karen Friedmann
Exhibition idea and concept: Hans-Peter Müller, Felix Pirson and students of the ‘Archaeology of the Ancient World’ degree programme

22.06.2016 - 05.02.2017
Finissage: 18.12.2016

Introduction

A project by Olaf Martens, the City of Leipzig, the Leipzig Cultural Foundation and the Antikenmueum at Leipzig University.
Leibniz Room in the Alte Nikolaischule Inn, atrium and Antikenmuseum in the Alte Nikolaischule at Nikolaikirchhof

Not Man / Not Dream
The thinker of many worlds! You've never seen Leibniz like this before!
Follow Leipzig photographer Olaf Martens (1963) as he takes a contemporary look at the academic, engineer, mathematician, philosopher and networker Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and creates his own unique visual worlds.

An exhibition with photographs by Thomas Kalak

A co-operation project with the Chair of Prehistory and Early History
at the Department of History of the University of Leipzig.

25.06.-28.07.2016

Foyer in the Neues Augusteum on the Augustusplatz campus
Augustusplatz 10, 04109 Leipzig

Archaeology through the eyes of photographer Thomas Kalak

When archaeology becomes the subject of a picture, this can be done with different objectives. Photographer Thomas Kalak offers a close-up view of archaeological work.

Archaeology and Photography

Students of the working group Archaeology and Photography in the B.A. and M.A. degree programme Archaeology of the Ancient World will present their findings on the following topics in a poster presentation:

• The history of photography in classical archaeology and in prehistory and early history
• The role of photography in the archaeological sciences: Preserving, generating and communicating knowledge
• Thomas Kalak and his photography series ‘Archaeology’

Introduction

Gems are colourful precious stones decorated with miniature images and, alongside coins, are the smallest image carriers of antiquity. The trade fair, commercial and university city of Leipzig, which was characterised by citizens, merchants and scholars, has had an extensive collection of such stones since the 18th century. This so-called dactyl library is now housed in the GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts. As the result of a fruitful co-operation between the museum and the university, it is being presented here for the first time in a comprehensive form.

On the occasion of Leipzig's 1000th anniversary, students from the Institute of Classical Archaeology have scientifically analysed the cut gemstones and prepared them for the special exhibition. Based on the reuse of antique gems that began in the Middle Ages, the exhibition spans the arc from the precious stones of the city of Leipzig to their reproduction, manufacture and utilisation. The focus is not only on the antique objects themselves, but also on their perception, dissemination and exploration in the context of an art-loving citizenry.

For the citizens of Leipzig, the gems were and are not only beautiful ornaments, because their ability to provide an insight into numerous different areas of ancient life in a very small space makes them equally instructive treasures.

Co-operation partner

GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig

Chair of Design and New Media in Art Education and the Department of Design and New Media at the Institute of Art Education at Leipzig University.

Students from the Institute of Art Education designed important parts of the exhibition as part of the modules ‘Artistic work with modern media’ and ‘Media education and extracurricular art education’ under the supervision of Prof Andreas Wendt, Dr Roland Meinel and Dr Jörn Lang. They created interactive museum guides for children and adults and developed the graphic appearance of the exhibition, a museum education programme for children and pupils to obtain a ‘Gem certificate’ and a website. On the website. you will find pictures of the exhibition and the film ‘GEMMEN. From stone to cast’, which shows the individual steps in the production of replicas.

Lender

• Egyptian Museum - Georg Steindorff - of the University of Leipzig
• Robertinum Archaeological Museum of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
• Archaeological Collection at the Heinrich Schliemann Institute of the University of Rostock
• Gerhard Schmidt (gemstone engraver) Idar-Oberstein
• GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig
• Martin von Wagner Museum of the University of Würzburg
• Mineralogical-Petrographic Collection of the University of Leipzig
• Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig
• Roman-Germanic Central Museum Mainz
• Saxon State Archives Dresden
• Leipzig City Archives
• Quedlinburg Municipal Museums/ Castle Museum
• State Museums of Prussian Cultural Heritage Berlin, Collection of Classical Antiquities
• Dresden State Art Collections, Sculpture Collection
• Leipzig University Library and special collections of the Bibliotheca Albertina
• Waldenburg Museum - Natural History Cabinet and City Museum

Sponsors and supporters

The exhibition and the exhibition catalogue were made possible by the financial support of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung.

We would like to thank the Freundes- und Förderkreis des Antikenmuseums der Universität Leipzig e.V. for their kind support.

 

Artistic dialogues with the university collections

The results of an interdisciplinary teaching project between Leipzig University and the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB), which began in the summer semester of 2013, will be presented in two parallel exhibitions. It was initiated by the StiL sub-project Leipzig Collections Initiative (LSI) at the Faculty of History, Art and Oriental Studies.

Students from various disciplines at the HGB developed artistic dialogues with and about the objects in three teaching collections at Leipzig University. This was based on guided tours of the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Antiquities with its plaster cast collection and the Prehistory and Early History Collection, as well as events with lecturers and students from the participating institutions.

Together, they analysed the objects and collections or questioned the history and forms of presentation in the museum. They served as a source of inspiration and a basis for the students' work, whereby the works created in this context are open in terms of media.

The first results were presented in the HGB gallery from 12 December 2013 to 18 January 2014 as part of the 250th anniversary of the HGB. This will now be followed by artistic interventions in the Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Antiquities. The project will conclude with a joint publication.

The artists and their works

• Jakob Argauer: Introduction
• Aude Benhaïm: Draw me an urn
• Aude Benhaïm and Juliane Jäger: What do you do with the scrap?
• Samuel Bich: Vase psychosis
• Maike Denker: Two-sided subsumption (poster)
• Paula Gehrmann: As far as I remember
• Florian Hesselbarth: Technical commercial training part 1
• Julian Irlinger: May I interrupt you for a moment?
• Ondine Pannet: os sonio belostos tuen formosa
• Barbara Proschak: Loan

Exhibiting artists

Jakob Argauer
- born 1988 in Munich
- since 2010 studies at the HGB Leipzig
- since 2012 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for photography and media, Prof. Joachim Brohm

Aude Benhaïm
- born 1986 in Reims, France
- 2009 Studied at the École régionale des beaux-arts de Rennes, France, Visual Communication (BA)
- 2009-2010 Guest student at the HGB Leipzig, Typography class, Prof. Günter Karl Bose and Photography class, Prof. Tina Bara
- 2010-2011 Studies at the École régionale des beaux-arts de Rennes, France, graphic design with a focus on book art and photography (MA)
- since 2011 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for photography and moving image, Prof. Tina Bara

Samuel Bich
- born 1990 in Aalen
- since 2011 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for painting with cross-media orientation, Prof. Ingo Meller

Maike Denker
- born 1982 in Münster
- 2004-2009 Studied at the University of Applied Sciences for Design in Münster (Diploma)
- since 2009 studies at the HGB in Leipzig, class for installation and space, Prof. Joachim Blank
- 2010-2013 Residencies and projects at the Royal Collage of Art in London, the École supérieure d'art de Brest, Kongelige Danske Kunstakedemi in Copenhagen.

Paula Gehrmann
- born 1982 in Berlin
- since 2008 studies at the HGB Leipzig
- since 2012 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for photography and media, Prof. Joachim Brohm

Florian Hesselbarth
- born 1986 in Berlin
- since 2009 studies at the HGB Leipzig, Class for Fine Arts, Prof. Astrid Klein

Julian Irlinger
- 2011 BA in Art History FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg
- since 2011 Studies at the HGB Leipzig, Class for Fine Arts, Prof. Astrid Klein

Juliane Jäger
- born 1984 in Jena
- Studied art history and German language and literature at the University of Leipzig
- since 2008 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for photography and media, Prof. Joachim Brohm

Ondine Pannet
- born 1987 in Épinay-sur-Seine (France)
- 2005-2007 Studied at the École Eugénie Cotton, Montreuil, France, Department of Graphic Design and Book Art (BTS)
- 2007-2009 Studies at the École Supérieure d'Art et de Design (ESAD), Amiens, France, specialising in graphic design (B.A.)
- since 2009 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for typography and book art, Prof. Günter Karl Bose

Barbara Proschak
- born 1984 in Eggenfelden
- 2007-2011 Studies at the University of Applied Sciences for Design Bielefeld, Department of Photography and Media (B.A.)
- since 2012 studies at the HGB Leipzig, class for photography Prof. Tina Bara

June to December 2013

Introduction

As a warning sign and symbolic act, Landshut artist Richard Hillinger is sending his bronze statuette of Ai Weiwei on a journey to campaign for the protection of human rights and freedom of expression.
After stops at the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim, the Municipal Museums in Heilbronn, the State Museum of Ethnology in Munich and the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg, it was on display in the Study Hall of the Antikenmuseum at Leipzig University from June to December 2013.

Ara Pacis Augustae

Female figures and small children in a water-rich and fertile landscape, fruit, sprouting grain, poppy capsules and flowers, a resting cow and a grazing sheep symbolise the blessings of the Golden Age. In an artistically perfect form, the relief image of the peace altar of the Roman Emperor Augustus articulates the multi-layered self-image of the new state, in which the economy, culture and art flourished. However, the dogma of peace encompassing earth, sea and sky is ambivalent. Wealth, prosperity and freedom opened up to those who did not stand in the way of Augustus' political ambitions in the struggle for autocracy. Thousands of his opponents, including the politician Cicero and the poet Ovid, fell victim to expropriations, expulsions and massacres.

Antikenmuseum of the University of Leipzig
7. July to 25. November 2012 - extended until 9. December 2012

Introduction

Today's appearance of ancient sculpture is characterised by light-coloured marble surfaces and the dark patina of corroded bronze. However, ancient written sources and archaeological finds have never cast doubt on the fact that ancient sculpture had coloured surfaces. For a long time it was disputed whether these were exceptions or rather the rule, and in particular whether the marble sculptures were only partially or completely painted. It is now widely accepted that many, perhaps even most, ancient marble works were colourfully painted. Bronze sculptures were also given a coloured surface through the combination of different materials and alloys. The special exhibition uses striking examples to show how classical archaeologists imagined their colourful antiquity.

In order to set themselves apart from the coloured sculpture of the Middle Ages and create something new, Renaissance artists began to appreciate the quality of white marble for sculpture for the first time. In doing so, they demonstrated a virtuoso handling of the stone. They had models in ancient sculptures, which they almost invariably got to know without their original colours. In the period from the 17th to the 19th century, colour was also theoretically banned from sculpture, and the classicist aesthetic ideal of monochrome, primarily white antiquity prevailed.

In the course of the 19th century, however, new finds made the former colourfulness of ancient sculpture increasingly clear. The first attempts at reconstruction were more artistic experiments than sober archaeological projects. They were not only intended to better illustrate ancient polychromy, but also to help overcome the idealistic separation of form and colour. For around three decades, great efforts have been made in conjunction with technically oriented and scientific disciplines to regain an idea of the colourful, actually colourful expressiveness of ancient art. In comparison with the historical reconstructions, the current replicas provide a concise insight into the latest results of these practice-orientated research efforts. The centrepiece of this exhibition is an elaborate bronze replica of a famous Greek sculpture: the boy wrestling with a goose like a professional athlete.

Lender

• Foundry Institute of the RWTH Aachen University
• Cast Collection of Ancient Sculpture Berlin
• Academic Art Museum of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• J. Scholer, Bonn
• Sculpture Collection, Dresden State Art Collections
• Gerhard Zimmer, Eichstätt
• Collection of plaster casts of the Archaeological Institute of the Georg-August-University Göttingen
• Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen
• Egyptian Museum - Georg Steindorff - of the University of Leipzig
• Mineralogical-Petrographic Collection of the University of Leipzig
• Museum for Casts of Classical Sculptures Munich
• State Collections of Antiquities and Glyptothek Munich
• Collection of Classical Antiquities of the Institute for Classical Archaeology at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Antikenmuseum of the University of Leipzig

22. October 2011 to 22. January 2012 - extended until 5. February 2012

This special exhibition presents a genre of ancient art that has so far received little attention in terms of forgery. On display are forged vases from the holdings of the Academic Art Museum of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. They were first exhibited there in 2009/2010 under the title ‘Genuine antique or fake - vases put to the test’. Just how topical the subject is is shown by the coverage of the spectacular trial of forged masterpieces of 20th century painting currently taking place in Cologne. In view of this art forgery trial, which has triggered increasing uncertainty on the art market, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the confrontation with the ‘fake’ also takes place outside the art trade. For archaeologists, it has always been part of their everyday work. Before an object can be used to help reconstruct the ancient world, it is always necessary to decide whether it was created in antiquity at all or whether it was altered and thus falsified in post-antiquity. Only on this basis can further cultural-historical considerations be made about the significance of an object within antiquity.

By taking over the exhibition and juxtaposing forgeries with originals from the Museum of Antiquities at Leipzig University, the aim is not just to present forged antique ceramics as works of criminal energy. Against the background of the conditions under which they were created, the aim is to recognise them as cultural-historical evidence of a conscious approach to antiquity. Enthusiasts may well find them aesthetically appealing. For students and archaeologists, they show that both forging ancient ceramics and recognising forgeries require a very good knowledge of the originals. The interplay of deception and unmasking has features of a competition between forgers and archaeologists that continues to this day.

The first part of the exhibition is dedicated to forgeries of ancient ceramics that were created during the 19th century. They can be traced back to the practice of adding complete vessels to damaged amphorae, drinking bowls or ointment vessels after they had been excavated. The work of the restorers is sometimes so perfect that even archaeologists can only recognise it at second glance. Subsequently, vessels are presented that were made in a deliberate act of deception. They document the craftsmanship of the forgers as well as the difficulties they faced. This includes the correct production technique as well as an understanding of the imagery of antiquity. Signs of modern origins were skilfully concealed by artificial traces of ageing. Often it is only minor deviations from the ancient models that put the archaeologist on the forgers' trail.

Lender

• Academic Art Museum of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

We would like to thank the Freundes- und Förderkreis des Antikenmuseums der Universität Leipzig e. V. for their kind support.

Aurea Aetas - The heyday of the Leipzig Museum of Antiquities at the beginning of the 20th century

Antikenmuseum University of Leipzig

10 October 2009 to 24 January 2010 - extended until 7 February 2010

Introduction

In the first three decades of the 20th century, the Leipzig Museum of Antiquities grew into a particularly versatile academic teaching collection. With the greatest zeal, the archaeologists, supported by the highly motivated Leipzig bourgeoisie, brought together a considerable number of ancient objects, as well as perfectly produced plaster casts of original sculptures and outstanding colour copies of Pompeian wall paintings.

The collection acquired at that time is an excellent material basis for academic teaching and research. The Leipzig archaeologists were therefore able to carry out fundamental research that is still valid today.

Despite painful wartime losses and its fate until 1989, the collection of the Museum of Antiquities is of such quality that it has proven to be a kind of scientific treasure trove for archaeological research and teaching, just as it was one hundred years ago. The aim of our cabinet exhibition in the anniversary year 2009 is to show this by means of examples of some individual works, larger groups of material and questions developed in Leipzig in six sections.

Lender

• Lindenau Museum Altenburg
• Cast collection of the Archaeological Institute of the Georg-August-University Göttingen
• Badisches Lendesmuseum Karlsruhe
• Museum for Casts of Classical Sculptures Munich
• Annette Vetter Oberried

We would like to thank the Freundes- und Förderkreis des Antikenmuseums der Universität Leipzig e. V. for their kind support.

Graphic works by Donald von Frankenberg

14. June to 5. October 2008

Introduction

The exhibition provides an example of the contemporary exploration of antiquity. Donald von Frankenberg was inspired by one of the most important works of ancient sculpture, the Laocoön Group. The juxtaposition of his modern realisation with a cast of the ancient model makes it clear how forms and motifs handed down from antiquity are made usable for the present. Conversely, the confrontation can contribute to a better understanding of the formal principles of ancient sculptures.

Lender

• Donald von Frankenberg
• Museum of Antiquities of the Martin Luther University Halle/Wittenberg, Robertinum
• Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig
• Leipzig University Library ‘Bibliotheca Albertina’

15. May to 8. July 2007

The exhibition is a project of the Classical Archaeology Department at Saarland University. Under the direction of Prof. Dr Carola Reinsberg, students were able to help examine and scientifically analyse the classical vases. After stops at the Saarland Museum in Saarbrücken, the Academic Art Museum in Bonn and the Winckelmann Museum in Stendal, they are now on display at the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Leipzig from 15. May to 8. July 2007.

Introduction

The exhibition presents a selection of classicist vases from the collection of the von Boch family and the holdings of the Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation. The pieces come mainly from two well-known ceramic manufacturers in Naples, which caused a sensation at international fairs in the 19th century with their excellent copies of antiques. Vases that imitate antique models and were created after contemporary engravings are rarely preserved today. They make the phenomenon of enthusiasm for antiquity comprehensible and provide a direct insight into the values of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie.

Lender

• Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig
• Academic Art Museum and Collection of Classical Antiquities of the University of Bonn
• Martin von Wagner Museum of the University of Würzburg, Collection of Classical Antiquities
• Private collection, Regensburg
• Eugen von Boch Collection, Mettlach
• Municipal Museum Simeonstift Trier
• Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation, Museum of Prehistory and Early History

Renaissance of the Etruscans - from myth to science

21. October 2006 to 28. January 2007

Introduction

Traces of the Etruscans, the historically most important people in Italy before the Romans, are still lost in antiquity. Their rediscovery began in the age of the Renaissance, politically desired and promoted by the princes of the Medici family in Florence. It reached a climax with the sensational excavations of Etruscan necropolises at the beginning of the 19th century. In the exhibition, visitors can follow this path, along which archaeology also developed into science. At the individual stations along the way, visitors encounter, among other things, the terrifying full-size chimera, bronze mirrors, valuable gemstones and original coloured tracings from around 1830 based on funerary frescoes from Tarquinia.

Lender

• Archaeological Museum of the Martin Luther University Halle/Wittenberg, Robertinum
• German Archaeological Institute, Rome Department
• National Museums in Berlin Prussian Cultural Heritage, Collection of Classical Antiquities
• Leipzig University Library ‘Bibliotheca Albertina’

Sponsors

• Leipzig Savings Bank
• Friends and Supporters of the Museum of Antiquities of the University of Leipzig e. V.

Drinking bowls from Athens - Ancient luxury ceramics as the subject of modern vase research

1. July to 24. August 2006

Studio exhibition on the occasion of the publication of the Attic red-figure bowls from the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Leipzig as part of the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Introduction

The Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA) is the world's leading international research project for the recording, cataloguing and scientific indexing of ancient Greek pottery.

The initiative to make ancient pottery from all the world's major public and private museums and collections accessible with illustrations and concise accompanying texts goes back to the French archaeologist Edmond Pottier (1855-1934). It was also Pottier who published the first CVA volume for the Louvre in Paris in 1922 under the aegis of the Union Académique Internationale. Since then, the ancient clay vessels have been published in individual fascicles, organised by country and museum.

The rich holdings of ancient clay vessels in German museums and collections have been published by the Commission for the CVA at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities since 1937. After the first types of pottery from the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Leipzig were published as part of the CVA in 1959 and 1973, the publication of the most extensive and high-quality group within the Leipzig collection, the Attic red-figure bowls, has now been finalised.

The studio exhibition presents a selection of the more than 250 bowls and bowl fragments that were processed for the CVA volume Leipzig 3. It exemplifies the methods and questions used by the vase researchers to record, document and scientifically analyse ancient ceramics as part of the CVA. It shows how the bowls are measured, drawn, photographed in general and detailed views, described, chronologically and stylistically categorised and attributed to an ancient painter personality for the extensive text and image documentation. No less important is their restoration in the run-up to publication.