Alexander, the Great - Exhibition

Alexander the Great exhibition to give insight into man who conquered world



Source



"Hundreds of ancient Macedon artefacts unseen outside Greece to be shown at Oxford's Ashmolean museum

The exhibition, Heracles to Alexander the Great, will show the fruits of recent excavations in Aegae, the ancient capital of Macedon. Artefacts in the exhibition will include objects from the burial tomb of the powerful King Philip II, Alexander's father, and his son, Alexander IV – and splendid jewellery and ornaments from the tombs of various Macedonian queens.
Some of the most revelatory objects in the exhibition are portrait heads. Unlike the idealised faces of classical Athens, they show furrowed brows, wrinkles and laughter lines and may transform understanding of the history of portraiture. "The Macedon of Philip II is the birthplace and birth-time of realistic portraiture," said Dr Angeliki Kottaridi, the lead curator of the exhibition and the director of excavations at Aegae. (...)

Among these sculpted heads will be a portrait of Philip II, with a remarkably lived-in face and crinkly eyes. And even more intriguingly, there will be a set of lifesize and lifelike terracotta heads that are, according to Kottaridi, "absolutely unique". Twenty-six were found, by Kottaridi herself, in the grave of a Macedonian queen dating from about 500BC. (...)

Heracles to Alexander the Great is at the Ashmolean museum, Oxford, from 7 April to 29 August." Source

Oxford in the spring and Alexander, the Great! This April is going to be lovely. Even if I forget my umbrella, I won't forget to take the camera.
(Google Art Project is a great idea but going to Oxford is even better!)