EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW

Palekh: Icons to Souvenir Boxes to Icons

Joslyn Museum of Art, Omaha, NE

September 20, 2008 - January 11, 2009

Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, MA

January 29- March 7, 2009

Yaroslavl Madonna, early 20th century, Ivano Regional Museum

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American Artists from the Russian Empire

Fred Jones Jr. Museum, Norman, OK

October 4, 2008 - January 4, 2009

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

February 19, 2009 - May 25, 2009

State Tretyakov Gallery

June 10, 2009 - August 23, 2009

San Diego Museum of Art

October 10, 2009 - January 3, 2010

John Graham, Circus Horse, 1942 (Hollis Taggart Galleries)

Masterpieces from the PLATAR Collection

At the invitation of the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, the Foundation for International Arts and Education is exploring the opportunity to present a unique exhibition of historical relics from the territory of Ukraine. Collected over many years by two Ukrainian businessmen, Sergei Platonov and Sergei Taruta, the proposed exhibition will span 6,000 years of history of tribes and people who inhabited the territory of modern Ukraine.

Special attention will be devoted to unique pottery and clay sculptures from the Trypillian Culture, which thrived as early as 5,000 B.C. This agrarian society was matriarchal, with women heading the households and the Great Goddess worshipped as the powerful giver of life. Trypillian pottery features carved decorations, red and black paints, sacred symbols, and realistic animals. Other exhibit artifacts from this period will include stone, flint and copper tools.

Between the 7th and 3rd centuries B.C., the Scythians moved back and forth across the territory of Ukraine as fierce warriors and nomads. Archeological sites have yielded real and mythical animal-style art in white and yellow metals. Strong Greek influences are found in artifacts discovered in the region of the Black Sea between the 7th and 2nd centuries B.C., an area that attracted Greek colonists by its natural resources, fertile soil, and trade opportunities. This period of history will be represented in the exhibition by traditional Hellenistic crafts – black-slip pottery, amphora, bronze sculpture, exquisite gold jewelry, and some extraordinary Rhytons.

The Roman period of history, between the 1st century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. brought real conflict to the area between the Greek settlers and Roman invaders. Remaining treasures from this period reflect a blending of the two cultures, as well as predominantly Roman items, including bright red and orange pottery, transparent glass, bronze and silver vessels, and the introduction of precious stones, filigree, granulation and inlays into traditional jewelry.

The Late Roman-Early Byzantine era reflected the intense migration of nomadic tribes throughout all of Europe. Between the 3rd and 7th centuries A.D., large and small nomadic tribes crisscrossed the territory between the Pyrenees and Urals, resulting in the early creation of today’s ethnic and political map. Relics displayed in the exhibition will include Roman and Byzantine jewelry, clay and ceramic vessels, as well as German works of bronze, silver and gold decorations along with weapons. Slavic culture is represented by silver and bronze decorations, while nomadic tribes created ceramics and tableware.

The exhibition will conclude with treasures from the Byzantine Empire, Kievan Rus’, and various Steppe nomads. Between the 4th and 15th centuries A.D., the Byzantine Empire thrived, combining Asian and European traditions and art into an identifiable culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Outstanding examples of the Byzantine culture will include a display of church utensils, relics, a gold chalice, and crosses. Jewelry of Kievan Rus’ will be represented by temple rings and pendants, rings, bracelets, and necklaces decorated with filigree, granulation and cloisonné enamels. Examples of a nomadic life will be seen through decorative styles of gold temple pendants, silver headdresses, and personal jewelry of unique design.

 

Items Featured: Diadem and Temple Earring, PLATAR Collection, Ukraine