September 26, 2011

Antiquities from Ukraine


Antiquities from Ukraine

Starting October 1 and running through February 19 of next year, The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis will be hosting an exhibit devoted to gold and ceramic relics dating from the Neolithic age to the Byzantine era, and unearthed in present-day Ukraine.

Over the ages, the territory of Ukraine has been a major trade route where objects from many eras and civilizations have been found.
The exhibition’s storyline follows a chronological sequence, starting with the Trypilian culture dating back to 5,400 BC. Pottery decorated with red and black paints, sacred symbols, as well as temple models and animal sculptures, will be on display. The lost world of this sophisticated matriarchal society comes to life in the fascinating figurines of the Great Goddess and in the highly stylized patterns decorating Trypillian earthenware.

Gradually displacing the agricultural Trypillians were the nomadic Scythians of the Ukrainian steppe, known for their beautiful animal-shaped ornaments. The fertile soil of the region attracted Greek settlers as early as the 7th century BC. Greek presence lasted well into the Hellenistic period (around the 2nd century BC), represented here by a dazzling array of bronze sculpture, exquisite gold jewelry, extraordinary rhytons (drinking cups in the partial shape of a ram), black-slip pottery, and amphorae. 
 
Rome’s influence reached the Black Sea—and the shores of Ukraine—as early as the 1st century BC. Roman presence is reflected in art forms that blend traditions from both Greek and Roman worlds. Among the items on display are bright red and orange pottery, transparent glass, bronze and silver vessels, and jewelry incorporating precious stones, filigree, granulation and inlays.

The exhibition ends with treasures from the Byzantine Empire, the ancient Slavic state of Kievan Rus’, and various steppe nomads, spanning the 5th through the 13th centuries AD. Utensils, relics, chalices, kolts, pendants, rings, bracelets and necklaces provide an idea of the array of objects used by the inhabitants of medieval Ukraine. 

“TMORA has previously featured art from various regions of the former Soviet Union including Estonia and Central Asia, and now we’re pleased to offer visitors insights into Ukraine,” said museum Director Brad Shinkle.
 
This exhibit is presented by the Foundation for International Arts & Education of Bethesda, Maryland in cooperation with the The Museum of National Cultural Heritage PlaTar in Kiev, Ukraine, the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council and with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.

Tags: artukraine
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955