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Opening of a new permanent exhibition entitled
Archaic Greece. Ancient Cyprus On 5 May 2005 a new permanent exhibition entitled Archaic Greece. Ancient Cyprus opened in the State Hermitage. The Hall of Archaic Art (Nr 111) where the exhibition opened is located on the second floor of the New Hermitage in premises which were decorated according to designs prepared by the architect Leo von Klenze in what were considered to be Greek or Roman style. These halls have featured exhibitions presenting the State Hermitage’s very rich collections of antiquities. The exhibition in the Hall of Archaic Art dates from the 1860’s and was always traditionally devoted to "the most ancient things" - monuments of Antique art which at one or another stage in the development of science have been considered to be the earliest. The new exhibition is substantially expanded. As in the past, visitors can see works from the collection which are recognized as masterpieces, such as the splendid painted vases from ancient Athens and Corinth. At the same time many other works dating from the 27th - 5th century B.C. which were formerly kept in storerooms are now on display, including stone and clay vessels, bronze castings, terracotta statuettes, carved stones and items of jewelry. The collection of works of art from Ancient Cyprus is considerably more complete than previously: monuments from the end of the third millennium to 5th century B.C., such as vases made of clay and terracotta or stone statuettes. The opening of the exhibition is one more stage in the implementation of a program of restoring the New Hermitage which began in 1997. The New Hermitage is both a functioning modern museum and a unique monument of European museum culture dating from the middle and second half of the 19th century. The goal of the program for its restoration and renovation is to create conditions for exhibitions which correspond to today’s world class museums of ancient art. For these reasons the exhibition now opening in the Hall of Archaic Art is equipped with modernized display cases made in accordance with sketches by Leo von Klenze in the 19th and early 20th centuries and also with new cases which repeat the main elements of the historic design. The hall and the display cases are provided with an up-to-date lighting system. A multimedia information center situated in the hall gives visitors the possibility of obtaining a comprehensive idea of the culture of Archaic Greece and Ancient Cyprus and of evaluating the importance of the monuments on display. The Costakis Foundation and Leto Severis (Republic of Cyprus) gave financial assistance for the modernization of the display cases and for the creation of the multimedia center. |
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Copyright © 2006 State Hermitage Museum |
