Kikhwa
10-06-2003, 02:54 AM
This is a very important event. I encourage those from Chicago to attend. :)
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OPENING OF A NEW GALLERY ANCIENT IRAQ
AT THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
OPENING OCTOBER 18, 2003
A gallery featuring one the world's great collections of antiquities from ancient Iraq will open Saturday, October 18, 2003 at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, Il. It joins two other recently opened Oriental Institute galleries, one devoted to Egypt and the other to Persia.
The Edgar and Deborah Jannotta Mesopotamian Gallery that includes more than 2500 objects from 150,000 B.C. to 700 A.D. showcases the permanent collection of the Oriental Institute Museum. Among the treasures are 4500-year-old limestone statues of praying men and women, brightly glazed brick lions from a wall of Babylon, clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions that document religious and economic practices and other facets of daily life, dozens of finely-cut cylinder seals, tools, pottery, and jewelry. Another section of the gallery is devoted to the prehistory of Iraq and the work of the famed Oriental Institute archaeologists Robert and Linda Braidwood.
Perhaps the most spectacular part of the gallery is the Yelda Khorsabad Court, the recreation of a section of the palace courtyard of the Assyrian king Sargon II (721-705 B.C.). The court is dominated by a monumental 16-foot-tall sculpture of a human-headed winged bull. The walls of the court are lined with ten-foot-tall slabs of stone carved with scenes of the king, his son-prince Sennacherib-and his courtiers. The installation of the Khorsabad Court took ten years of planning, during which time the monumental carved stone slabs were moved from isolated locations in the former museum exhibit to their new location, placing them in a more meaningful and impressive context.
The new Mesopotamian Gallery at the Oriental Institute Museum has special relevance with the recent loss of antiquities from the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad and elsewhere. The recent events in Iraq reminded the world of the importance of the contributions of Mesopotamia culture to civilizations of the world. Fundamental aspects of technology were developed in Mesopotamia including the invention of the 24 hour day, the 356 day year, sail powered boats, the wheel, the earliest cities, codified laws, and among the earliest writing in the world.
The new gallery is part of the on-going renovation of the Oriental Institute Museum, which is one of the few museums in the world that has a comprehensive collection of antiquities from the ancient Middle East. The final galleries, devoted to Syria/Anatolia, Palestine/Israel, and Nubia, will open in the next several years.
The Oriental Institute is offering a wide range of educational programs for adults and children in conjunction with the opening of the new gallery.
The museum is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, Wednesday from 10 am to 8:30 pm, Sunday from noon to 4 pm. The museum is closed on Monday and on major holidays. Suggested donation for admission is $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for children under twelve years of age.
Telephone: 773-702-9514
web site: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPENING OF A NEW GALLERY ANCIENT IRAQ
AT THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
OPENING OCTOBER 18, 2003
A gallery featuring one the world's great collections of antiquities from ancient Iraq will open Saturday, October 18, 2003 at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, Il. It joins two other recently opened Oriental Institute galleries, one devoted to Egypt and the other to Persia.
The Edgar and Deborah Jannotta Mesopotamian Gallery that includes more than 2500 objects from 150,000 B.C. to 700 A.D. showcases the permanent collection of the Oriental Institute Museum. Among the treasures are 4500-year-old limestone statues of praying men and women, brightly glazed brick lions from a wall of Babylon, clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions that document religious and economic practices and other facets of daily life, dozens of finely-cut cylinder seals, tools, pottery, and jewelry. Another section of the gallery is devoted to the prehistory of Iraq and the work of the famed Oriental Institute archaeologists Robert and Linda Braidwood.
Perhaps the most spectacular part of the gallery is the Yelda Khorsabad Court, the recreation of a section of the palace courtyard of the Assyrian king Sargon II (721-705 B.C.). The court is dominated by a monumental 16-foot-tall sculpture of a human-headed winged bull. The walls of the court are lined with ten-foot-tall slabs of stone carved with scenes of the king, his son-prince Sennacherib-and his courtiers. The installation of the Khorsabad Court took ten years of planning, during which time the monumental carved stone slabs were moved from isolated locations in the former museum exhibit to their new location, placing them in a more meaningful and impressive context.
The new Mesopotamian Gallery at the Oriental Institute Museum has special relevance with the recent loss of antiquities from the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad and elsewhere. The recent events in Iraq reminded the world of the importance of the contributions of Mesopotamia culture to civilizations of the world. Fundamental aspects of technology were developed in Mesopotamia including the invention of the 24 hour day, the 356 day year, sail powered boats, the wheel, the earliest cities, codified laws, and among the earliest writing in the world.
The new gallery is part of the on-going renovation of the Oriental Institute Museum, which is one of the few museums in the world that has a comprehensive collection of antiquities from the ancient Middle East. The final galleries, devoted to Syria/Anatolia, Palestine/Israel, and Nubia, will open in the next several years.
The Oriental Institute is offering a wide range of educational programs for adults and children in conjunction with the opening of the new gallery.
The museum is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, Wednesday from 10 am to 8:30 pm, Sunday from noon to 4 pm. The museum is closed on Monday and on major holidays. Suggested donation for admission is $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for children under twelve years of age.
Telephone: 773-702-9514
web site: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu