Gold, Gold, Gold and Beautiful Glass: Luxury and Power — Persia to Greece, British Museum
Showing us wondrous things instead, the evidence for how the invading Greeks discovered and embraced Persian bling and conspicuous consumption. Whilst I could have benefitted from more context (i.e. places where mentioned without a map often), the range of objects on display were exquisite and roundly demonstrated the ancients opposition to quiet luxury.
There were gold and silver elaborate drinking horns (rhytons) and bowls (for pouring wine into with your rhytons/exquisite drinking horns); comic pottery drinking cups in a range of forms (eagle, donkey, lion, face of your recently conquered empire dweller) and gorgeously crafted glass, which still radiated light. Intriguingly ethnic differences were highlighted such as in a splendid display which lit up a battle scene — soldier’s helmet and a clay vessel with potentially a Nubian on it. There was also a golden offering plate covered in stylised Nubian heads. The exhibition attempted to point out racism — stereotyping certainly, but Greeks and Romans didn’t see racism by colour then, more just dividing everyone into citizen and non-citizen, enslaved and free, and women at the very bottom of everything regardless as almost inhuman non-people. (Along with the wider lack of context, apart from maps and timelines at the beginning, this is another area where the exhibition falls down. The animated empire invasion maps were fun though).
But this was very much about the stuff, and it was displayed the stuff really well, even if the interpretation was a bit all over the place at points. I loved the recreated clothing (an all in one woven tunic hung with golden lions heads and covered in fur, for the slower you moved, the heavier your clothing and the more information you were), as well as the snug warm hose-like trousers (think colourful ancient Smurf fashion).
Exhibits were accompanied by short, tantalising videos on how the objects were made, alongside physical examples of the fashioned items of luxury and their raw materials (how the coveted purple was made and dyed, an example of an ivory tusk (and then how ivory was used), what marble and alabaster looks like in the raw, how frankincense is obtained and what it looks like), a carefully preserved alabaster jar, and how sculpture conventions were mimicking each other making it hard to tell who culturally was who, whilst using exquisite Persian Empire resources to make them. Also relished videos portraying craftspeople at work recreating the stunning coloured glass vessels, spun with lines of glass entwined around it in contrasting colours. I’d love to see the mosaic glass being made too!
Brilliant to be dazzled by the Panagyurishte Treasure from Bulgaria in all its delicate and glowing glory. The deer’s antlers on the vessels were exquisitely delicate. On the ‘goddess’ heads, they had tiny lions on their necks to drain wine out of them, as well as sweeping scarves and identifiers of who they were meant to be. I.e. Athena has wings on the back of her helmet.
There was a wreath of gold oak leaves (failed to spot the hidden bee and cicadas); a nicely modelled exhibit of body jewellery; a tiny golden chariot with appropriately dressed driver; sling slots (not gold!) a golden fish and fake it til you make it items — glistening black pottery impersonating bronze. It was still very shiny. Pleasing too were the pottery figures of dancing and generally misbehaving figures scampering all around drinking vessels and bowls; as well as learning that the Pantheon was inspired by Persian figures. Intriguingly parasols were originally for Persian kings alone, and adopted by Greek women as a sign of their leisured and therefore luxurious existence. (Cue a couple of pottery illustrations, one with louche servants or perhaps slaves; leaning, almost super cas, offering a songbird and holding a parasol as make-up is chosen; in the other they are busier, washing and shading their busy mistress).
Overall I’d have liked a bit more context as it was unclear why the Greeks were so appalled by Persian decadence and yet embraced their symbols as a good thing. It was partly it seemed a bit of Peter to pay Paul — they burned each other’s centres of learning and national esteem. But who were the Achaemenids? (There was assumed knowledge here and definitely not to be confused with Arachnids!). Certainly Greece seemed to be in a cultural flux as they began to cover their conquered neighbours gold — they liked the idea of communal couches where everyone had the same social status, and yet the Persians only allowed the King to recline, everyone else stood up. Alexander the Great started going more and more culturally Persian. Post-Alexander the Great the Empire split into four and the cultural consumption of the invaded and conquered continued — with the Ptolemy’s using Pharonic symbols, for example.
Did enjoy seeing Cyrus's infamous scrolls and cylinders — keeping the empire running smoothly through admin. Also the metalled pottery impersonating cosstlier silver — this meant that even those on lower incomes could enjoy the camaraderie of drinking couches and rhytons. Did not expect to see a pottery Eros on the back of a goose, which in a Bleak Expectations way, had me giggling. Ancient Egyptian humour! and it’s a vase.
