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ARTS OF ANCIENT MIDEAST SPOTLIGHTED IN DETROIT
By DAVID N. GOODMAN
Associated Press
6:39 p.m. CST, December 19, 2010
DETROIT - The ancient Middle East is coming alive at the Detroit
Institute of Arts this week, with the re-opening of a long-closed
gallery that will present ceramic, glass, silver and stonework from
thousands of years ago.
The gallery that opens Wednesday focuses on the cultural heritage
from what is now Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Yemen and Armenia.
The items include a serpent-dragon panel from the Ishtar gate of
Babylon that was off display since before the project.
"We are happy to have Marduk's serpent back on view, along with a
selection of our most important objects in the Ancient Middle East
collection," museum director Graham W. J. Beal said in an announcement
of the opening.
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The gallery includes some of the museum's oldest objects, including
a 7,000-year-old collar-necked jar from Turkey that is painted with
a geometric design and two Iranian ceramics -- a conical dish with
cheetahs and a footed cup painted with stags -- that are about 5,000
years old.
The gallery is in a basilica-like space that was subdivided during
the past 30 years. The gallery's first phase received support from
the National Endowment for the Arts and Ernest and the Rosemarie
Kanzler Foundation Fund.
The museum is seeking more money to complete what curator Heather Ecker
said is a "pretty interim project." While the museum has reopened
space that had been closed for three years, it has much work ahead
to update the way the ancient artworks are presented and to add the
detailed explanatory materials to accompany them, she said.
Detroit's 1927 Beaux Arts-style museum of the arts underwent a
$158-million, six-year overhaul that was completed three years ago.
Despite the extensive work, a few areas remained to be updated. That
includes the space now holding the Middle Eastern collection.
"It was built like a cathedral," said Ecker, the museum's Islamic
art curator who also worked on the Middle Eastern gallery. "It's a
magnificent space. It has a lot of ornamental detail."
The space also had an outdated utility system, with electrical lines
running up its columns, dim lighting and other outdated features.
Now, the gallery has been turned into a bright, inviting space.
"It feels like daylight, whereas before, it felt like a nightmare,"
Ecker said.
The items on display are from the museum's collection and were obtained
through gifts and purchases, Ecker said. She said the gallery is
"geographical and chronological" in its presentation, with a focus
on the sometimes light-hearted nature of ancient artworks.
A bas-relief from the palace of Nimrud, Iraq, for example, shows
the Assyrian emperor Tiglath-Pileser III receiving homage. He is
surrounded by fawning eunuchs, one with a large pot belly.
"There's a sense of humor," she said. "It's definitely a scene of
fluffing up."
From: A. Papazian
By DAVID N. GOODMAN
Associated Press
6:39 p.m. CST, December 19, 2010
DETROIT - The ancient Middle East is coming alive at the Detroit
Institute of Arts this week, with the re-opening of a long-closed
gallery that will present ceramic, glass, silver and stonework from
thousands of years ago.
The gallery that opens Wednesday focuses on the cultural heritage
from what is now Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Yemen and Armenia.
The items include a serpent-dragon panel from the Ishtar gate of
Babylon that was off display since before the project.
"We are happy to have Marduk's serpent back on view, along with a
selection of our most important objects in the Ancient Middle East
collection," museum director Graham W. J. Beal said in an announcement
of the opening.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Shopping: Your home for personalized holiday shopping deals >>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The gallery includes some of the museum's oldest objects, including
a 7,000-year-old collar-necked jar from Turkey that is painted with
a geometric design and two Iranian ceramics -- a conical dish with
cheetahs and a footed cup painted with stags -- that are about 5,000
years old.
The gallery is in a basilica-like space that was subdivided during
the past 30 years. The gallery's first phase received support from
the National Endowment for the Arts and Ernest and the Rosemarie
Kanzler Foundation Fund.
The museum is seeking more money to complete what curator Heather Ecker
said is a "pretty interim project." While the museum has reopened
space that had been closed for three years, it has much work ahead
to update the way the ancient artworks are presented and to add the
detailed explanatory materials to accompany them, she said.
Detroit's 1927 Beaux Arts-style museum of the arts underwent a
$158-million, six-year overhaul that was completed three years ago.
Despite the extensive work, a few areas remained to be updated. That
includes the space now holding the Middle Eastern collection.
"It was built like a cathedral," said Ecker, the museum's Islamic
art curator who also worked on the Middle Eastern gallery. "It's a
magnificent space. It has a lot of ornamental detail."
The space also had an outdated utility system, with electrical lines
running up its columns, dim lighting and other outdated features.
Now, the gallery has been turned into a bright, inviting space.
"It feels like daylight, whereas before, it felt like a nightmare,"
Ecker said.
The items on display are from the museum's collection and were obtained
through gifts and purchases, Ecker said. She said the gallery is
"geographical and chronological" in its presentation, with a focus
on the sometimes light-hearted nature of ancient artworks.
A bas-relief from the palace of Nimrud, Iraq, for example, shows
the Assyrian emperor Tiglath-Pileser III receiving homage. He is
surrounded by fawning eunuchs, one with a large pot belly.
"There's a sense of humor," she said. "It's definitely a scene of
fluffing up."
From: A. Papazian