ART IN GOLD / JEWELLERY IN HELLENISTIC TIMES

EXHIBITION AT THE BENAKI MUSEUM ATHENS

13.11.2024 - 27.4.2025

During the Hellenistic period, that followed the conquests of Alexander the Great, the art of jewellery-making attained its zenith.

What messages did the iconography of the jewellery of this era convey? What kinds of jewellery did members of the aristocracy prefer? How were brides bedecked before the wedding ceremony? Which pieces of jewellery accompanied the adult dead and which those who had departed prematurely? How were these exquisite specimens of the ancient goldsmith’s art made? Can the Hellenistic tradition inspire contemporary creators?

These and many more questions are explored in the exhibition ‘Art in Gold: Jewellery in Hellenistic Times’.

Contemporary creations by Pura Ferreiro, Peter Bauhuis, Akis Goumas, Patrick Davison, Anastasia Kandaraki, Lucia Massei, Dimitris Nikolaidis, and Despina Pantazopoulou, inspired by items of jewellery at the Benaki Museum, will be exhibited alongside the antiquities.