Mobility

The connectivity and cultural exchange between ancient cultures is an important issue in the field of archaeology. This showcase is about this mobility of travelling people, ideas, art styles and objects in the period 1000-335 BC.  The objects come from the area around the Mediterranean Sea and its hinterlands.

Three clusters of objects are represented in this showcase. The first cluster is comprised of the key objects that represent mobility of style, travelling people and objects and the second of archaic sculptures which can be seen as immortal reminders of a highly interconnected world. The stylization of the hair, the eyes and the mouth of the portraits all point to them dating from the same period; yet they are manufactured in various regions. This point out the mobility of ideas about art styles between the East and the West. The third cluster is comprised of various objects found in different regions yet with the same depiction: the sphinx.

How can the concept ‘mobility’ be best conveyed?

Written by Laurien de Gelder, Project coordinator Refurbishment– Researcher Allard Pierson Museum & Melanie Wasmuth, Guest Curator Near East, Egypt (Refurbishment)