THE SEARCH ^*:-* / ! IV AN EXHIBITION n^^iC,,•1,^^52^ NATIONALGALLERYOFART,WASHINGTON MUSEUMOFFINEARTS,BOSTON TSMUSEUMSOFSANFRANCISCO INSPECTORGENERALOFANTlQli'TlESOFGRI PROFESSOROFARCHAE KATERINARHOMIOPOULOl ARCHAEOLOGICALMlSElMOFTHESSALONI ARIELHERRMANN FELLOWFORRESEARCH CORNELIUSVERMEULE INEARTS BOSTON m,i THEGREEKMINISTRY OFCILTl REANDSCIENCES NEW YORKGRAPHICSOCIETY FOR ALfXANDER . ThispublicationwasproducedfortheexhibitionattheNationalGallen'ofArt. Washington,D.C..Novemberi6, 1980-April5. 1981:theArtInstituteof Chicago.May14, 1981-September7. 1981;theMuseumofFine.Arts.Boston. October23. 1981-January10. 1982:andTheFineArtsMuseumsofSanFran- cisco:M.H.deYoungMemorialMuseum.February19. 1982-May16.1982. TheexhibitionTheSearchforAlexanderhasbeenmadepossiblebytheNational BankofGreeceandTimeIncorporated,andwiththecooperationoftheGreek MinistryofCultureandSciences. EssaysbyNicholasYalourisandKaterinaRhomiopoulou.andillustrationsofand catalogueentriesforobjectsloanedbythemuseumsofGreece, Copyright© 1980bytheGreekMinistryofCultureandSciences. jCEeasctstasa'lyofgrbuyoemMeatnhnteoril\eisesrbg.yiAn.AnardireeoxlnciHakveoasrt.rimoaannnsdn.,iClolCuposyptryriartgiihgothnstg©of1a19n98d800cbabytyaMlAoargniuoeellieHsnetr.riAre.msnadfnroonrmkoobs-. CatalogueentriesbyCorneliusVermeule.Copyright(g1980CorneliusVermeule AllothermaterialCopyright(g 1980byNewYorkGraphicSociety .AHrightsresened.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyform orbyanyelectronicormechanicalmeansincludinginformation storageandretrievalsystemswithoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher, exceptbyareviewerwhomayquotebriefpassagesinareview. Firstedition TranslationsfromtheGreek;EssaybyManolisAndronikosandcatalogueenmes forloansfromGreecetranslatedbyJudithBinder.EssaysbyNicholasYalouris andKaterinaRhomiopouloutranslatedbyDavidHardy. Coverillustrations:Front.AlexandertheGrear. cat.no. 155(PellaMuseum) Back.Goldchest(lamax).cat.no. 172(Archaeological MuseumofThessalonike) NewYorkGraphicSocietybooksarepublishedbyLinle.BrownandCompany. PubUshedsimultaneouslyinCanadabyLinle.BrownandCompany(Canada) Limited. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica CONTENTS FOREWORD J.CARTERBROWN 6 LENDERSTOTHEEXHIBITION 9 ALEXANDERANDHISHERITAGE NICHOLASYALOURIS 10 ANOUTLINEOFMACEDONIANHISTORYANDART KATERINARHOMIOPOULOU 21 MAP 22 THEROYALTOMBSATVERGINA: ABriefAccountoftheExcavations MANOLISANDRONIKOS 26 COLORPLATES 39 THECATALOGUE 95 ContributorstotheCatalogue 96 Short TitleList 97 APPENDICES PhotographCredits i88 SelectedBibliography 189 Alexander:RelatedWorksofLaterPeriodsLentfromGreece 190 FOREWORD The search forour heritage is the essential quentlyevolvedinGreeceandhere,theycametoin- aspectofwhatanartmuseuminourdayis clude a television series, and even the possibility of allabout.AstheNationalGalleryhasbeen anartexhibition. fortunateinmountingexhibitionafterexhi- It seemedto me akindofdivine happenstance, bitionrepresentingoursearchintovarious forwhich the ancient Greeks wouldhavehadanap- aspectsofthatheritage,ithasalwaysbeen propriate god to thank, that all of these strands ofparticularpoignancetomepersonallythatwewere seemed susceptible of being conjoined in what has notreachingtheone aspectofWesterncivilization's become the exhibition shared by a consortium of roots to which many ofus feel the deepest kind of Americanmuseumsanddescribedinthiscatalogue. affinity,namelythatofancientGreece. Fromourearliestconceptualizationoftheshow, IhadtalkedaboutthiswiththeGreekauthorities it had struck me that the way to pursue it in its on frequent occasions, starting in the summer of Americantourwasasasearchinreversechronology, 1974. A call fromThomas Moving, then directorof starting with the present, where we all live biologi- the Metropolitan Museum, in September 1976, rein- cally, and searchingbackward into thecultural heri- forced my convictionthat it would someday be pos- tageonwhichweliveculturallyandintellectually. sible toborrowanexhibition ofGreek antiquities to No theme could serve better to dramatize this showintheUnitedStates,andourTrusteesapproved essential human quest, to discover where we have such an exhibition in principle. Only months after comefrom,thanthatofAlexander,whosefameover further discussions in Athens in the spring of 1977 theagesequalsthatofanytemporalleaderinhistory. camethe greatdiscovery, atthreeo'clockontheaf- That fame has affected the world's art, and through ternoon ofNovember 8, 1977, ofthe tomb at Ver- ouraudiovisual search, supplementedby a presenta- gina,whosecontentsformthecenterpieceofthisex- tionofselectedworksofartoflaterperiods, wecan hibition. penetratebackwardintotheworldofantiquity,where I first sawphotographsofthosecontentsaftera theexhibitionitselfbegins. board meeting at the National Geographic Society, The show serves as a progress report, as our when pictures were being made ready for publica- quest becomes more and more specific in its eager- tion, several months later, by the National Geo- ness for data about the ethos ofAlexander and the graphic initsJulyissueof 1978. material culture of his own time and place. It is Subsequently, in a meeting that summer with fittingthattheclimaxofthissearchshouldbearoyal Zachary Morfogen, David Finn, and Caroline Gold- tomb in Macedonia, which might even be that of smith, I learnedofthelong-standingprojectinitiated Alexander'sownfather,PhiHpII. many years before by Zachary Morfogen at Time A similar, but essentially different, exhibition Incorporated, which had begun in discussions with precededthisoneinthesummerof1980inSalonica, a Greek editor with the idea of publishing a book thecapitalofmodemMacedonia,inconjunctionwith on Alexander the Great. As their ideas had subse- the opening of a new wing in the archaeological museum there. This, in turn, had been preceded in tion, and his personal interest in the show's success the summer of 1978 by a quite different but very hasbeen acrucialfactor. Hisableassistant,Ambas- splendid show, incorporating some of the same sador Molyviatis; Prime Minister Railis; former pieces, entitled Treasures ofAncient Macedonia. MinisterofCultureandSciences, DimitriosNianias, The present exhibition shares aspects of both and his successor Andreas Andrianopoulos; the theseillustriouspredecessors. Inemphasis,itismore Minister to the Prime Minister Mr. Tsaldaris; and akintotheearlierSalonicaexhibition, presentingthe General Secretary of Tourism Lambrias have all achievementofancientMacedoniawhichmodernar- shownakeeninterestinthisproject.Theclosecoop- chaeology has revealed to us. We are particularly eration of Alexander Kotzias and, before that, pleasedthat somanyofthese ancienttreasureshave Katerina Koumarianou has been indispensible. Mr. beenallowedoutofGreece forthe firsttime. Atthe Harry Haralambopoulos of the Greek National same time it shares with the more recent exhibition Tourist Organization and Mr. Alexis Ladas of the an interest in exploring the impact ofMacedoniaon Hellenic Heritage Foundation have also been ofthe subsequent world civilization. The American show greatest help. The Greek ambassador to the United doesthis, incontrasttoSalonica,bymeansofanew States, John Tzounis, his predecessor, Menelas audiovisualpresentationdrawingonthetotaltreasury Alexandrakis, and his able press counselor, Alexis ofworldart, andsupplementedbyvaryinggroupsof Phylactopoulos,havebeentremendouslysupportive. iconographically related works ofart to be found in We are immensely grateful also to the Greek the region of each participating museum, together Council ofArchaeological Advisors, chaired by the withasmall nucleusofobjectsgenerously lentfrom general secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Mr. Greeceseenateachlocationandlistedonpage190. Sophokles Sophoulis, which supported the loan of An exhibitionofthis kinddoesnotcomeabout theseobjectsforexhibitionhere. Needlesstosay,the without the generosity and earnest efforts of an directors of the lending Greek museums are also enormous numberofpeople. The key to any artex- especiallytobethanked. hibition is the lenders who make it all possible. Fortheir financial support on behalfofthe ex- Together with my fellow directors ofthe other mu- hibition, wewishtoexpressourdeepestgratitudeto seums in the American consortium, James Wood at agreatvarietyofsupporters. OntheGreekside, the Chicago, Jan Fontein at Boston, and Ian White at National Bank of Greece, under the governorship San Francisco, I wish to express our deepest grat- first of Angelos Angelopoulos and subsequently itude to the individuals and institutions who have Euthymios Christodoulou, has been most helpful, as generously put these priceless and irreplaceable ob- have other agencies ofthe Greek Government, par- jects in our care for the benefit of our viewers. ticularly the Ministry of Culture and Sciences. The Paramountamongthesearethegovernmentandpeo- financialsupportofTimeIncorporatedisalsowarmly ple of Greece. President Karamanlis was prime appreciated, and itschairman, Andrew Heiskell, has minister during the formative period ofthis exhibi- lent hispersonal support forthis projectoveralong period. AndIwouldliketomake specialmentionof essay. We are also particularly fortunate in having Zachary P. Morfogen, Managing Director of Time the discovererofthe Vergina finds. Professor Man- Incorporated's Books and Arts Associates, whose olis Andronikos, help the exhibition in countless personalvisionanddedicationhavebeenessentialto ways, and provide an essay of his own with an the success of this undertaking. His diplomacy and eyewitnessaccountofthediscovery. enthusiasm have carried the project through irresist- OntheAmericanside,wearegratefultoProfes- ibly. sor Phyllis Lehman for her early help, and for the I would also liketoexpress ourgreatapprecia- curatorial departmentofthe Boston MuseumofFine tion totheDirectoroftheInternational Communica- Arts, headed by Cornelius Vermeule. Ariel Herr- tions Agency, AmbassadorJohn Reinhardt, forhelp mann ofthat department has been particularly help- insecuringfederalimmunityfortheloans. ful, andthecatalogueentriesforthe loansfromout- ThesupportbyMobiloftheaudiovisualsection side Greece have beenfurnishedingreatpartbyour oftheexhibition is alsodeeply appreciated. Inaddi- Bostoncolleagues. WewouldalsoliketothankPro- tion, each museum has had to find important addi- fessorEugene BorzaofThePennsylvaniaStateUni- tional resources, and to all these generous donors, versityforhishelpfulcounsel. credited in each location, we offer our collective Thoseinvolvedinmountingtheexhibitionatthe thanks. At the Gallery, we should like to thank the Gallery and the otherparticipating museums are too Congress ofthe United States for its support ofour numeroustomention. Iwouldberemiss,however,if exhibitionprogram. Ididnot signalizethe importantworkdonebyGail- The scholarly underpinningsofanexhibitionof lard Ravenelofthe Gallery's DesignandInstallation this kind are also quite complex in the realization. Department in shapingthe show, togetherwith Wil- ProfessorNicholas Yalouris has from the beginning liamWilliams,KentLydecker,andChristopherWith takenthekeenestinterestineverydetailoftheexhi- oftheNationalGallery'sEducationDepartment. bition, andinadditiontoallhisotheronerousduties Ancient Macedonia in the period ofAlexander has found time to guide the selection ofthe objects the Great produced some ofthe most beautiful gold andprovidetheverysignificantessayonthe iconog- objects ever crafted. It also produced an extraordi- raphy ofAlexander the Great from ancient times to naryhistorical figure. WeattheNationalGalleryare the present that is such an important part of this immenselypleasedby theopportunitytobringthese catalogue. Workingcloselywithhimandspecifically threads together, and to participate in a search that on the exhibition in the form ittook at Salonicahas ispartofthelarger,ongoingsearchforourcommon been the very able director of the Archaeological heritage. Museum of Thessalonike, Katerina Rhomiopoulou, whose deep knowledge of the archaeology of this period has been very helpful, and to whom we are J.CarterBrown alsogratefulforherpreciouscontributionasthehead Director of the team that prepared the learned catalogue NationalGalleryofArt