Exotic Contents, Exquisite Containers: Perfume Bottles and Jewelry Boxes of Ancient Greece will be presented virtually on Tuesday, Oct. 12, from 6-7:30 pm by Sarah James, Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Zoom presentation is hosted by the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures.
“Perfumed oils and jewelry were precious objects in Ancient Greece that brought prestige to their owners,” said James, who studies the society, economy, and material culture of the Hellenistic Period (4th -1st centuries B.C.). “These luxury items were housed in some of the most elaborately decorated containers in the ancient world. Potters designed special shapes to hold perfumed oils and jewelry, and artists painted them with scenes from daily life and Greek mythology, including heroic adventures and dalliances between gods and mortals. Today, these vessels are treasured as rare works of art.”
Dr. James received her Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Texas at Austin. The author of Corinth VII.7: Hellenistic Fine Wares (2018), Dr. James excavated at Corinth for 12 years and has written about northeast Peloponnesian ceramics, Hellenistic trade networks, and the cultural transition from the Greek to the Roman period.
The presentation is in conjunction with the Museum’s Main Gallery display, How We Hold It: Containing Our Lives. The exhibit showcases the beauty and diversity of containers and vessels from around the world. Tickets for the program are $5 per Zoom connection, with reservations available at globalvillagemuseum.org. Registrants will receive the Zoom invitation on the day before the program.
The Global Village Museum, located at 200 West Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins, is open 11 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday.
pictured: perfume bottle from Athens dating to ca. 400 BC.
