Part of the exhibition at the Chau Chak Wing Museum
The Ceramics Study Group (CSG) invites TAASA members for a guided tour of the exhibition Villages and Empires: Ancient Cultures of the Middle East at the Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM). The tour will be conducted by Paul Donnelly, Deputy Director of the CCWM and is for TAASA members only.
Over the last 15,000 years, Western Asia (the Middle East) witnessed the
emergence of the world’s first villages, cities and empires. Different cultures
expressed these changes in distinctive ways, developing diverse political and
economic systems and religious beliefs. The long-distance exchange of goods such
as metals, textiles and semi-precious stones carried new ideas across a highly
connected world. The artefacts, including an extensive ceramic collection displayed
in Villages and Empires, represent these different cultural innovations. The collection
is drawn mainly from the Levant (modern Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Syria, Lebanon
and southern Turkey) and Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
Archaeologists recovered these artefacts in the 20th century under a traditional
system known as ‘division’, sharing finds between foreign institutions who excavated
them and the countries in which they were found. In this way the University of
Sydney acquired artefacts through its own excavations in Cyprus and Jordan and
through sponsorship of British digs in the region.
Dr Paul Donnelly is Deputy Director of CCWM. He is an Honorary Fellow at the
Women’s College, University of Sydney and Co director of the Zagora
Archaeological Project, Andros (Greece) and is a member of University of Sydney
excavations, Pella, Jordan.
Please meet in the foyer of CCWM at 4:15pm so the tour can start promptly at 4:30pm.
Please join us for a glass of wine or cup of coffee in the CCWM café following the
tour and handling session to continue the conversation with Dr Donnelly.
This tour is limited to 15 people.
All bookings and payments are to be made online before June 6th.
