The Volute Krater, an ancient Greek artifact, is on display at the University of Mississippi Museum.
The University of Mississippi Museum is celebrating its 75th anniversary with an offer that is tough to pass up. Through Aug. 8, 2015, admission is free.
Anyone interested in art might want to make plans to visit more than once in the coming year. There will be a lot to see as the museum introduces several new exhibits and unveils a new major gift as well as the reinstallation of the David M. Robinson Collection of Greek and Roman antiquities in the Mary Buie building.
The museum has more than 20,000 objects in its collection and in honor of its 75th anniversary, the Ole Miss News Blog will feature 75 different items from the collections there.
The first item on the list is the Volute Krater, a vessel used to mix wine and water, and a container for the ashes of the deceased, which dates back to between 340 B.C. and 300 B.C.
Here’s the University Museum’s description of the Greek artifact:
The decoration refers to death and the afterlife. The main illustration shows the deceased sitting in a small shrine conversing with a friend who leans on the doorway while drinking wine poured by a servant. Outside, young men and women prepare for a festival, probably that of Dionysus. The whole impression is of ease and happiness. The sphinx on the neck is a symbol of sudden death, and the masks on the handles are of lo, one of Zeus’ lovers who was turned into a cow and suffered many hardships before she regained human form and bore Zeus a son. Lo became a symbol for the soul that suffers much before finding peace.
The vessel, which is part of the Robinson Collection, is a gift to the museum from Mr. and Mrs. Frank S. Peddle, of Oxford.
To see a complete list of upcoming events and information on the new exhibitions, click this link.
The University Museum is open to the public 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. The museum is closed Mondays and regular university holidays. Its facilities are handicapped-accessible. If you require special assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7084.