The Lost World of Old Europe: The Danube Valley, 5000 – 3500 BC

November 11, 2009 – April 25, 2010

Open: Tues – Sun 11-6, Fri 11-8, Closed Monday
Free admission

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU
15 East 84th Street
New York, NY 10028

Please visit the Lost World of Old Europe Exhibition Website for complete information, images of items in the exhibition, a full public programming schedule (lectures, film series, musical performances) and more!

The Lost World of Old Europe brings to the United States for the first time more than 160 objects recovered by archaeologists from the graves, towns, and villages of Old Europe, a cycle of related cultures that achieved a precocious peak of sophistication and creativity in what is now southeastern Europe between 5000 and 4000 BC, and then mysteriously collapsed by 3500 BC. Long before Egypt or Mesopotamia rose to an equivalent level of achievement, Old Europe was among the most sophisticated places that humans inhabited. Some of its towns grew to city-like sizes. Potters developed striking designs, and the ubiquitous goddess figurines found in houses and shrines have triggered intense debates about women’s roles in Old European society. Old European copper-smiths were, in their day, the most advanced metal artisans in the world. Their intense interest in acquiring copper, gold, Aegean shells, and other rare valuables created networks of negotiation that reached surprisingly far, permitting some of their chiefs to be buried with pounds of gold and copper in funerals without parallel in the Near East or Egypt at the time. The exhibition, arranged through loan agreements with 20 museums in three countries (Romania, The Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova), brings the exuberant art, enigmatic goddess cults, and precocious metal ornaments and weapons of Old Europe to American audiences.

Past Exhibitions

Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani
March 12 - June 1, 2008

Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani was the inaugural exhibition at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. It features spectacular finds from four graves excavated at Vani, a major administrative and religious center of ancient Colchis (present-day Republic of Georgia) and the setting for the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece. More than 100 objects from these graves, which date from the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., are on display and include an impressive array of locally produced jewelry as well as imported goods from its Greek and Persian neighbors. Together, these objects create a clear picture of Vani as a crossroads city, providing compelling testimony to the complex interrelations that occurred in this region throughout its rich history.

Click here for exhibition highlights, conference information, and directions.

Please see recent reviews of the exhibition's accompanying catalogue: Bryn Mawr Classical Review

The exhibition is currently on an international tour organized by ISAW.

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England October 2, 2008 - January 4, 2009.

The Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece January 19, 2009 - April 6, 2009

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles California, USA July 16 - October 5, 2009

Please note, the dates are subject to change without notice. For more information on the venues please click on the link and you will be navigated to the exhibiting museum's website.