From the Ashes of Vesuvius, In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite July 8 –October 7, 2007 J. E. R. Chilton Galleries
Dallas Museum of Art
Many are aware that Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in A.D. 79 buried the famous town of Pompeii, Italy. But, few people know that it also buried Stabiae, a seaside enclave of the rich and famous about three miles away, at the foot of the Sorrento-Amalfi Coast.
From the Ashes of Vesuvius, In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite will open at The Dallas Museum of Art on July 8 with a stunning collection of archaeological objects from the ancient Roman site of Stabiae (modern Castellammare di Stabia). The exhibition premiered at the Smithsonian before traveling to other U.S. cities. In Stabiano features maps, excavation photographs and 72 objects dating between 89 B.C. and the time of the eruption, all from the villas of ancient Stabiae.
"The site is an enormous archaeological treasure, another ‘modern Pompeii’ waiting to be discovered,” said Anne Bromberg, The Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Ancient and Asian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. “The remarkable exhibition presents the lifestyle of the very wealthy and powerful Roman elite. It is the best preserved concentration of first century B.C. and A.D. elite seaside villas in the entire Mediterranean world.”
"Among the artifacts are ancient frescoes, many of the highest quality, that demonstrate to visitors two major styles of the time,” said guest co-curator Thomas Noble Howe, Coordinator General of The Restoring Ancient Stabiae (R.A.S.) Foundation project and professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. “The first style is a painterly style with floating figures and drapery fluttering in the breeze, painted with impressionist-like strokes as seen in the frescoes ‘Flora’ and ‘Diana’; and the second is a more dramatic style featuring actors of the time portraying mythological scenes.”
The exhibition runs through October 7, 2007.
