Sicily: Art and Invention Between Greece and Rome

Special Exhibition

Sunday, September 29, 2013–Sunday, January 5, 2014

Location: 003 Special Exhibition Hall
The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall

Statue of a Youth (The Mozia Charioteer), 470–460 BC. — *Statue of a Youth (The Mozia Charioteer)* (detail), 470–460 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Marble; 181 x 40 cm. Courtesy of the Servizio Parco archeologico e ambientale presso le isole dello Stagnone e delle aree archeologiche di Marsala e dei Comuni limitrofi–Museo Archeologico Baglio Anselmi. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

About The Exhibition

Sicily: Art and Invention Between Greece and Rome presents masterpieces of art from ancient Sicily, an island crossroads that forged a distinctive Hellenic identity. Occupying a pivotal position in Mediterranean history, former Greek colonies such as Syracuse, Gela, Akragas, and Selinos emerged as wealthy city-states, where innovation and experimentation flourished. This exhibition celebrates Sicilian culture of the fifth to third centuries BC, when its art, architecture, theater, poetry, philosophy, and science left an original and enduring stamp on both mainland Greece and Rome. Over 150 objects bear witness to the military and athletic victories, religious and civic rituals, opulent lifestyles, and intellectual attainments that shaped the western Greek world.

Featured Art

Statue of a Youth (The Mozia Charioteer), 470–460 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Marble; 181 x 40 cm. Courtesy of the Servizio Parco archeologico e ambientale presso le isole dello Stagnone e delle aree archeologiche di Marsala e dei Comuni limitrofi–Museo Archeologico Baglio Anselmi. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Phiale Mesomphalos (Offering Dish), 325–275 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Gold; 3.7 x 22.8 cm. Courtesy of the Antiquarium di Himera. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Bust of a Goddess, 325–275 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Terracotta and pigment; 48.7 x 41.1 x 22.2 cm. Courtesy of the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi, Syracuse. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Head of a Goddess, perhaps Demeter or Kore, 350–300 BC. Sicily. Terracotta; 28.8 x 19.1 x 12.2 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California, Gift of Dr. Max Gerchik, 76.AD.34
Antefix (Roof Ornament) with a Head of Acheloös, c. 480 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Terracotta; 21.4 x 18.2 cm. Courtesy of the Museo Archeologico Regionale Pietro Griffo, Agrigento. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Photo: Angelo Pitrone. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Sicilian Red-Figured Calyx Krater (Mixing Vessel) with Dionysos and Performers, 375–360 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Terracotta; 40.3 x 36.8 cm. Courtesy of the Museo Archeologico Regionale Eoliano Luigi Bernabò Brea, Lipari. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Statuette of Herakles, 250–150 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Bronze; 22 x 15 cm. Courtesy of the Museo Civico F. L. Belgiorno, Modica. By permisison of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Photo: Carlo Giunta. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Coin with a Head of Apollo, 410–403 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Silver; diam. 2.8 cm. Courtesy of the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi, Syracuse. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Appliqué of a Satyr, 200–100 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Ivory; 23.3 x 15.8 x 0.9 cm. Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore 71.557. Photo © The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Thymiaterion (Incense Burner) Supported by a Statuette of Nike, 500–480 BC. Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek). Terracotta and pigment; h. 44.6. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, CA 86.AD.681.

View More CMA Objects in the Exhibition

Sicily: Art and Invention Between Greece and Rome has been co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, in association with the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell'Identità Siciliana. It celebrates 2013 as the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realized under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Italy.

Support for the exhibition provided by James E. and Elizabeth J. Ferrell.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this exhibition with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.