18.6.2019

"The Countless Aspects of Beauty" at the Chios Mastic Museum

"The Countless Aspects of Beauty" at the Chios Mastic Museum

On the occasion of the major exhibition "The Countless Aspects of Beauty" of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) which has been presented since May 2018 in the venues of the Museum's touring exhibitions, a smaller version with the same title, presenting antiquities from the top museum of the country, was designed in collaboration with the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) to tour its thematic museums. In 2018 the exhibition was presented successively at the Museum of the Olive and Olive-Oil in Sparta, the Silversmithing Museum in Ioannina, and the Museum of Marble Crafts in Tinos; it was visited by approx. 46,000 people.

As of Wednesday, June 18, 2019 the exhibition is presented at the Chios Mastic Museum, which will be its last stop.

The touring exhibition "The countless aspects of Beauty" is part of the policy of the National Archaeological Museum to create, in Greece and beyond, parallel versions, linked thematically to its central touring exhibitions. The ultimate aim of the collaboration between the two entities is that these exhibitions will function as satellites of the top museum in Greece in the various regions of the country, offering to local communities the opportunity to examine at first hand fine artefacts of great historical value derived from the unique collections of the National Archaeological Museum. Another aim of this two-year collaboration (2018-2019) is to link the cultural imprint of modern times with that of the past, showcasing the vitality of Greek culture in all of its expressions across time.

The exhibition records man's constant striving to seek Beauty and incorporate it into his every-day life, by representing it in works of art, ornaments and implements of daily use. The selection of the ancient artefacts was based on the themes of the PIOP museums to which they travelled. Thus, in the Museum of the Olive and Olive-Oil the focus was on body-care items such as oils and perfumes, in the Silversmithing Museum on fine jewellery, and in the Museum of Marble Crafts on marble figurines representative of the Cycladic culture.

Visitors to the Chios Mastic Museum will have the opportunity to admire fifty antiquities from the collections of the National Archaeological Museum, dating from prehistoric times to the Roman era. Several items, referring to some of the aspects of Beauty, are being exhibited for the first time.

A separate section, which however is not unrelated to the collection of antiquities, highlights the beauty of the women of Chios as seen through the eyes of travellers (16th-19th century), with exhibits and photographic material derived from the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece / National Historical Museum and the Travelogues section of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, respectively. Also on display are the multiple properties and uses of that unique product, mastic.

The exhibition runs from June19 to September 8, 2019
Opening hours: Daily except Tuesdays, 10:00-18:00

Closed on July 22 (local fair) and August 15

With the kind support of the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association

Chios Mastic Museum
Rachi site (Tepeki), Chios 821 02.
Tel. No. 22710 72212| www.piop.gr
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National Archaeological Museum
www.namuseum.gr