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253 July 2008



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"Hadrian - Empire and Conflict" Opens at British Museum

A new exhibition opened at the British Museum featuring works of art from the reign of Hadrian, 117 CE to 138 CE. The show brings together 170 items from 11 countries. It is unlikely the world will see its like ever again when the exhibition ends on October 26. According to Reuters, “So delicate are some of them that when it finishes its run in London it will be disbanded and the items sent back home for preservation.”

Hadrian’s reign was one of the better varieties. He pulled Roman forces out of Mesopotamia at the beginning as the empire was over-extended in the east; he built the wall in the north of Britain that bears his name. He set off an economic boom that started when he had the treasury write off 900,.000 sesterces of people’s debt, a huge sum of money and one of the first proofs of the success of Keynesian economic policies. Throw in a reformation of the military, and one has a golden age (18 karat at least).

Hadrian’s big gift to the arts was architecture. Thorsten Opper, curator of the exhibition, said, “The architecture is a huge part of his legacy. He led a huge renaissance of the arts.” Under Hadrian, Rome erected the Pantheon, Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli and the Mausoleum of Hadrian, which visitors to Rome today will recognize as the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Yet, this exhibition focuses on pieces other than architecture, and the reviews are excellent. Sue Hubbard, writing in The Independent, was gobsmnacked by the first piece on sees. “At the opening of the exhibition is a real showstopper, the magnificent marble head, leg and foot with sandal from a colossal statue of Hadrian excavated at Sagalassos, south-west Turkey, only a year ago. This is the first time it has been seen.”

The exhibition also includes artifacts from the Jewish rebellion which Hadrian’s legions put down. Among these according to CNN, are “letter written by Jewish leader Simon Bar Kokhba (enquiring about a delivery of supplies), as well as mirrors, a jewelry box and an astonishingly delicate glass plate, probably made in Alexandria, that somehow survived flight into the desert and the perilous climb up a cliff to the cave. Then there are three house keys, their wooden handles preserved, looking as if they would still open the locks for which they were made.”

Mr. Opper noted, “Many of these objects leave huge gaps in their home collection and many are extremely delicate. This isn't an exhibition that can travel. People will only be able to view it for these three months.” Book the flight now.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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