L'OMBRA DELLA SERA
RARE ETRUSCAN ANTIQUITIES ON EXHIBITION
AT BARUCH'S MISHKIN GALLERY

Friday October 2 - Friday, October 30, 1998

Though 20th century science has cleared away some of the myths surrounding the civilization of the ancient Etruscans, much of their essential mystery remains--as evidenced by L'Ombra della Sera (The Shadow of the Night), an exhibition of Etruscan sculpture, funerary art and artifacts from the eighth through the second centuries B.C., the period that encompasses the rise and eclipse of Etruscan civilization. The show, comprising some 25 rare and splendid artifacts, will be on exhibition at Baruch College's Mishkin Gallery, Friday October 2, through Friday, October 30, 1998.
Opening reception, Thursday, Oct. 1, 6-8 pm

The magnificent and mysterious title piece Ombra della Sera--an elongated, stunningly modern looking figure, some 22 inches in height--has often been likened to the bronze figures of the 20th century Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Its purpose and creation have long been debated by archaeologists and classical scholars.

First illustrated in a 1737 collection of Etruscan antiquities, the bronze sculpture was originally thought to be a deity. More recent scholarship suggests it was a votive figure, crafted in a local Etruscan-Italic tradition, highly developed around the Volterra region. Today, it is thought to be a more humble figure --possibly a Lari--a friendly domestic spirit that protected home and hearth. But the identification of Ombra della Sera as a male offering figure does L'Ombra della Sera, nothing to diminish its enigmatic, haunting quality.

A number of the oldest objects in the exhibition come from the tomb of an ancient warrior at Poggio alle Croce, a hillside near the Italian city of Volterra, a town that dates its origins back to the original Etruscan settlements of the Iron Age. Unearthed in June 1996, by a team of archaeologists from the Volterra Museum, these splendid relics include a bronze drinking flask, a crested helmet, a lance and an elaborate horse's bit, never before seen outside their home region. Several carved alabaster funerary urns are also included in the exhibition.

This extraordinary show is made possible by the Province of Pisa, Tuscany and the Sidney Mishkin Gallery, in collaboration with the Museo Guarnacci of Volterra, the Fondazione Piaggio and the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. The opening reception for L'Ombra della Sera: Etruscan Splendors from Volterra in Tuscany is being supported by The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana.

The Mishkin Gallery is located at 135 East 22nd Street (at Lexington Avenue).
Gallery hours are: Monday-Friday 12 noon - 5 pm;
Thursday 12 noon - 7 pm.
All Mishkin Gallery shows are free and open to the public.

Baruch College
17 Lexington Avenue
Box D-0901
New York, NY
1 001 0

© 1998 Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College

Zane Berzins (news office)
(212) 802-2881
zberzins@newton.baruch.cuny.edu