Closer Look: Daily Life in Ancient Greece Gallery

Offering rare glimpses of marriage and death, infancy and old age—and many of the intimate details in between—this new gallery is designed to encourage visitors to make immediate connections with an ancient culture. A group of 250 objects presents an engaging visual introduction to the complexities of daily life in ancient Greece. Made from ceramic, stone, and bronze, they include household items, trade tools, and images of everyday scenes on various painted vessels—providing insight into who the ancient Greeks were, how they lived, and how they commemorated the dead.

Several cases explore gender roles in ancient Greek society, presenting objects associated with women, children, and family, including wool-working tools, cosmetic and perfume jars, mirrors, and children’s toys, as well as depictions of marriage rituals and everyday tasks like cooking and fetching water. The theme of masculinity is illustrated through works that represent the world of the warrior, athletic competition, and the origins of the Olympic Games. Other topics highlighted in the gallery include funerary traditions and commerce, with tools from centuries-old professions like shoemaking and butchery, reinforcing connections between ancient traditions and modern life.

The reinstallation of this gallery took almost a year, with Christine Kondoleon, George D. and Margo Behrakis Senior Curator of Greek and Roman Art, and Phoebe Segal, Mary Bryce Comstock Curator of Greek and Roman Art, working closely with a number of departments on the object checklist and format of the display. They also collaborated with a team of conservators, who evaluated, studied, documented, and treated a number of objects made between the 9th century BC and the 3rd century AD, many of which have never before been on view. This provided the Museum an incredible opportunity to revisit one of our most significant collections, updating our understanding of these ancient pieces by analyzing and conserving them through modern techniques. This team also worked closely with our mount makers, who created new mounts for nearly every object on display.

The following is a timeline of the renovation:

• Fall 2016–Winter 2017: Interpretation, Education, Gallery Media, and Creative and Interactive Media departments met to create a new interactive media component to add to the visitor experience in the gallery. This was designed to encourage close looking by inviting visitors to identify members of a wedding procession depicted on a rare ceramic vessel from 450–425 BC.
• Winter–Summer 2017: Exhibitions and Design worked closely with Goppion, a company specializing in the design and creation of display cases, to create state-of-the-art casework for this new gallery. Goppion installed this new casework July-September 2017, working closely with both Facilities and Exhibitions and Design, as each case is custom-designed for the new space.
• October–November 2017: Completion of final steps and finishing touches, including the installation of all objects, graphics (from large introductory texts to smaller labels), and interactive media, as well as the adjustment of lighting to highlight each object and display.
• December 2, 2017: Daily Life in Ancient Greece Gallery opens to the public!