Feature: Greek exhibition unveils 7,500 years of jewelry

An exhibition hosted at Mykonos Archaeological Museum, which features more than 200 largely unknown treasures, offers a journey into the history of cycladic jewelry.

The exhibition, under the title "Vanity: Stories of Jewelry in the Cyclades", display a wide range of ornaments from simple, beaded jewels made of shell, bone and ivory to lavish accessories, such as earrings, bracelets and rings in gold, silver and bronze decorated with precious and semi-precious stones, faience, coral and glass.

Dating from neolithic times (5,500 BC) to the 1970s, the artefacts highlight the cultural importance attached to jewels throughout time and reveal a broader picture of the dynamic societies that produced them.

The exhibits display a large number of recent finds that are being shown to the public for the first time and include two murals and a post-Byzantine icon.

Either worn for merely decorative reasons or donated as offerings at sanctuaries, all of them demonstrate the exceptional artistry of local craftsmen and, as Dimitris Athanassoulis, head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, underlined, "they all share a common reference to this timeless human quality: vanity."

However, "Vanity" is not all about history. An annex of 12 modern pieces, custom-made for the occasion by 12 renowned contemporary Greek jewelry designers, provides a valuable link between the past and the future, alluding to the continuity of forms and concepts present in the work of ancient and modern Greek artists alike.

"We intended the items of this exhibition to convey messages that address people today and be admired for their aesthetic value. In this concept, we invited contemporary creators to participate in the venture," stressed Athanassoulis, who is also the coordinator of the exhibition.

Unlike what a visitor would expect to see in a small archaeological museum, "Vanity" was designed in an original and innovative way.

"We wanted to take a whole new approach to what an archaeological exhibition is expected to be. We wanted to think out of the box," Athanassoulis explained.

The result brings to mind the setup of contemporary art shows. The two halls of the museum are covered wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with mirrors, reminding the visitor of a giant jewelry box and amplifying the sense of vanity, while the artefacts are displayed in small, elegant, mirror-paneled showcases.

"We brought the jewels to the modern day, we present them as jewels someone could wear and admire today, regardless whether they know history or not," Athanassoulis said.

The exhibition is part of stepped-up efforts to attract visitors to the archaeological museums.

The 33-island complex of the Cyclades at the Aegean Sea is the heart of international tourism industry, while its iconic landscape is synonymous with Greek summer. In addition to the picturesque scenery, the Cyclades boast a long history and 25 archaeological museums - more than any other district of Greece.

Nevertheless, only a tiny fraction of the touristic masses cross these museums' threshold to admire their impressive collections.

Of the two million visitors to Mykonos every year, only 8,000 visit the local archaeological museum and its significant ancient pottery collection.

Established several decades ago (some of them even at the turn of the 20th century), most of the cycladic museums and their collections are in urgent need of a radical makeover.

Acknowledging this problem, the Ephorate of Antiquities has now set out on a mission to upgrade the archaeological museums of the Cyclades, in a way that will spotlight the rich cultural heritage of the region and, at the same time, appeal to the modern visitor.

It is the Ephorate's hope that "Vanity", launched before the redesign of the permanent collection, will mark the new, broader character of the museum of Mykonos and serve as the inaugural exhibition of a new era.

The Ephorate managed to renovate the Archaeological Museum and launch "Vanity" in only two months, a record-time for a state organization with limited financial resources.

It would appear this new strategy of openness and swift financial decisions has already started to pay off, as in less than two months since its inauguration, "Vanity" has had more than 4,000 visitors.

The exhibition will be hosted at the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos until September 2017. However, it is destined to have a much longer future.

"Since this exhibition concerns all the islands of the Cyclades, it is our intention to take it, partially or as a whole, to other cycladic museums, which will have the chance to come alive again with new content," Athanassoulis announced. Endit