Sponsored by: Spokane Society
Dr. David Saunders, Getty Museum
Over the last decade, the Antiquities department of the J. Paul Getty Museum has developed a fruitful and enduring partnership with the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. In addition to generous loans for special exhibitions, we have undertaken a series of collaborative conservation projects that have returned individual objects to display and ensured their long-term stability. The research and documentation has given rise to print and digital publications, online resources, and special exhibitions at the Getty Villa. This talk will present highlights from our three projects: the bronze Apollo and Artemis, twin statues from Pompeii; the overlife-size portrait of Tiberius from Herculaneum; and the monumental Apulian Underworld krater from Altamura. All three have revealed fascinating – and sometimes puzzling – aspects of ancient manufacture and historical restoration, and have offered creative opportunities for contemporary conservation treatments and museum display.