Materia Magica: Materiality and Ritual in the Greco-Roman World
| When | January 9 - April 30 |
|---|---|
| Where | Hatcher Gallery Exhibit Room Hatcher Library North, First Floor, Room 100J View building informationView floor plan |
| Event type | Exhibit |
View a diverse array of artifacts which were created to communicate with and call upon various unseen, supernatural forces for aid and protection. While the objects on display are disparate at first glance, ranging from lead tablets and amulets to papyrus and parchment leaves, they all share a common thread: they have long been labeled as "magical" in traditional Western scholarship.
However, each of these artifacts is better understood on a broad spectrum of ancient ritual, from subversive and transgressive acts to highly social and visible ones. The exhibit highlights the objects’ oft-overlooked material dimensions, asking us to consider how qualities like color, texture, and weight shaped an object’s perceived efficacy and meaning.
This exhibit was a collaboration, and displays items from several University of Michigan units: the library’s Special Collections Research Center and Papyrology Collection, the Museum of Natural History, and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. It was curated by Abigail Staub, PhD Candidate, Interdepartmental Program in Mediterranean Art & Archaeology.
Anna Bonnell Freidin, U-M associate professor of history, will talk about Healing the Womb: Uterine Amulets in the Roman World on January 16.
Red jasper evil-averting amulet, Roman period, date unknown, depicting a Gorgon head with snakes, and a triple-bodied Hecate wielding weapons.
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Library contact
Pablo Alvarez · pabloalv@umich.edu
Library events are free and open to the public, and we are committed to making them accessible to attendees. If you anticipate needing accommodations to participate, please notify the listed contact with as much notice as possible.