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Femina Balcanica: Mater, Matrona, Augusta, Dea. Women on the Balkans in Antiquity
February 14 at 18:00 - April 20 at 13:00
The exhibition “Femina Balcanica: Mater, Matrona, Augusta, Dea. Woman on the Balkans in Antiquity” of the National Museum of Serbia, opens as part of the Statehood Day celebrations in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Wednesday, February 14th, 2024, starting at 6 p.m.
The exhibition “Femina Balcanica” is the result of the studious work of museum advisor Deana Ratković, the author of the exhibition, and four museum advisors from the Department of Archaeology of the National Museum of Serbia, Vera Krstić, Tatjana Cvjetićanin, Veselinka Ninković and Mirjana Glumac, thanks to whom visitors will have the opportunity to carefully selected museum objects introduce the occupations, family relationships, fashion, customs, position and role of women in the private and public sphere.
The exhibition, talking about femininity, beauty and social status, women in Roman fortifications, possible professional scopes, women in the household or political life, aims to familiarize all interested parties with the opportunities in earlier eras, encouraging reflection on the perception of roles and relationships in the past times as well as in the current age.
From objects for everyday use – horseshoes, toys, dishes, through various jewellery, medical instruments, sculptures or epigraphic monuments, the exhibition “Femina Balcanica” vividly tells different stories about women in the ancient era. Divided into five segments, each of which deals with one of the spheres of a woman’s life and phenomena related to her position in the family, cult, community or art, the exhibition traces the various roles that women have had. From the mistress of the house and housewife, mother, doctor, scribe, participant in rituals and religious rites, through the respectable woman represented by the typified statues of large and small girl from Herculaneum, Augusta as the imperial mother and wife who was positioned high on the social ladder and dictated the fashion of women in the cities, we will be in the opportunity to meet many women of the Roman Empire. With the help of various archaeological objects, “Femina Balcanica” provides answers to some of the questions that we might have when thinking about the time of the Roman Empire, while simultaneously opening new directions of interpretation in the context of today’s societies.
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- Athena Parthenos, from 2nd to 1st century BC, Bukovo, Bitola, North Macedonia, marble, height 54 cm, width 24.3 cm, Collection of the Greco-Hellenistic Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-809/I).
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- Young Woman from Herculaneum, from the end of the 2nd to the beginning of the 3rd century, Belgrade (Singidunum), marble, height 166 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-3022/III).
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- Cameo in a gold frame, third or fourth decade of the 3rd century, unknown site, two-layer opal, gold sheet, 3.3 × 2 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-1997/II).
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- Figurine of Venus of the Grave, second half of the 2nd century, Gomilica necropolis, clay, hood, painting, height 26.8 cm, Kosmaj Collection of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-G-624).
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- Portrait of a young woman, first half of the 3rd century, Belgrade (Singidunum), marble, height 23 cm, width 16.5 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-2996/III).
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- Portrait of a young girl, 1st century, Italy, marble, height 32 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-2994/III).
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- Donkey rider, 2nd century, Demir Gate, North Macedonia, clay, with 14.4 cm, height 15 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-932/II).
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- Ring with a bust of a woman, from the end of the 1st to the middle of the 2nd century, unknown site, amber, radius 3.3 cm, height 4.1 cm Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM- 4268).
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- Ariadne’s cup, end of the 1st – beginning of the 2nd century, unknown site, silver, radius 11.5 cm, height 11.5 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-850/II).
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- Clothespin – Leda and the Swan, 2nd – first half of the 3rd century, Gračanica (Ulpiana), silver, width 3.4 cm, height 2.2 cm, Collection of the Roman Imperial Period of the National Museum of Serbia (NM-866-II).