Gallery Thu May 08 2008

Catastrophe!

Next Wednesday the Oriental Institute is offering a free tour of its special exhibit Catastrophe! The Looting and Destruction of Iraq's Past. This guided tour (the only one they have planned for the next few months) will give you the opportunity to speak with archeologist and co-curator Katharyn Hanson as she leads you through the gallery. The exhibit chronicles the initial looting of the Iraq National Museum and the on-going and heartbreaking damage that is being done to Iraq's cultural heritage as a result of the conflict there.

The Oriental Institute and its staff have been incredibly active since the beginning of the war in the efforts to prevent looting and protect the integrity of Iraqi archeological sites and artifacts, many of which date back to the very beginning of civilization. In addition to the exhibit going on through the end of the year, they host a database of objects that the Iraq Museum is believed to have contained that includes pictures and information about the objects' status. If you can't get enough of marveling at solid gold vases and man's earliest musical instruments, check out their recently released book "Antiquities Under Siege." It admittedly contains fewer pictures but has more suggestions on how to keep something like this from happening again.

The tour begins at 12:15 next Wednesday the 15th. The Oriental Institute is located in Hyde Park at 1155 East 58th Street. If you can't make the tour you can still view the exhibit from now until December 31 during the museum's normal business hours.

- Jamie Smith