LUXURIOUS EXHIBITION IN CAIXAFORUM

A bit more than a month ago, the cultural centre CaixaForum opened a new exhibition Luxury: From the Assyrian to Alexander the Great”. The exhibition is part of the project developed by a Barcelona-based bank, Caixa, and the British Museum itself. The deal made between the two implies that Madrileños will be able to see many more most interesting pieces from the museum’s collection. They will participate in various exhibitions planned to be held up to 2024.

The exhibition that is hosted now in the centre of Madrid has gathered a unique collection of luxurious artefacts, which were created between IX and III centuries B.C. The aim of the collection’s creators is to demonstrate the significance of such pieces in the Ancient Times no matter what the location you were to consider. Choosing the artefacts, the museum guardians were taking into account the cost of the material, how difficult it was to obtain or transport it.

Such ancient empires as Phoenician, Assyrian, Babylon, and Persian were not so different from Alexander the Great as it may seem due to their constant fight against the Hellas’s governor. Actually, all of them had the same goal, to broaden their state’s borders as far as possible.

The territories occupied by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Phoenicians, included all the space between Spain and India. Here used to be the most important trade routes connecting Europe with Asia, thanks to which many rich people of the time had access not only to finances but also unique resources, materials, and masters.

The exhibition Luxury allows us to see the most exquisite and precious side of Ancient elite’s life. Despite the constant fighting, the ancient cultures had an ongoing dialogue with each other, which is reflected in the pieces of luxury. The pinnacle of this non-stop interaction was the epoch of Alexander the Great, who united under his govern (even if for a very short time) all the people of Hellas and Mesopotamia until India. With this exceptional conqueror, the exhibition finishes.

The exhibition is open till January 12, 2020, and it is situated just a few steps away from Prado, on Prado Street, 36.