Devotion And Decadence

After its tour to four venues across the US, then to Paris and Copenhagen, Devotion and Decadence: The Berthouville Treasure and Roman Luxury has reached its final destination at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) in New York.

- Lindsay Fulcher

This exhibition showcases the Berthouville Treasure, a spectacular cache of ancient silver, unearthed in northern France in 1830, together with a rich selection of additional Roman luxury objects, drawn from the collections of the Cabinet des Médailles (now the Department of Coins, Medals and Antiques), of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

The 160 works on show, offer an insight into the rich cross-cultural exchanges that characterised the Roman province of Gaul, as well as the cultural significance of Roman luxury arts. Star exhibits include two important silver statuettes of the Roman god Mercury and other figurines; superbly worked Late Antique missoria (large silver platters); drinking cups, offering bowls and other vessels; cameos; intaglios; jewellery; and a fragment of a mosaic from Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli.

ISAW’s associate director for exhibitions and gallery curator, Clare Fitzgerald, notes:

‘Ancient Rome is justly celebrated for major feats of engineering, such as aqueducts, monumental constructions like the Colosseum, and the network of roads that facilitated exchange throughout the Empire. Yet, as Devotion and Decadence reveals, Romans were also capable of truly virtuoso work on a far smaller scale…’