Victoria University Classics Museum holds a small collection of antiquities, gradually amassed since 1950. This talk will focus on two in particular. The first is a Roman portrait head purchased in 2003, and since found to be illegally dug up and smuggled out of Italy, which is the object of a repatriation agreement with Italy. The second, purchased in 1999, is a Roman child’s sarcophagus, heavily decorated; the sculpture on it was revealed to be forged. Diana discusses the background and processes around both discoveries and considers the consequences for museum collections and for the study of antiquity.
Diana Burton is Associate Professor of Classics at Victoria University, and the Curator of the university’s Classics Museum. Her research and teaching interests lie in aspects of ancient Greek myth, religion, art, and death; she is working on a catalogue of Greek vases in New Zealand collections and she is also involved in a collaboration with the Victoria University School of Design to explore the uses of 3d printing of antiquities.
Image Credit: Garry Keating, VUW Image Services