University Museums

Taxonomic review of the dottyback genus Pseudoplesiops in Japanese waters, with descriptions of two new species (Pseudochromidae: Pseudoplesiopinae)

2026-05-07T01:54:04Z

Taxonomic review of the dottyback genus Pseudoplesiops in Japanese waters, with descriptions of two new species (Pseudochromidae: Pseudoplesiopinae) Fujiwara, Kyoji; Gill, Anthony C.; Endo, Hiromitsu; Shibukawa, Koichi; Motomura, Hiroyuki A taxonomic review of the dottyback genus Pseudoplesiops (Pseudochromidae: Pseudoplesiopinae) in Japan recognizes five species: Pseudoplesiops umbrosus sp. nov., Pseudoplesiops occasus sp. nov., Pseudoplesiops annae (Weber 1913), Pseudoplesiops immaculatus Gill and Edwards 2002, and Pseudoplesiops rosae Schultz 1943. Pseudoplesiops umbrosus (43 specimens, 11.0–24.6 mm in standard length: SL) and P. occasus (5 specimens, 21.5–26.6 mm SL) have previously been misidentified as P. rosae, all three species being distinguishable from congeners by the following combination of characters: scales with distinct circular and radial striae (surrounding the former); I, 22 or 23 dorsal-fin rays; I or II (rarely), 13–15 analfin rays; and 11 or 12 precaudal vertebrae. However, P. umbrosus is distinct in having the dorsal- and anal-fin membrane margins not or barely incised (vs. deeply incised between the fin rays in P. occasus and P. rosae), the orbital ridge margined with dark brown (except anterodorsally) (vs. a small dorsoventrally elongated black blotch just behind the eye), and greater numbers of dorsal- and anal-fin segmented rays (viz., usually 23 dorsal- and 14 anal-fin segmented rays in P. umbrosus vs. 22 and 13, respectively in P. occasus and P. rosae), in addition to several morphometric characters. Pseudoplesiops occasus differs from P. umbrosus and P. rosae in having a red or reddish-orange body and fins in fresh condition (vs. generally brown to yellow), and greater numbers of predorsal scales [viz., 9–11 predorsal scales and 4 or 5 predorsal scales anterior to anterodorsal parietal pores in P. occasus vs. 7 or 8 (usually 7) and 2 or 3 (2), respectively, in P. umbrosus; 7–10 (8) and 2 or 3 (2), respectively, in P. rosae]. The validity of the three species was also supported by an analysis of partial 12S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. Morphological changes with growth in P. annae and P. umbrosus, notes on morphological and color variations in P. annae, and the key to the Japanese species of Pseudoplesiops are also provided.

Tombs, Tells and Temples: Excavating the Near East

2025-10-14T02:36:52Z

Tombs, Tells and Temples: Excavating the Near East Bollen, Elizabeth The development of a new permanent exhibition on the Near East presented an exciting opportunity to investigate the holdings from this region in the Nicholson Museum collection. Initial investigation revealed held material from a number of significant sites that were important for their contribution to the understanding of the cultures that inhabited and shaped the region in the ancient world. The sites chosen for research and exhibition were Jericho, Tell Brak, Nineveh, Nimrud, Ur, Tell el-Ajjul, Harappa and Pella.

Kerameikos. The Potters' Quarter

2025-08-01T03:12:31Z

Kerameikos. The Potters' Quarter Richards, Candace The Kerameikos project invited seven Australian ceramicists and mixed-media artists - Monica Rani Rudhar, Janet Fieldhouse, Idil Abdullahi, Vipoo Srivilasa, Juz Kitson, Kirsten Coelho, and Glenn Barkley - to explore the expansive historic collections of the Chau Chak Wing Museum and create new works from their experience. The provocation to reimagine collections became the framework for these contemporary artists to address institutional legacies, colonial collecting practices, and current social challenges, resulting in a unique exhibition that reconceptualises a collections-based exhibition. In Greek antiquity, the Kerameikos was the potters’ quarter, where craftspeople and artisans came together to produce some of the finest ceramics of the Mediterranean region and was a hub of innovation for the already ancient art form of ceramics. Key to the development of Kerameikos at the CCWM was a research-intensive week together at the Museum, creating a new hub of innovation, where the artists engaged with each other, our museum team and the collections. The installed exhibition offers a new way of seeing Australia's oldest university collections, challenging historical narratives and infusing the galleries with culturally diverse, and non-academic, perspectives, that reflect our contemporary museum communities.

Migrating Modernism. The Achitecture of Harry Seidler

2025-08-01T02:52:02Z

Migrating Modernism. The Achitecture of Harry Seidler Stephen, Ann; Stracchi, Paolo Migrating Modernism: The architecture of Harry Seidler is an interdisciplinary curatorial research project that brings together scholars in the fields of architectural history and late modernist art, to explore the work of Seidler & Associates. The project examines how Seidler’s transnational education and émigré identity would shape an architectural philosophy and cross-disciplinary collaborations during Australia’s post-war economic boom in the second half of the 20th century. Its focus will research Seidler’s collaborations with major international architectural figures such as Pier Luigi Nervi and Marcel Breuer, alongside commissions with major American artists including Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Helen Frankenthler, Frank Stella and Sol LeWitt.

The Staged Photograph

2024-10-31T01:31:49Z

The Staged Photograph Brazier, Jan Posed portraits and scenes have been part of photographic practice since the beginnings of photography. The 19th century experience of visiting a professional photographer in their studio was a theatrical experience, involving staging, scenic backgrounds and props. From this, the idea of exploring the ‘staged photograph’ arose, bringing into focus this performative aspect, involving costumes and staging. This exhibition explores ‘the staged photograph’ through the themes of professional portraits of people in costume and special outfits; home and suburban backyard staging by amateur photographers; and the genre of comic and narrative stereographs, with their staged scenes. The exhibition was able to draw on the museum’s historic photography collection, bringing to public attention unknown and unfamiliar photographs.

The Business of Photography: the 19th Century Studio

2024-10-31T01:32:49Z

The Business of Photography: the 19th Century Studio Brazier, Jan In the 19th century photographs were predominantly the work of photographic studios. These businesses ranged from single person to complex operations. The output of the studio was credited to the studio name: only rarely are individual photographers (operators) known. Much of the history of photography is to be found in studio photography, yet the commercial nature of 19th century photography is rarely a focus of study. This exhibition forefronts the business and commerce of photography over the ‘artist photographer’. Here, the lens is turned back to the studio photographers – who were they? It is rare they took their own portraits; rare to leave business records; rare to have images of them at work – however from their works, their marketing and newspaper and other reports, we can explore the 19th century studio. The golden age of the studio lasted until the early 20th century, when the impact of the Kodak camera and the growth of the home amateur photographer brought its demise. This exhibition brings to public attention, and showcases, the Chau Chak Wing Museum’s historic photograph collection in a variety of formats.

Tidal Kin: Stories from the Pacific

2024-10-21T04:16:49Z

Tidal Kin: Stories from the Pacific Choulai, Ruth; Gagau, Steven; Philp, Jude; Tanoi, Leo The histories of Pacific Islander travellers in the city of Sydney are poorly recorded or even remembered today. This exhibition is a response to the lack of recognition and resources for the over 90,000 New South Wales people who claim Pacific heritage and the millions across the region with links to materials in Australian institutions such as the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Structured around eight individuals who travelled to the city, the stories begin with the recollections of Gweagal people of the arrival of HMB Endeavour. A biographical approach was crucial for simplifying the complexities of Pacific peoples’ cultural, linguistic and geographical diversity and to connect on a personal level with visitors. Strategically it supported the work of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Oceania Working Party along with other truth-telling practices. For each story we invited direct descendants or compatriots to work with us. Each assisted not only in documenting the travels of an ancestor in Sydney, but in ensuring the materials on exhibition were suitable for a wide audience. Our research was also grounded in academic Pacific history-writing that flourished in the 1970s. An outcome of independence movements across the region, Australian academics sought to integrate traditional European research methods with history-making practices in Pacific nations and territories. To further decolonising strategies acquisition histories were not incorporated into labels; these can be found through our on-line catalogue.

Australian Seashores

2024-10-21T03:59:51Z

Australian Seashores Gill, Anthony; McMorrow, Kelsey There is a growing popular awareness of the fragility of coastlines and seashores, due largely to an increasing understanding of climate change and habitat loss. Against this background, this exhibition sought to engage audiences with the splendour of the New South Wales coast and expand their understanding of its ecological diversity. It employed glass negatives and photographic prints, supplemented with natural history specimens from the Macleay Collections of the Chau Chak Wing Museum. It explored the work of Professor William J. Dakin, Dr Isobel Bennett, and Elizabeth Pope through the lens of their seminal book, Australian Seashores. Australian Seashores is a classic textbook in marine biology, which was reprinted and revised over a 35-year period between 1952 and 1987. The book’s concentration on Australian environments and organisms was a major departure from the essentially European and laboratory-based textbooks previously available to Australian students. Through Australian Seashores, the authors trained generations of scientists and educated the Australian public about local seashores, laying the foundation for citizen science in our era. The museum’s Historic Photography Collection contains a range of materials relating to the authors’ work. This includes the vast bulk of photographs taken for Australian Seashores, some of which were not chosen for publication, and others that document the authors undertaking fieldwork. This exhibition unveiled material that encapsulated the authors’ research, revealed some technical aspects of the photography and publication processes behind Australian Seashores, and provided insight into the relationship between the scientists and their colleagues. Following in the footsteps of its namesake, the Australian Seashores exhibition invited visitors to appreciate the beauty of our unique coastal environments and reflect on how they have changed, and how people can support their conservation.

Instrumental: Surveying Instruments.

2025-08-03T22:36:58Z

Instrumental: Surveying Instruments. McMorrow, Kelsey "Instrumental: Surveying Instruments" explores a range of specialised tools used for surveying between the early 19th and late 20th centuries. Visitors are introduced to the functions and applications of these varied instruments, particularly in an Australian historical context. Historic photographs are also included in the display, encouraging visitors to imagine the use of instruments in the field. Throughout the display, objects are grouped thematically, helping to illustrate technological changes that have occurred over time. Included are instruments made by both well-known and lesser-known manufacturers, from the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States of America and Australia. This range exposes visitors to variations in design and production techniques, as well as regional preferences and needs. Finally, visible inscriptions on the instruments (added after their initial purchase) are transcribed in labels throughout the display. These encourage visitors to closely investigate the objects and consider their past ‘lives’, including who owned them, who used them, how, and why. This exhibition is part of the series Chau Chak Wing Museum series "Instrumental: Collections from Science"

Instrumental: Using and Analysing Light

2024-10-30T23:08:09Z

Instrumental: Using and Analysing Light Brazier, Jan; McMorrow, Kelsey Instrumental: Using and Analysing Light explores a broad range of technologies that use and analyse light. Visitors are introduced to the various functions and widespread applications of these optical instruments. Familiar instruments, like the microscope or telescope, are presented alongside less familiar instruments, like the spectroscope or polarimeter, encouraging the audience to investigate what they know and challenging them to learn something new. Dating from the beginning of the 19th century through to the turn of the 21st century, the selection of optical instruments and their thematic groupings in the display illustrate some of the many technological changes that have occurred over time. Similarly, the inclusion of examples made by renowned manufacturers, as well as those constructed by local or University researchers, exposes visitors to an array of instrument production techniques. While many examples are representative of the standard tools employed by scientists across a range of disciplines, others on display — like components of the ring-sight telescope or Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) — are unique and highly specialised inventions developed here at the University. This exhibition is part of the Chau Chak Wing Museum exhibition series "Instrumental: Collections from Science".

赫拉克勒斯：神话与传承 (HERCULES: MYTH AND LEGACY)

2024-03-06T03:00:22Z

赫拉克勒斯：神话与传承 (HERCULES: MYTH AND LEGACY) Richards, Candace; Zang, Catherine 《赫拉克勒斯：神话与传承》是一场跨学科的展览，其同时采用两条叙事线索来重述古代神话赫拉克勒斯的十二试炼，并探讨了自后文艺复兴时期至今赫拉克勒斯在科学、技术和艺术领域的影响与应用。此次展览是周泽荣博物馆致力于“接受研究”系列展览中的第二场展览。第一场展览《动物之神：古典与分类》是关于荷马史诗《特洛伊战》和《奥德赛》。展览中介绍了林奈的生物分类和命名系统，突出了拉丁神话学家文本在名称应用中的作用，其往往没有考虑到被命名动物的物理属性。然而，对于使用‘赫拉克勒斯’ 这个名称的时候，最重要的是考虑到动物、地点或发明物的身体特征，以便将它们与赫拉克勒斯的特征联系起来。此次陈列品包括古代雅典和后文艺复兴时期的艺术作，以及在我们周围世界中应用了赫拉克勒斯及其同伴或对手的名称的动物、植物和物品。

헤라클레스: 신화와 유산

2023-12-14T23:52:35Z

헤라클레스: 신화와 유산 Richards, Candace; Wu, Frances <헤라클레스: 신화와 유산>은 두 개의 줄거리를 동시에 사용하여 헤라클레스의 12과업에 대한 고대 신화 이야기를 다시 하고 르네상스 이후부터 현대까지의 과학, 기술, 그리고 예술의 역사에서 헤라클레스의 수용에 대해 논의하는 학제간 전시회입니다. 이 전시회는 차우 착 윙 박물관에서 수용학에 관한 시리즈의 두 번째 전시회입니다. 첫 번째 전시회인 <동물 신들: 고전과 분류(Animal Gods: Classics and Classification)>는 호메로스의 서사시 <트로이 전쟁>과 <오디세이아>를 중심으로 린나이우스의 분류와 작명 체계를 소개하였습니다. 이 전시회는 명명될 동물의 외형적 속성을 자주 무시한 이름을 사용함에 있어 라틴어 신화 기록가의 글의 역할을 강조하였습니다. 그러나 헤라클레스라는 이름은 동물, 장소 또는 허구를 그 고대 인물과 연관시키기 위해 외형적 특성이 고려되어야 합니다. 전시에는 헤라클레스와 그의 동료 또는 적들의 이름이 우리 주변에서 사용된 다양한 방식을 나타내는 동물, 식물, 그리고 사물과 함께 고대 아테네와 르네상스 이후의 미술이 포함되어 있습니다.

Hercule : Mythe et Héritage

2024-03-06T02:48:31Z

Hercule : Mythe et Héritage Richards, Candace; Wu, Frances Hercule : Mythe et Héritage est une exposition interdisciplinaire qui utilise deux arcs narratifs simultanément pour raconter de nouveau la saga de mythologie antique des douze travaux d’Hercule et pour aborder sa réception dans l’histoire des sciences, de la technologie et de l’art de l’époque post-Renaissance à nos jours. Cette exposition est la deuxième dans une série au Chau Chak Wing Museum consacrée aux études de réception. La première exposition, Animal Gods: Classics and Classification (Dieux animaux : Classiques et Classification), s’est concentrée sur les épopées homériques de la Guerre de Troie et de l’Odyssée pour présenter les systèmes de classification et de dénomination de Linnæus, soulignant le rôle de textes de mythographes latins dans l’application des noms, souvent sans tenir compte des attributs physiques de l’animal à nommer. Cependant, pour le nom d’Hercule, les caractéristiques physiques de l’animal, du lieu, ou de l’invention sont de la plus haute importance, afin de les associer aux traits de la figure antique. L’exposition comprend des œuvres athéniennes antiques et de la post-Renaissance à côté d’animaux, de plantes et d’objets qui représentent les différentes façons dont le nom d’Hercule et les noms de ses associés ou de ses adversaires ont été appliqués dans le monde qui nous entoure.

Pacific Views

2023-12-06T23:10:16Z

Pacific Views Gagau, Steven; Philp, Jude The Pacific Views exhibition was open to the public from August 2021 to July 2022 in the Museum’s historic photography gallery. We drew upon eco-poetics to reflect the ways that peoples across the Pacific talk about their concerns for their communities. The ‘views’ presented in the exhibition are in the images from the Macleay collections of the lands and waters of Oceanic peoples and in the poems of nine authors: Apisai Enos, Déwé Gorodé, John Kasaipwalova, Fenton Lutunatabua, Grace Mera Molisa, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Craig Santos Perez, Terisa Siagatonu and Makiuti Tongia. This exhibition juxtaposes photographic views by colonial Europeans with ideas from the oral traditions of Pacific peoples. Through poetry and songs, Pacific Views catapults these sporadic photographic moments of extraordinary change into our own uncertain times as the climate warms beyond 1.5ºC. Listening to their views on this humanitarian and ecological crisis is part of the talanoa framework of climate change action. In 2018, to halt the non-productive bitterness provoked by the Paris Agreement, the United Nations mandated the Talanoa Dialogue, built on the Fijian concept of talanoa, which emphasises inclusive decision-making based on storytelling. The Talanoa Dialogue strives to remove blame and build on directly learning from the ideas and experiences of all. Pacific Views is presented in partnership with the Sydney Environment Institute and PARADISEC, the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures.

Crossroads: Ancient Cyprus

2023-03-07T04:25:30Z

Crossroads: Ancient Cyprus Barker, Craig Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea whose legacy is of a significance far beyond its physical size, because of its geography and geology. Located between Asia, Europe and Africa, it is at the very nexus of trade and cultural contact between the powers of the region throughout human history. Its economy was powered by the island’s rich mineral resources, especially copper, and other natural resources such as timber and agricultural products. The island’s protective harbours welcomed vessels from across the eastern Mediterranean. This exhibition explores archaeological and artistic responses to those international links developed by local artisans and craftspeople. There is much current academic discussion around the themes of insularity and internationalism pertinent to Cyprus: how do island cultures adapt to international connections and still maintain local customs and traditions? When do communities look outwards and when inwards? The exhibition, through its themes explores these issues in depth to ask what made Cypriot-produced goods unique. The answer is in the distinctive mixture of cultural traditions in stone, clay, metal and other materials used by the artisans of the island. The exhibition explores the concept of crossroads through materiality and the traces left behind by traders and conquerors on local populations. Cyprus is a prime exemplar of the archaeology of cross-cultural contact.

Rational Order. Carl von Linné (1707-1778)

2023-03-07T04:19:28Z

Rational Order. Carl von Linné (1707-1778) Endersby, Jim; Philp, Jude In 2007 the Macleay Museum celebrated Linnaeus’s 300th year with the exhibition "Rational Order". The exhibition included over five hundred animals from the Macleay collections. We only selected animals that had been described by Linnaeus, and arranged them according to Linnaeus’s system. That is his order of the Regnum animalia (animal kingdom) set out in the major revision of Systema Naturae of 1758 into six classes: Mammalia (mammals) Aves (birds), Amphibia (including reptiles, snakes and turtles), Pisces (fishes), Insecta (insects and crabs) and Vermes (soft-bodied organisms). The "Rational Order" exhibition included an essay about Linneaus and the Macleay family legacy by Jim Endersby. Jude Philp curated the exhibition with assistance of Elizabeth Jefferys. Accompanying the exhibition was an ecological response by poet John Bennett and a Muruwari response from Roy Barker Jnr.

Mediterranean Identities: Across the wine-dark sea

2023-05-24T03:33:11Z

Mediterranean Identities: Across the wine-dark sea Richards, Candace Mediterranean Identities: Across the Wine-Dark Sea thematically explores the material culture of the Mediterranean basin of the first millennium BC. The themes were chosen to highlight the regional variations between Hellenic city-states, colonies, and their neighbours. Each section draws out the differing ways in which identity was expressed in the art and design of artefacts made for practical purposes, including coinage, feasting sets, clothing, toys, entertainment, votive offerings and funerary items. The objects chosen for display represent the strengths of the Nicholson Collection and reflect the collecting priorities of former curators. Many of the Etruscan artefacts were collected by Sir Charles Nicholson (1808–1903) in the mid-1850s and formed part of the foundation of the University’s Museum of Antiquities. Arthur Dale Trendall (1909–1995), followed by Alexander Cambitoglou (1922–2019), actively pursued new acquisitions that demonstrated the development of Greek and south Italian ceramics, becoming leaders of the field. Further acquisitions to the collection were assisted by Richard Green (1936–), particularly in regard to ancient theatre studies.

Hercules: Myth and Legacy

2024-03-06T02:57:09Z

Hercules: Myth and Legacy Richards, Candace Hercules: Myth and Legacy is an interdisciplinary exhibition that uses two narrative arcs simultaneously to retell the ancient mythological saga of Hercules’ twelve labours and to discuss the reception of Hercules in the history of science, technology and art from the post-Renaissance period to the modern day. This exhibition is the second in a series at the Chau Chak Wing Museum devoted to reception studies. The first exhibition, Animal Gods: Classics and Classification, focussed on Homeric epics the Trojan War and the Odyssey to introduce Linnaeus’ classification and naming systems, highlighting the role of Latin mythographer texts in the application of names, often without consideration of the physical attributes of the animal being named. However, for the name Hercules, the physical characteristics of the animal, place, or invention are of utmost consideration, in order to associate them with the traits of the ancient figure. The display includes ancient Athenian and post-Renaissance art alongside, animals, plants and objects that represent the variety of ways the name Hercules and the names of his associates or adversaries have been applied in the world around us.

Stuffed, Stitched and Studied: Taxidermy in the 19th century

2022-10-25T03:16:33Z

Stuffed, Stitched and Studied: Taxidermy in the 19th century Philp, Jude; Anthony, Gill; Blackburn, Robert; Lui-Chivizhe, Leah Taxidermy is the process of making a life-like sculpture of an animal from its own skin. To make an elephant one needs a wooden frame, a fish needs gentle stuffing, a kangaroo needs stuffing and wire too; for a caterpillar a small glass tube, a candle and cotton is required. This exhibition explores the methods and purposes of Australian 19th century taxidermy made for science.

True to form: models made for science

2022-10-25T03:13:23Z

True to form: models made for science Brazier, Jan This exhibition grew out of an investigation into a series of scientific models held by the Macleay Museum. The models had lost any connection to their original purpose, and in many cases, their identification. With the invaluable assistance of Nick Hopwood’s publication, Embryos in Wax: Models from the Ziegler Studio (Cambridge University Press, 2002), many of the wax embryology models were able to be identified, raising questions of how and when such models came to the University of Sydney. The aim of the exhibition was to explore the use of three-dimensional models for teaching science at the University of Sydney. It brought to light little seen and unknown collections held at the University from the School of Biological Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Science as well as objects from the Macleay Museum’s collection.

Animal Gods: Classics and Classificiation

2022-09-09T05:04:50Z

Animal Gods: Classics and Classificiation Richards, Candace; Philp, Jude Although biological sciences and classical studies are today disparate disciplines, natural philosophers once drew heavily upon the mythological figures of the ancient past when creating new scientific names for animal and plant species across the world. Beginning with Linnaeus in the 18th century, these scholars were trained in the Classics as part of their formal education, and a working knowledge of Latin and ancient Greek was commonplace among their peers. Significantly, it was not the great epics and poetic works of antiquity that supplied their names. Rather, taxonomists drew upon the work of ancient Roman mythographers, who had catalogued the many versions and variations of the myths and legends as they knew them. These mythographer texts act almost as handlists to who did what, who went where, and who was related to who, in the ancient myths. Animal Gods: Classics and Classification examines the reception of Classics in natural history, exploring entomological specimens and their mythological namesakes side by side.

Coastline

2022-08-30T06:07:54Z

Coastline Stephen, Ann Coastline reveals profoundly different perceptions of the liminal space where land meets sea. Over centuries, artists have represented its changing appearance and meaning – sometimes as part of a journey, sometimes as a site of contact or work, sometimes just for contemplation. In Australia, the only nation that is an island continent, the coastline plays a highly symbolic cultural role defining identity, while demarcating the border as an exclusion zone. Today, with global warming causing rising sea levels and eroding shorelines, the coast has become a highly-charged space demarcating potential zones of conflict and loss. This collection-based exhibition offers an art historical overview of the role of maritime representations across more than three centuries.

Instrumental: Collections from Science. Calculating and Computing

2022-08-30T06:08:52Z

Instrumental: Collections from Science. Calculating and Computing Brazier, Jan; McMorrow, Kelsey Instrumental: Collections from Science is a changing display of scientific instruments and apparatus drawn from the Macleay Collections of the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Each iteration focuses on a theme exploring the range and depth of the collection, which reflects the history of science teaching and research at the University. The opening theme, Calculating and Computing, explored the development of instruments from mechanical through to electronic and digital devices.

Tombs, Tells and Temples: Excavating the Near East

2022-08-30T06:10:05Z

The Sky’s the Limit: Astronomy in Antiquity

2022-08-30T22:36:25Z

The Sky’s the Limit: Astronomy in Antiquity Bollen, Elizabeth Ancient people looked to the skies to make sense of the world. Following the stars allowed people to predict the change of seasons, track time and create calendars. Sailors, as they struck out across the seas, used the night sky to guide their path. Architects designed tombs and temples to align with celestial beings for superstitious and practical reasons. Astronomy and astrology systematised these observation. The exhibition included information and objects from Ancient Britain, Australian Aboriginal, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Persian cultures. It also considered the re-awakening of astronomical research in the Renaissance.

Shattered Glass: Illuminating the Past

2022-08-30T06:11:09Z

Shattered Glass: Illuminating the Past Bollen, Elizabeth Glass is a paradoxical material. It has enough strength to span the 10 metre wide very large telescopes and yet, as we all know, when dropped on a hard surface can shatter into hundreds of fragments. This exhibition sets up that dichotomy in its title Shattered glass – the fragility of the pieces is obvious, and yet these objects of the past are 2000+ years old, they have not disintegrated, many have not even weathered, this material has strength. The exhibition Shattered glass: Illuminating the Past presents a selection of glass from the Nicholson Museum collection. It enables 40 pieces of glass that had survived thousands of years to be appreciated for their beauty, fragility and quality. Many of the pieces have long languished in the storeroom of the museum. This exhibition brings to light an area of the collection of the Nicholson museum that was largely neglected in the museum’s permanent display.

Memento: Remembering Roman Lives

2022-08-30T22:49:07Z

Memento: Remembering Roman Lives Richards, Candace; Turner, Michael The intention of the exhibition Memento: Remembering Roman Lives is exactly that—to remember the people named on these funeral inscriptions. The memorials name sailors from Egypt, Dalmatia and Thrace serving in the Imperial Fleet based at Misenum on the Bay of Naples and their wives; a slave from the Imperial household in Rome; a wrestler from Amastris on the Black Sea; freedmen, freedwomen and their patrons; husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, as well as foster children (their age at death given with precision down to the last hour).

Children in Antiquity: Greece and Egypt

2022-08-30T22:54:54Z

Children in Antiquity: Greece and Egypt Beaumont, Lesley; Harrington, Nicola; Richards, Candace Childhood in antiquity was both remarkably different and, in some ways, remarkably similar to childhood as we know it today. While infant mortality was shockingly high in the ancient Mediterranean, and there were marked differences in the lives and experiences of boys and girls, rich and poor, and of free and slave children, the creativity and playfulness of youth is universal. Play is one area where human instinct and creativity offers direct parallels between the ancient past and our own present. This exhibition of artefacts from the Nicholson Museum collection explores aspects of children’s lives in ancient Greece and Egypt. Themes of birth and infancy, youth, education, play, work, religion and death and burial are brought together to portray the day-to-day experience of childhood in the ancient world.

Actors, Athletes and Academics: Life in ancient Greece

2022-08-30T22:57:26Z

Actors, Athletes and Academics: Life in ancient Greece Bollen, Elizabeth; Turner, Michael This is a significant exhibition in that it presents the Greek material from the Nicholson Museum collection in a new light. It abandons the art historical approach of previous exhibitions, and embraces an approach that combines the cultural history of Greece with the archaeology and the written text of classical authors. It allows visitors to examine the objects on display not only as items of beauty but also in light of how they were used as part of the daily life and practices of ancient peoples.

Roman Spectres

2026-05-07T01:54:05Z

Roman Spectres Richards, Candace Roman Spectres explores ancient Roman identity and how contemporary societies have conceptualised the ancient Roman world. The exhibition brings together significant Roman portraiture of the Nicholson Collection with large ceramic vessels (amphorae), funerary inscriptions and Pompeiian frescoes as individual touchstones to the lives of named and unnamed Roman people. Underlying themes of death, commemoration, remembrance and discovery underpin each section of the exhibition. The objects selected for display were chosen in order to highlight the role of these particular material types in academic constructions of historical narratives. Roman Spectres also includes a LEGO recreation of Pompeii, with three different narratives woven together in an anachronistic presentation of the history of the site, including its ancient buildings, re-discovery and role in European and Western popular culture. Through re-telling the history of this significant archaeological site in a popular and accessible medium, it is intended that visitors will be able to reflect on how historical meaning is created in the modern day, and on Pompeii's role in shaping modern understandings of ancient Roman society.

Pharaonic Obsessions: Ancient Egypt, an Australian Story

2022-08-30T23:03:48Z

Pharaonic Obsessions: Ancient Egypt, an Australian Story Richards, Candace Pharaonic Obsessions: Ancient Egypt, an Australian Story explores the modern history of Egyptology through the lens of Australian collecting practices, showcasing the University of Sydney’s significant holdings of ancient Egyptian material culture. Conceptually divided into two themes, ‘objects of obsession’ and ‘sites of obsession’, this exhibition examines the stories of prominent Australians who helped shape the University’s collection, and investigates the reception of ancient Egyptian heritage in Australian society from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Historic photography, rare books, poster art and social history collections are entwined within the displays of ancient artefacts to explicitly place the collection in its colonial framework.

Catalogue of the Museum of Antiquities of the Sydney University

2026-05-05T08:37:40Z

Catalogue of the Museum of Antiquities of the Sydney University Nicholson Museum Scan of original manuscript. Item digitised June 2011.