Monday, August 31, 2009

"Legacy of Carthage" exhibit tours Japan


I saw a note about this wonderful exhibit that is presently opening in Kanazawa, Japan. I wonder if this lovely relief depicts the legendary queen Dido?

The “Legacy of Carthage” will travel throughout 10 Japanese cities to showcase Tunisia’s rich Carthaginian and Roman legacy. The exhibition includes rare, authentic pieces dating back to the Punic and Phoenician eras. It also offers an opportunity for Japanese visitors to admire some splendid 2 nd and 3 rd century frescoes and mosaics discovered in Carthage, El Jem,Utica, Sbeitla, Sousse, as well as in other Tunisian cities. - Tunisia Online News

The exhibit is slated to travel from Kanazawa to Tokyo, then Okyama, Kyoto, Hamamatsu, Miyazaki and Nagoya. I wish it would make an appearance here in the U.S. I saw some truly spectacular mosaics from Tunisia at an exhibit at the Getty Villa a year ago and I would love to see more remnants of Roman North Africa as well as pre-Roman artifacts.

As much as I love to study Roman civilization, I find Carthage, a colony of Phoenicia, fascinating as well. Its too bad that Rome felt compelled to destroy Carthage instead of absorbing it like it did so many other cultures. Here's the first of a series of videos about the fate of Carthage, entitled "The Roman Holocaust":



Of course, one of my favorite videos about Carthage is "Engineering an Empire".

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