Eggstraordinary Objects: ostrich eggs as luxury items in the ancient Mediterranean

Professor Tamar Hodos | AAIA, Sydney

Thursday 5 August | 4pm

Decorated ostrich eggs were traded as luxury items from the Middle East to the western Mediterranean during the second and first millennia BCE. The eggs were engraved, painted, and occasionally embellished with ivory, precious metals and faience fittings. While archaeologists note their presence as unusual vessels in funerary and dedicatory contexts, little is known about how or from where they were sourced, decorated and traded. Researchers at Bristol University, Durham University, and the British Museum have established techniques to identify where the eggs originated and how they were decorated, while researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cranfield, and Newcastle in the UK, along with colleagues from the Universities of Ghent and Leuven, have assessed comparative methods to identify pigments. This talk shares the results of our studies, revealing the complexity of the production, trade, and economic and social values of luxury organic items between competing cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world.

To be held on Campus at the Chau Chak Wing Museum. All welcome. Please click here for CCW map.

Image courtesy of Jacob Bongers

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More information
Please join us after the seminar at Sounds Café at the Museum.
Please contact Dr Hugh Thomas and Dr Melissa Kennedy
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The Department of Archaeology is part of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI).

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