Featured Art Exhibition: 'Mesopotamia' at the Royal Ontario Museum

This week's featured art exhibition is the North American premiere of 'Mesopotamia' opening June 22 at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.

More than 170 priceless objects from the eminent collections of the British Museum provide the lens through which we explore over 3,000 years of accomplishments in the area, and discover the relevance many still have on our daily lives today.

Urban civilization originated here, accompanied by the establishment of the first cities and complex forms of social organization and economic activity. Trace the benchmarks of Mesopotamia's social and technological developments and the emergence of city-states in ancient Sumer (4000 - 2000 BCE); the dominance of the Assyrian World Empire (1000 - 600 BCE); and the dramatic rise and fall of Babylon (600 - 540 BCE).

Objects including impressive wall reliefs, dramatic stone sculpture, and stunning jewellery shed light on the society's sophistication. Mesopotamia showcases a collection of priceless objects from the British Museum, most never before seen in Canada. These are augmented by objects from the ROM's own renowned collections and other leading institutions, including the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Museum, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum, Philadelphia), and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Geographically, Mesopotamia encompasses present-day Iraq, north-east Syria, and south-east Turkey. Learn about the rediscovery of Mesopotamia by the West through excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the catastrophic impact on Iraq's cultural heritage following the 2003 looting of Baghdad's Iraq Museum, and the destruction of numerous archaeological sites.

Mesapotamia will be on view in the Westin Exhibition Hall, Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Level 2B at the Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, in Toronto, Ontario.

Viewing Hours
Monday thru Thursdays 10AM to 5:30PM
Fridays 10AM to 8:30PM
Saturdays and Sundays 10:00AM to 5:30PM

Open Daily except for December 25.

Tickets
Adults $15
Seniors $13.50
Students (15-25 with ID) $13.50
Child (4-14) $12
Infant (3 years and under) FREE
Members FREE

Mesopotamia is presented by the British Museum in collaboration with the Royal Ontario Museum.

To learn more about the Mesapotamie and other exhibits at the Royal Ontario Museum, visit http://www.rom.on.ca

Photo credit: ROM