gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, antique gems, jewelry, ivory, bronze, armor

Superb exhibition catalog from St. Petersburg’s Hermitage. ‘The Age of Alexander’ was a century of political, philosophical and artistic creativity. Magnificent states, new towns and cities, brilliant thinkers, amazing artists. For centuries great masterpieces – among them works included in this exhibition – have been connected with the name of Alexander. Graeco-Bactrian art, Greek sculpture, fantastical engraved gems, Sassanid and Byzantine silver, Persian miniatures, and much much more. The Hermitage is proud of its collection of works with connections to Alexander. We have a great affection for our Hellenism Room. For many years our scholars have been studying the question of the Hellenistic heritage in both West and East. But the imperial museum has another key link to the hero who brought East and West together. The Winter Palace was the residence of three Russian tsars who bore the name Alexander. Just a few years ago we presented a large exhibition devoted to Alexander I, victor of Napoleon. He was named in honour of Alexander Nevsky, the Russian hero and saint who defended Russia from Western aggression, and of Alexander the Great, who conquered whole worlds. The name he was given at his birth was to play its role in the turn that his life took. Alexander II and Alexander III also made significant contributions to Russian history and to the Hermitage. With this exhibition, the Hermitage demonstrates the potential of a museum that is not just large, not just universal, but encyclopaedic. The complex cultural and temporal ties demonstrated by the world of Alexander the Great are not merely fascinating in themselves. Today, as the world once brought together by Alexander rapidly falls apart, it is good to recall that globalisation is not always something to regret. This exhibition serves to illustrate that fact.