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Archeology Museum
From 2odessa.com The most comprehensive guide to Odessa, Ukraine
  From www.thomasmconroy.com |
| Archeology Museum археологический Lanzheronovskaya 4 Ланжероновская 4
Photos: 5 Hr Photos, 10 Hr Video Camera
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Contents |
History
The archaeology museum is the oldest museum of the city, founded in 1825. The original building was designed by the architect G. Toriccelli.
Sixty years later, the collection of the museum grew to big for the original building. In 1883, with the classical style design of architect F. Gonsiorovsky, the museum was rebuilt as it stands today.
Architecture
The entrance has a portico of four "Corinthian" columns resembling a Roman temple. Located on a steep hill leading down to the Port, the museum is asymmetrical (disporportional). Flanking the entrance on either side are small grave memorials from the nomadic Polovsty tribe in the 12th century.
The eleven halls, when opened again, will have over 160,000 exhibits.
It has local collections as well as Greek, and Roman artifacts. Displayed are late Bronze age and Trypilian artifacts, and Black Sea Hellenic sculptures.
The Egyptian hall, a dark room in far corner of the basement, is the most interesting exhibit in the museum. It is the third largest Egyptian collection of the former USSR, superceded only by the Leningrad and Moscow museums. The collection has funeral inventory, seven wood and stone sarcophagi, and hieroglyphic stone slabs and fragments of papyrus.
In the basement is a special room (that costs an extra 5 Hr) of coins dating back to the 5th century from across the world. This room also has jewelry from the early Greek Black Sea settlements (5th century to 1st century BC).
Laocoon Sculpture
In front of the museum, sheltered by fir trees, is a white sculpture labeled "LAOCOON" (Лаокоон). This is a replica of the sculpture created by Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus in 125 BC, unearthed in Rome in 1508 and now in the Vatican.
- "In Greek mythology, Laocoon is a priest of Apollo who warned the Trojans that the wooden horse left at the gates of the city by the Greeks was a rueful device to trick the Trojans. While he and his two sons were sacrificing to Poseidon at the seashore, two serpents came from the water and crushed them. The Trojans interpreted this event as a sign of the gods’ disapproval of Laocoon’s prophecy, and they brought the wooden horse into the city. Subsequent events vindicated Laocoon’s judgment, however, since the horse was filled with Greeks, who waited until night and then sacked Troy. [this statue] shows Laocoon and his sons in their death struggle. This Hellenistic sculpture had an important influence on the artists of the Renaissance." --Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 2001
Laocoon Sculpture History
In the 1860's, millionaire Mayor Gregory Marazli visited Vatican City. Looking at the "Lakoona", he immediately wanted the statue in his dacha. He had sculptor Carl Chervan (Карл Черван) make an expensive copy of the sculpture. The result was excellent. In 1870 the statue was erected in Little Fontane.
In 1920 Bezchastnov and Professor M. V. Zamechekom reconstructed urban squares which previously belonged to the wealthy before the revolution. This reconstruction included adding sculptures to these squares. Laocoon was originally on R. Luxembourg Square [пл. Р. Люксембург].
One of the first references to the sculpture after the revolution occurs in the evening edition of the Odessa newspaper "News" on July 22, 1924, with the announcment: "Laocoon will be erected on Feldmana Boulevard". (бульвар Фельдмана) Three years later there is a note in the paper that Lakoona was in the garden near DKAF (ДКАФ) the Army and Navy Cultural House (Дома культуры армии и флота), in the same location where the Peter and Gavrik Monument is today. In 1969, the sculpture was moved to the archaeological museum.
Old residents recall that in the early 30's Laocoon was dressed in pants. Later, by order of city executive committee chairman T. Sinitsy (т. Синицы) Laocoon wore a fig leaf. Poet Ivan Ryadchenko wrote a poem on the subject, in which he expressed disapproval of this censorship. For this, he immediately received a reprimand from the party. Laokoon later returned to its original appearance.
Because of the caustic effect of the outdoor elements, V.N. Grachev was commisioned with restoring the statute. Grachev replaced a number of missing fingers on the hand of the eldest son, filed in small cracks, and reinforced the marble surface, to prevent moisture.[1]
In the summer of 2007, Laocoon had been removed for remodeling.
Orange
As the nineteenth century began, Odessan Greeks on behalf of the citizens sent oranges to St. Petersburg to Emperor Paul I. Oranges were an exotic item in those years and especially in the winter, and all the more so in the north of Russia. The reason for the gift was that the new Emperor jealously sought to destroy all the projects undertaken by his mother Catherine II, among which was her pride and joy—-Odessa. He had refused therefore to finance the budget of young southern Odessa, so the building of the city and port declined in consequence, and was in danger of never being completed. Quick-thinking Odessits resorted to a time proven method--the bribe. Paul took the gift and immediately became more receptive to Odessa, restoring credits and privileges. After 200 years the citizenry decided to honor this curious historical fact with a monument, “The Orange That Saved Odessa,” by the sculptor Olexander Tokarev. Literally a couple of months later “the orange revolution” laid claim to the color of this monument as its own symbol. It can be no coincidence that in December 2004, opponents of Viktor Iushchenko hurled oranges at his supporters when he was speaking at an election rally in Odessa.--From The Persuasive Power of the Odessa Myth
Photos
In September of 2007, this monument was along the plateau walkway, between the art museum and the shah's palace. |
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 From Horde.com |
 From Odecca.com |
Notes
- ^ Odessa Laocoon, Odessapage.com(In Russian--Use this Google translate, or alternatively, babelfish)
External links
- www.cesras.ru/eng/pers/mus/odessa/odessa.htm Centre for Egyptological Studies of RAS
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