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Ancient After Hours: Greek and Roman Party Culture (500 BCE–500 CE)

Ancient After Hours: Greek and Roman Party Culture (500 BCE–500 CE)

Friday, May 08, 2026, 10:00 AM – Saturday, May 08, 2027, 5:00 PM

Focus Gallery, Ancient, Asian, and Islamic Art Gallery, 2nd Floor

A vessel with two column-like handles has ornamental patterns around the neck and on the wide, flattened rim. The scene on the visible side of the bowl's body depicts two young men reclining on couches and a stand woman playing an oboe-like instrument. — Greek, **Red-Figure Mixing Bowl (Column-Krater) with Symposium Scene**, 450–430 BCE. Terracotta and added color, 15 × 13 13/16 × 11 3/4 in. (38.1 × 35.1 × 29.8 cm). Museum purchase with funds from Dietrich von Bothmer and the Thomas T. Solley Endowed Fund for the Curator of Ancient Art, 2005, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2005.1

Ancient After Hours: Greek and Roman Party Culture (500 BCE–500 CE) highlights the work of fifteen first-year undergraduates, who developed an exhibition under the guidance of Julie Van Voorhis (Professor of Art History) and Juliet Graver Istrabadi (Curator of Ancient Art). As they prepared, the students studied ancient dining vessels from the Eskenazi Museum collection, as well as works of art that depict food and social gatherings.

This innovative "Concept to Exhibition" course was be taught in the spring semester of 2026 as part of the College of Arts and Sciences' Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience Program (ASURE). The resulting exhibition was mounted within the same semester with the support of museum staff.

Plan to visit the exhibition to consider food, wine, and ancient art from new perspectives!

Ancient After Hours: Greek and Roman Party Culture (500 BCE–500 CE)

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