Release Date: October 13, 2007

Pompeii and the Roman Villa Exhibition Shop Opens at the National Gallery of Art, Washington
October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009

Ancient works of art and luxury goods with colorful decorative motifs excavated in Pompeii and the surrounding Bay of Naples have inspired a variety of home accessories, apparel, jewelry, and gift items, in addition to the exhibition catalogue and a wide range of books, in the exhibition shop for Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples, on view October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009, in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington. The special exhibition shop will be located on the Concourse.

Exhibition Shop: East Building, Concourse

Paper products include an exhibition poster of a marble panel depicting a Dionysiac procession found at Herculaneum and a 2009 Pompeii wall calendar. A 2010 Pompeii wall calendar will be available in January.

Decorative items for the home include plates and an ice bucket decorated with engravings from a volume of the National Gallery of Art Library’s Voyage Pittoresque ou Description des Royaumes de Naples et de Sicile; two frames in different sizes; handmade mosaic wall hangings; and a wall panel that reproduces a fresco.

Accessories and jewelry include an oblong silk scarf in three color selections decorated with designs taken from the Pompeian section of the Gallery’s volume of the 19th-century design manual The Grammar of Ornament; a ladies’ watch; cloth and vinyl purses; a selection of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces; and men’s silk ties.

The shop offers a variety of ceramic giftware decorated with Pompeian motifs from The Grammar of Ornament, including a rewriteable memo and cutting board; a large letter or napkin holder; a rectangular tray; a wine bottle coaster; and a wine bottle or olive oil bottle top with a cork base.

A full selection of publications is available about the art and architecture of Pompeii, including historical fiction, books for specialists and scholars on all aspects of Roman life at that time, and books on Roman gardens and cooking. The shop also offers guides about Pompeii, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast, as well as contemporary cookbooks including the new release, Cucina Napoletana: 100 Recipes form Italy's Most Vibrant City by the guest chef to the Gallery’s Garden Café: Italia, Chef Arturo Iengo.

The exhibition documentary film on DVD is available for $19.95. Other DVDs of Pompeii films are available, including the silent film classic, The Last Days of Pompeii as well as a CD of ancient Roman music, Pax Romana: Peaceful Music from the Age of Rome.

For children, the shop offers a charming selection of books, including a Pompeii Pop-Up book, and a volcano kit.

The Exhibition

Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples presents some 150 works of sculpture, painting, mosaic, and luxury arts, most of them created before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. They include recent discoveries on view in the U.S. for the first time and celebrated finds from earlier excavations. Exquisite objects from the richly decorated villas along the shores of the Bay of Naples and from houses in the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum reveal the breadth and richness of cultural and artistic life, as well as the influence of classical Greece on Roman art and culture in this region.

The first exhibition devoted to ancient Roman art at the National Gallery of Art will premiere in Washington, October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009, and travel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 3 through October 4, 2009.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov. The Gallery is now on Facebook—become a fan at www.facebook.com/NationalGalleryofArt.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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Pompeii and the Roman Villa Exhibition Shop Opens at the National Gallery of Art, Washington October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009

Pompeii and the Roman Villa Exhibition Shop Opens at the National Gallery of Art, Washington
October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009