Student Exclusive
HOW OLD
IS OLD?
You might think there’s a lot of old stu¼ at the Detroit Institute of
Arts. But, this tour is about really old stu¼—hundreds, sometimes
thousands of years old.
The objects come from all over the world, and they’re located all
over the museum. Hope you wore your walking shoes. Use the
maps at the end of the guide to help you get around.
Food forever
Ancient Egyptians believed that a person’s soul lived on aªer death.
Since food is pretty important for living, they made sure to include
images of various cuisines in their tombs to nourish the soul. This
guy, named Ka-aper, gets to have duck, bread, and a cut of meat.
Extra bonus—the food’s not even moldy aªer four thousand years.
Duck
Meat
Bread
Check it out.
There’s a computer station nearby where you can explore a really
old scroll.
Unknown artist, Egyptian; Relief of Ka-aper with O¼erings, 2565–2420 B.C.E.; limestone. Founders Society
Purchase, Sarah Bacon Hill Fund
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Can you find me?
Here’s a clue:
In the wild I grab flies
with my tongue.
Take a look around…keep
looking…getting closer…
eureka! You found me.
I’m a golden frog, and I’m in a
case with a bunch of other
golden animals. An artist in
Costa Rica made me for a chief over six hundred years ago. You
may think frogs are wimpy, but the frog I’m based on had poison in
its skin. By owning me, the chief let people know he was as tough
as a poisonous frog.
Check it out.
Did you enjoy searching for the
golden frog? Then, you’ll love
Eye Spy. Throughout the museum
you’ll see signs like the one shown
here that give clues for finding
objects in the galleries.
Happy hunting.
Unknown artist, Chiriqué culture, Costa Rica and Panama. Frog Ornament, 750–1400, gold. Bequest of
Robert H. Tannahill
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Spreading the power
Ever heard of Alexander the Great? He was a king who ruled in
ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago. He’s known for
his enormous empire—he just kept making it bigger, and bigger,
and bigger (use the globe nearby to see how big it got).
There weren’t t.v.s or radios back then, so coins and statues were
used to let everyone know just how important and powerful
Alexander was. You might say it’s like seeing George Washington’s
face on a quarter.
Pick up the laminated sheet on the front of this case to learn more
about the objects.
Check it out.
Down the hallway, you’ll find a case filled with metal helmets. Try
the activity and see if you can guess how the helmets were used.
Above leª: Unknown artist, Roman; Head of Alexander the Great as Hermanubis, 100–200 C.E.; marble.
Giª of Madeline Verkinderin
Above right: Unknown artist, Greek; Coin (tetradrachm) Depicting Alexander the Great, 323–281 B.C.E.;
silver. City of Detroit Purchase
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Light it up
Before there were energy-saving light bulbs, there were lamps.
Cool lamps, like this one.
In order to keep their parties going well into the night, ancient
Greeks and Romans used oil lamps to light up a room. This lamp
was used by filling the base with olive oil and lighting a wick
inserted through the man’s mouth. It probably looked like he was
breathing fire.
Check it out.
Ancient Greeks and Romans liked to drink wine at their parties.
Check out the nearby video to see how wine was mixed and
served.
Unknown artist, Roman; Lamp, 100–200 C.E.; bronze. Founders Society Purchase, with funds from Anne
and Reginald Harnett
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Where are my legs?
No worries—the legs aren’t missing. The armor was only meant to
cover the top half of the body. Around four hundred years ago, the
grandson of Duke Cosimo I wore this armor during a sporting
tournament. In front of an audience, he fought his opponent with
wooden weapons over a waist-high railing. He didn’t need any leg
protection, but he certainly needed plenty of upper body protection.
The holes held
another layer of
metal to provide
extra protection
for the nose and
chin.
He fought with his
right hand, so the
right shoulder was
made smaller than
the leª for freer
movement.
Smooth edges
guaranteed that a
sword wouldn’t get
caught on the
armor.
Extra metal helped
protect the elbow
joints.
Check it out.
Explore the timeline in this gallery to find out more about Duke
Cosimo I and his family.
Master Mariano, “The Armorer,” Italian; Boy’s Suit of Half-Armor (Corslet) for Cosimo II, about 1605; steel,
partially purple-tinted with gold decoration. Giª of William Randolph Hearst Foundation
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Go on in
That’s right; this was part of an actual house called Whitby Hall.
Step through the doors, and you’ll be transported back to 1754—
the year the home was built.
Sorr y!
This wor
k
of art
is tempo
rarily
o¼ view.
This Philadephia
residence once
belonged to James
Coultas, a wealthy
merchant who wanted
a place to entertain.
Imagine the scene—
women in fancy
dresses, men sitting at
a table playing cards,
the sounds of laughing
and the clinking of
glasses. Not too
shabby.
The stairs, woodwork,
and windows are from the original house. Unfortunately, you can’t
go upstairs. But, there’s plenty to see on the first floor, so take a look
around.
Unknown artist, American; Whitby Hall, 1754. City of Detroit Purchase
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Men with flowers
That’s right. They’re holding flowers. But why?
The small painting on the right shows a man from the 1400s
following an old German tradition. By holding a carnation, he’s
letting people know that he’s engaged or newly married.
Five hundred years later, the artist Otto Dix decided to paint a
picture of himself in the same way. Dix wasn’t engaged or
married—he painted himself holding a flower because he wanted
to imitate traditional German portraits. By presenting himself in a
pose similar to the man on the right, Dix is showing his pride in his
German heritage.
Above leª: Otto Dix, German; Self-Portrait, 1912; oil on paper mounted on poplar panel. Giª of Robert H.
Tannahill
Above right: Michael Wohlgemut, German; A Young Man, 1486; oil on linden panel. Giª of Mr. and Mrs.
Ernest Kanzler, in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Karl Kanzler
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Lots and lots of bones
OK. So, this is supposed to be a tour about old stu¼, and we’re in
the contemporary galleries. Why? Well, the artist Nancy Graves
created her sculpture by making copies of old camel leg bones.
Imagine what camels’ legs look like when they move under the
weight of those heavy humps. Each joint works together to keep
the camel going forward. If you look closely at these bones, you’ll
see that they look like they’re almost walking. That’s because the
artist wanted to represent the movement of camels, animals that she
loved to watch.
Just for fun, see if you can count how many bones there are—try
not to get dizzy.
Nancy Graves, American; Variability of Similar Forms, 1970; steel, wax, marble, dust, acrylic, wood. Founders
Society Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund, with funds from Joan and Armando Ortiz Foundation and Friends
of Modern Art
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1st level
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2nd level
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Email: guides@dia.org
Cover: Unknown artist, Greek; Coin (tetradrachm) Depicting Alexander the Great, 323–281 B.C.E.; silver. City of Detroit Purchase
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