On loan from rich collections in Ukraine (11/07/99)

On loan from rich collections in Ukraine

The more than 170 objects included in "Gold of the Nomads: Scythian Treasures from Ancient Ukraine" are gathered from the rich collections of three institutions in Ukraine: the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Historical Archaeological Preserve in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi.

With recent geo-political changes - the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's independence - material from these institutions was able to travel to the United States for the first time in more than two decades.

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine is a treasury of the nation's heritage and culture. The museum's collections preserve the history and art of all the various peoples who have lived in what is now Ukraine, from the Stone Age to the present. Its archaeological collections are among the largest and most important on the territories of the former Soviet Union, ranking behind those of only Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The museum traces its origins to 1897 when Borys Khanenko, a leading archaeologist, patron of the arts and public figure, became chairman of a newly organized History and Arts Society in Kyiv. Two years later, during an international archaeological congress, the society arranged an exhibition in what it hoped would become a new museum. That exhibition, built largely around Khanenko's private collection of antiquities, led to the creation of a Municipal History Museum, later renamed the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. The Museum of Historical Treasures is a branch of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine and was built in 1969 to house the gold and silver archaeological objects from the National Museum's collection. A significant part of this collection is devoted specifically to the rich and unique culture of the Scythians.

The Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine houses Ukraine's largest collection of archaeological finds. The collection of the institute was launched in the early 20th century and today numbers hundreds of thousands of objects, dating from earliest times to the late Middle Ages. Every year, the collection is enhanced by hundreds of new objects recovered from archaeological excavations. Most of the works of art lent to "Gold of the Nomads" from the institute were excavated within the last 10 years, with several objects discovered as recently as 1998.

The State Historical Archaeological Preserve (Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi) encompasses more than 130 19th and early 20th century Ukrainian structures. Set together on sprawling grounds near Kyiv, the preserve brings the rich history of Ukraine of life. In addition to the structures, the preserve's collection includes a significant archive of archaeological objects, spanning more than 2,000 years.

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