Gold wreath

First Kings of Europe

Category: Exhibitions

Exhibition Summary

Ticketing

Requires Discovery or All-Access Pass

When exhibit closes

Closes Jan 28, 2024

Targeted age groups

All ages

Ticket Information

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Anchor: #this-gathering-of-more-than-700-exquisite-objects-including-jewelry-weapons-armor-and-more-has-never-before-been-shown-together

This gathering of more than 700 exquisite objects— including jewelry, weapons, armor, and more— has never before been shown together.

Explore the rise to power of ancient Europe’s first kings and queens and discover how once egalitarian farming communities developed power, inequity, and hierarchy for the first time. Travel back to 5000 BCE to uncover what prehistoric tools, weapons, and ritual sculptures can tell us about life in the Balkans’ earliest societies. Venture through the trade routes that shaped the world as we know it today. Immerse yourself in the ceremonies of the Ages as you view a Neolithic altar, and hear the crackling fire of a life-sized funerary pyre simulation. See the precious axes, swords, and crowns that turned warriors into royals and forever changed the structure of society.

Image of gold breast plate. Kosmatkite, Bulgaria. Courtesy of National Museum of History, Sofia, Bulgaria. Photo by Todor Dimitrov.

First Kings of Europe brings together the work and stories of 26 museums and 11 countries throughout southeastern Europe.

Exhibition Highlights:

  • The oldest human-made gold objects, known as the Varna treasure, created over 6,000 years ago
  • Bronze Age masterpieces of swordmaking and armor
  • The glimmering gold crown of a Thracian prince, featuring a wreath of gold leaves and the figure of Nike, the Goddess of victory.
  • The famous “Borovo Treasure” of sphinx and horse-shaped drinking cups, part of a feasting set once owned by King Kotys I
  • Multimedia video, audio, and soundscapes made to immerse you in ceremonial rituals of this eras

Image slideshow

  • Oldest gold objects in the world, 4600–4400 BC, Varna, Bulgaria Archaeologists think that most of the items were attached to a garment, then rolled up. The scepter and two bracelets were placed on top of the bundle when it was buried. Courtesy of the Varna Regional Museum of History, Bulgaria | Ádám Vágó, © Field Museum

  • Ceramic figurines, 2800–2500 BC, Shtoji, Albania These violin-shaped 'Cycladic' style figurines are meant to evoke the human body. They often had an elongated head and neck at the top, an exaggerated waist in the center, and no legs. Courtesy of the Archaeological Museum in Tirana, Albania | Ádám Vágó, © Field Museum

  • Bronze sword, 1700–1600 BC, Hajdúsámson, Hungary Warriors of Bronze Age Europe required weapons that were effective in battle as well as stylish. This sword was part of an intentionally buried hoard, perhaps to commemorate a battle or honor a fallen comrade. Courtesy of the Déri Museum, Hungary | Ádám Vágó, © Field Museum

  • Fibula (garment pin), 500-300 BC, Gračac, Croatia These items were made by a group of people called the Iapoda, who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula’s forested coast and islands in the Adriatic Sea. Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia | Ádám Vágó, © Field Museum

  • Silver gilt helmet, 325–275 BC, Peretu, Romania Ancient Balkan kings and queens are remembered by Greek and Roman historians, as “formidable,” of “dubious loyalty,” and uncivilized “barbarians” in their propaganda, but artifacts like this remind us that those portrayals were not accurate. Courtesy of the National History Museum of Romania, Romania | Ádám Vágó, © Field Museum

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