THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510130076
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
YOU CAN GET a taste of the Cleveland Museum of Art this week when the director visits Norfolk.
Robert Bergman will talk about the institution's acclaimed collection at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at The Chrysler Museum of Art. Among the recent acquisitions Bergman may discuss is ``Four Elements of a Pectoral Necklace,'' a rare example of Constantinian jewelry, consisting of a large gold pendant, two gold spacers and a clasp set with with garnets, amethyst, opal and pearls.
Acquired a year ago, the masterpiece, dated at about 324 A.D., is a focal point of the museum's Byzantine luxury arts.
Bergman also may talk about the museum's prized 6th century Egyptian tapestry icon of the Virgin and Child. According to museum material, the icon is among few that survived the 8th and 9th century, when many icons were destroyed by rulers who feared their influence.
The Cleveland museum is known for the quality of its collections and for its high level of scholarship.
Cleveland's holdings are strong in Medieval European and Asian art. Also well represented are the arts of ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, as well as Africa, Indian, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic Near East.
To make the art accessible, museum officials have created an abundance of educational programs, including films, lectures and musical performances.
The museum also offers art history courses in a joint program with neighboring Case Western Reserve University, with Bergman among the instructors.
Bergman became Cleveland's director in July 1993. Before that, he directed Baltimore's Walters Art Gallery from 1981.
He also has taught art and archeology at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton, where he received an M.F.A. and a Ph.D.
A New Jersey native, Bergman is a specialist in medieval art and architecture.
The event, sponsored by The Norfolk Society of Arts, is free and open to the public. Come at 10 a.m. and enjoy pre-talk coffee. The museum is at 245 W. Olney Road, Norfolk. Call 622-ARTS for more information. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Robert Bergman of the Cleveland Museum of Art will speak Wednesday
in Norfolk.
by CNB