Aaron Loh

1. Bust of Hadrian, found in the emperors country residence near Tivoli

2. Christ being presented to the People by Lucas Van Leyden, a large-format print
that depicts Christ being presented by Pontius Pilate to the people.
3. The Lewis Chessmen, discovered off the coast of Scotland.

4. Marble group of a nymph escaping from a satyr, was displayed in a Roman Villa and
gave vivid expression to erotic male fantasies.
5. N theatre mask, with the facial characteristics of a young woman.
6. A memorial portrait bust of a priest, Yedibel, found in Syria
 7. Carving of Rama, 7th avatar of Vishnu, riding his mount the Garuda.

Despite the wide array of treasures and artefacts displayed in the exhibit, the common theme that
struck me the most was depictions of humans and figures across time periods and cultures. From
marble busts to stone sculptures to tribal headdresses, each exhibit for each culture displayed their
own unique styles of depicting human life.

The traditional, realist, lifelike style of classical antiquity is known to many and had been displayed
multiple times in the form of traditional busts and sculptures, most often than not depicting heroic
leaders or scenes from mythology. Many of these depictions were treated as an ideal to aspire to,
and hence were created in an idealized, near perfect way.

Egyptian depictions of humans and other life forms were often created in such a way that its
essential characteristics were shown. For example, Egyptian art depicted the human torso and feet
from the side profile, however, the shoulders and the eye was depicted in front profile. There were
strict rules that Egyptian art had to stick to and it manifested in the form of strange, disproportional
yet weirdly consistent art.

Sculptures and headdresses from Polynesia were most often than not, so called primitive-looking.
They were not as detailed or lifelike as classical antiquity styled sculpture, but despite this, they still
held most of the museum-goers attention, including mines. Most of these masks and sculptures
were traditional, sacred artefacts, used for various ceremonies and festivals, but as un-lifelike as
they seemed, they were extremely symbolic and were almost treated as real entities. For example,
Polynesian sculptures were used as door guards, protectors of ritual centres, or even as mediums to
channel spirits of the deceased. For this, I felt that the Polynesian artefacts held more intrigue and
reverence amongst the museum-goers than the other traditionally made lifelike sculptures that
many were used to seeing.

While there were many more cultures and their own unique depictions of human society, the main
takeaway from the exhibit for me was that each culture has its own unique way of depicting their
way of life and society at the time. Despite how primitive some may deem these historical
artefacts, one cannot deny that these inanimate relics are reminders of a bygone era when these
relics held great cultural sway and reverence amongst different human cultures.