Luncheon Lecture Series - Beauty Through the Ages

It is with great excitement that the Women’s Committee of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Penn Museum introduces new Treasured Events.   For the 2011-2012 season, we will present a series of luncheon lectures sharing the common theme of “Beauty through the Ages.” Highlighting three different components of vanity in world cultures, Jewelry, Cave to Castle and Vanity Fare promises to captivate, educate and entertain. The Penn Museum’s world-class collection of treasured artifacts will provide unparalleled examples for each session.

Jewelry: Worn to Adorn - We were delighted to open our 2011 - 2012 Lecture | Luncheon Series with Jewelry: Worn to Adorn on November 2, 2011. The Museum’s own Jane Hickman, PhD., editor of Expedition Magazine,  presented a lecture about the changing cultural perceptions of beauty and how those have evolved through time, demonstrating how adornment using jewelry has been with us from ancient time to the present.  For those of you who have missed the Luncheon, please enjoy the video  Jewelry Worn to Adorn.

Thank you to all who joined us and helped support the Penn Musuem by participating in this very special event.  If you were unable to attend we invite you to attend the other upcoming Lecture Luncheons. 

Home Décor: Cave to Castle The second lecture on February 13, 2012 will feature two lecturers, Adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Museum’s Acting Curator-in-Charge and Keeper of Physical Anthropology, Janet Monge Ph.D along with Barbara Eberlein of Eberlein Design Consultants, Ltd.  Our guest lecturers will incorporate items from the Museum's collections with design principles to demonstrate how the decorated home has always reflected status and distinction and how it remains so today.  Read More...

Finally, the third lecture, Cosmetics: Vanity Fare, given on April 17, 2012, will consider the many dimensions of human beauty as depicted in fine art and perceived by industry.  Whether for identification, ritual, or beauty, men and women have long focused on personal appearance. Traveling to the afterlife, an ancient Egyptian woman brings with her both mirror and make-up box. An Etruscan soldier includes a razor among his grave goods. Artifacts from ancient Greece encourage our connection with many women....Read More