Preface to the Catalogue by Elie Borowski. Exquisite Greek gold and ceramics are the focus of this treasure-chest exhibition in the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem’s new indoor court gallery. "Glories of Ancient Greece", presents three thousand four hundred year old Minoan necklaces and Greek finger rings of unparalleled and fascinating beauty. A choice selection of Minoan vases from the Islands of Crete and Santorini, as well as Mycenean vases from the Greek mainland which represent the origins of the developments that became known as the great aesthetic classical art one thousand years later. To the selection of vases we added a rare larnax / sarcophagus with its striking, eloquent painting of marine life to further enrich this exhibition. The Greek vases on display span almost 2 millennia of history. They range in date from Bronze Age Crete of circa 2000 BCE to Classical Athens of circa 400 BCE, and there are many important examples representing each period of ceramic production in between, including the Mycenaean, Geometric, and Archaic Periods. Splendid examples including a few masterpieces illustrate the range of expression and sophistication of the potter’s art. The magnificent jewelry mostly gold, with some individual objects in silver, includes earrings, necklaces, wreathes and rings, The two metals were most commonly used for personal adornment, such as jewelry, or crafted into vessels or images of the gods. The imperishable nature of gold and to a lesser degree of silver is one of the principle reasons that these metals have been so highly prized. The oldest jewelry in the Borowski collection comes from Crete, dating to the Late Bronze Age. Finds of gold jewelry were relatively scarce up until the period following Alexander the Great’s successful campaign against the Achaemenid Persians, a tremendous amount of gold and silver booty flowed into Greece as a result of his conquest of this great Empire and this exhibition has some splendid examples. Exhibition catalogue (in English) 100 pages – full color. June2001 through May 2002. Preface to the Catalogue by Elie Borowski.