Ancient Sicilian Artifacts On View at Getty Villa

Beginning Saturday, guests will be able to view items from the ancient city of Morgantina.

Morgantina is located in central Sicily, near present-day Aidone, according to the Getty Villa, and has been under excavation since 1955. Objects that have been excavated from sanctuaries located in the ancient city include terra-cotta figures of deities, oil lamps, even a lead curse tablet!

The exhibit, titled , features 37 objects which will be on display through January 21, 2013. The objects date back from the 4th to the 2nd centuries B.C. According to a Getty Villa press release, the artifacts are "showcased in a special installation focusing on the worship of the goddesses of agricultural fertility, Demeter and Persephone, in Sicily."

“We are thrilled to have these unique objects from Morgantina—an excavation where generations of American archaeologists were trained—on view for the first time in the United States at the Getty Museum,” said Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, in a press release.

The works are on loan from the Museo Archeologico Regionale of Aidone.