THE GOLD OF TROY 0 SEARCHING FOR HOMER'S FABLED CITY

The treasures of ancient Troy are a collection of gold and silver ornaments, jewelry and precious gems, dating back to the 12th century BC. They were unearthed by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1873. During the years of World War II the treasures disappeared from the Berlin Museum of Archaeology and were feared destroyed. Hidden from the world for 50 years, their recovery is celebrated in this volume, published in conjunction with an exhibition to be held at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow in 1996. The book contains photographs of 13 of the original 21 groups of objects uncovered by Schliemann. Each piece has been photographed individually and is accompanied by a detailed descriptive and historical commentary. Text by Russian art historians and archaeologists explore the different eras of the treasure's history, from its origins to its discovery by Schliemann, and the story of its whereabouts since 1945.

One of the greatest mysteries of the worlds of art and archeology was the whereabouts of the Trojan treasures uncovered by Heinrich Schliemann during the 19th century. Presumed to be lost or destroyed, they turned up in Russia, and in April 1996, went on public exhibit at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. "We have waited for this exhibition for a long time--too long," writes Irina Antonova, director of the Pushkin Museum in the preface to The Gold of Troy, the catalog for the exhibit. "Undoubtedly it should have been shown many years ago."