Opening Day Celebration for World Premiere The Golden Age of King Midas

Penn Museum opens the world premiere exhibition The Golden Age of King Midas—featuring ancient treasures on loan from the Republic of Turkey—with a spectacular day-long public celebration Saturday, February 13, 10 am to 4:00 pm, free with general Museum admission: $15 adults; $13 senior citizens 65 and over; $10 children 6 to 17 and full time students with ID; free for Museum members, active military, children 5 and younger, and PennCard holders. (Admission to the special exhibition is an additional $5, free to Museum members, children 5 and younger, and PennCard holders).

Enter the World of King Midas

The reign of King Midas was a golden age for his capital city of Gordion and for the Phrygian kingdom that he ruled. For 65 years the Penn Museum has been excavating Gordion, located in central Turkey, unearthing the artifacts and stories, that bring that ancient world to life. Guests to the opening celebration are treated to a Phrygian fashion review with costumes flown direct from Turkey, traditional Turkish music and music in the “Phrygian mode” from the group David’s Harp, short lectures by Gordion scholars and the exhibition curator, and pop up mini-talks by Penn graduate students. A host of family-friendly activities are part of the celebration, including storytelling—featuring the timeless tale of King Midas and his golden touch—a pebble mosaic craft (Gordion boasts the oldest pebble mosaic in the world, a large section of which is in the new exhibition), a “Gordian Knot” making and cutting table (a bow to another Gordion story of another era), and even a Golden Touch tattoo station.

A special experience awaits guests at the opening weekend only: Penn Museum’s third floor Pepper Hall will be transformed into a Kervansaray-inspired oasis reminiscent of the Turkish Kervansaray, or roadside inns, that offered travelers a place to recover from a day’s journey, and supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the Silk Road. Visitors to the Museum will be able to travel back in time to the Ottoman Empire as they wonder through and rest among ikats and other textiles from the Silk Road, hand knotted carpets from Turkey, hand-crafted copper pots and metal trays, tiles and plates, ottomans covered with Turkish kilims, hand knotted saddle and camel bags from the region, and traditional tent decorations. This special experience is made possible courtesy of Material Culture, a Philadelphia purveyor of antiques and collectibles from around the world.

An East-West Cutting of the Gordian Knot

The exhibition opens with fanfare at 11:00 am, as representatives of the Republic of Turkey join Penn Museum Director Julian Siggers, Exhibition Curator Brian Rose, and Exhibition team members for a symbolic cutting of the “Gordian Knot,” the official opening of the new show.