Museum of Ancient Glass

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15 March, 2010

(Day 2)


This was a very nice new museum. Our museum guide, Anamarija Eterović, was one of the archaeologists who worked on the dig which unearthed these Roman artifacts. It was a huge discovery of glass from the 1-3 centuries - a rare find. The glass is isolated from the human remains and other grave goods which were also found. They were taken away to the capital. But the glass was amazing, I'll never forget it. I had a hard time associating my idea of "first century" with the artistry and delicate craftmanship of these glass items.
So that was a lesson learned. Don't make assumptions about history, knowledge, and ability.
Again, I thought it was wonderful to devote a museum to this collection. It is a unique link to direct local history. But I wonder about the connection to today. Do people from Zadar consider this their heritage? In this case, maybe it is. What about other Croatians?

After we returned home, I went back to read Nelson Graburn's chapter (3), "Learning to Consume: What is Heritage and When is it Traditional".  It was very germane, but didn't exactly answer my questions.

The visit to Preko later that afternoon was enjoyable. The ferry ride reminded me of Seattle. Strolling around the rural town was a nice way to see a sliver of real life. Later went to see the Greeting to the Sun light up at night.

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