A black and white image of a fresh produce stall in Greece

The Olive

Now on display

The fourth installation as part of our Impressions of Greece exhibition series.

‘The Olive’ is the fourth iteration of our ongoing exhibition series, 'Impressions of Greece' that brings together ancient Greek artefacts with the landscapes and culture of modern Greece captured in the photographs of William J Woodhouse between 1890 and 1920.

This installation focuses on the olive as a significant plant in Greece from ancient to modern times. For thousands of years, the olive has been a common sight in the Greek landscape and its fruit, wood, oil, and leaves harvested for a wide range of everyday uses – from food to fuel, bathing, to medicine and beauty.

Black and white image of a large and very old olive tree in the Greek countryside.

A photograph taken by Woodhouse captures a large and very old olive tree in the Greek countryside. A woman stands beside the trunk, showing the size of this tree. Olive trees are hardy and adaptable, often living for hundreds of years. If damaged, the tree is known to reshoot and grow again. Olive trees can survive for hundreds if not thousands of years - Is this restful old olive tree still around today? And, could this be it?

The sap from the olives was a key source of fuel in antiquity. Ceramic lamps were filled with olive oil, and a simple wick would burn from the nozzle.

The olive tree was considered sacred in ancient Greece, particularly in Athens as it was associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom and military strategy. It is told she gave the olive tree to the Athenians, planted on the Acropolis to become surrounded by her temple, the Erectheion. Woodhouse’s photo of this temple to Athena Polias (Athena of the City) is paired with a red-figure pelike (jar for liquids) that is decorated with Athena’s sacred owl framed by two olive branches.

The full archive of historic photographs by William Woodhouse are available online, and are part of an ongoing community project adding new information and data to the collection.

Featured in the exhibition:

A flat black and gold plate with ornate handles — Greece, Late Geometric Period, 760–700 BC, ceramic, acquired 1951, Nicholson Collection, NM51.1

Terracotta oil lamp, Greece, 475–350 BC, ceramic, acquired before 1962, Nicholson Collection, NM62.742

A two handled jar depicting an owl flanked by olive branches — Red-figure pelike (jar), depicting, an owl flanked by olive branches, Athens, Greece, 400–350 BC, ceramic, donated by Professor Alexander Cambitoglou, 1997, Nicholson Collection, NM97.65

Guest curated by Meaghan Zarb, University of New England.

Meaghan's internship, Aug 2023, at the Chau Chak Wing Museum supported by the Museums and Galleries NSW, volunteer placement program.

Image captions:

Old Olive on road from Argostiti to H. Georgios, Κεφαλονιά, Έλλάδα (Kefalonia, Greece), 1890–1922, photograph from a glass-plate, negative by William J Woodhouse, donated by Liska Woodhouse, 1984, Nicholson Collection, NM2007.109.6
[Village produce stall], Έλλάδα (Greece), 1890–1922, photograph from a glass-plate, negative by William J Woodhouse, donated by Liska Woodhouse, 1984, Nicholson Collection, NM2007.18.14
[View of the north-western side of the Erechtheion where Athena’s olive tree was said to have grown], Αθήνα, Έλλάδα (Athens, Greece), 1890–1922, photograph from a glass-plate, negative by William J Woodhouse, donated by Liska Woodhouse, 1984, Nicholson Collection, NM2007.85.12

The Woodhouse Archive

The research behind the exhibition