The Toledo Museum of Art will present “Cursed! The Power of Magic in the Ancient World” from March 21 through July 5, 2026. The exhibition, guest curated by Jeffrey Spier, former senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, features approximately 75 objects on loan from major international institutions—including the British Museum and the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels—alongside works from TMA’s own holdings. Some items on display are more than 2,000 years old.

The show traces how ancient Mediterranean cultures—Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, and Babylonian—used ritual objects to exercise power over their circumstances. Themes include protective magic such as wands and amulets, written appeals to gods and the dead, and the role of curses and love charms in daily life. Among the featured objects is a 4th-century BCE Greek miniature coffin with curse figure and a Mask of Humbaba dating to 2000–1700 BCE from the British Museum.

TMA Director Adam M. Levine described the exhibition as “a rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity” for Toledo audiences to encounter works that seldom travel from their home institutions. Curator Spier noted parallels between ancient practices and modern perceptions of magic, witches, and ghosts. Tickets are available at tma.ticketapp.org.

Source: WTOL