A two-foot Greek amphora made entirely of gingerbread is scheduled to appear in the Greek gallery at Harvard Art Museums on Dec. 3. Cambridge designers Julia Mattis and Wyatt Roy spent a year making the replica in their apartment. The Archaeological Institute of America says the display is part of Harvard Art Museums at Night, running from 5 to 9 p.m., with a talk and Q&A by the makers and food-and-art activities downstairs.
The setting puts the baked vessel alongside the kind of work it draws on. Harvard Art Museums says its Greek gallery surveys vase painting from the Archaic and Classical periods, including work from different city-states and Greek colonies in South Italy. The museum describes Harvard Art Museums at Night as free and open to everyone.
The ancient jar behind the replica
The model is based on Harvard’s Amphora (storage jar): Chariot Race, attributed by the museum to the Circle of Leagros. The collection record describes two double-horse chariots racing across a red ground. The gingerbread vessel’s painted decoration was inspired by the ancient jar’s black-figure design, according to the AIA announcement; the replica is a modern interpretation, not an ancient object.
The announcement schedules the amphora for the Dec. 3 evening; it does not establish a continuing installation. That makes the appearance different in duration from another seasonal gingerbread display: the Museum of Architecture lists its annual Gingerbread City exhibition at London’s Space House from Nov. 28, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027. The London exhibition is a separate event, not part of Harvard’s program.
