For the Conversations space, Francisco Tropa (Lisbon, 1968) is developing a project that crosses contemporary sculpture and archaeology, in collaboration with archaeologist Sérgio Carneiro. The starting point for this exhibition is a bronze ‘pyrgus’ or ‘dice box’ found in the recently discovered Roman Baths of Chaves, a unique object from the Roman period, which is a tower for throwing dice.

The publication accompanying this exhibition opens with an essay by Sérgio Carneiro, one of the exhibition’s curators, on the mysterious object found in the thermal baths and its playful functions. This is followed by a text by Penelope Curtis, director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, about the exhibition and the encounter between the work of Francisco Tropa and the pirgo de Chaves.

The publication includes images of the exhibited works and archive images, which illustrate the two texts.