Ancient Mediterranean
Antiquities from Mediterranean cultures are among the museum’s earliest acquisitions. These initial purchases—which document the history of ceramic art on Cyprus for more than a millennium preceding the Roman era—were followed by the acquisition of Egyptian artworks dating from the Pre-Dynastic period to the New Kingdom. During the past century, the collection has been augmented by Mycenaean, Geometric, Corinthian, and red- and black-figure vases representing ancient Greece. Also notable are seals, cuneiform, and figurative tablets from Mesopotamia dating from the early second millennium B.C.; examples of Roman sculpture; and glass and carvings from Palmyra.
Bernard Barryte
Chief Curator, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts
