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The New Cypriot Galleries

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Sarcophagus (The Golgoi Sarcophagus), Second quarter of 5th century B.C. Limestone. Said to be from the necropolis at Golgoi. The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription 1874–76 (74.51.2451).

More about This Exhibition
With the opening of the new Cypriot Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 5, 2000, a selection of some six hundred of the finest works from the Museum's historic Cesnola Collection—comprising works from Cyprus in all major media that date from ca. 2500 B.C. to ca. A.D. 300—returned to public view. While some Cypriot works were previously on view or integrated with related works from other cultures, this is the first time in more than fifty years that antiquities from Cyprus have been brought together in galleries devoted specifically to the Cesnola Collection. The new permanent installation emphasizes the particular strengths of the collection in the areas of sculpture, bronze, terracotta, and precious metals.

Acquired by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola while he was serving as American consul in Cyprus, these works were purchased by the Metropolitan Museum between 1874 and 1876 and constituted its first large collection of archaeological materials. In 1879, Cesnola was named the Museum's first director, a position he held until his death in 1904.

Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum, commented: "The installation of the Cypriot Galleries—which brings back to public view a collection so pivotal to the Museum's early development—marks the end of the second phase in our current ten-year plan for the total renovation and reinstallation of the Greek and Roman Galleries. Our collections of Greek and Roman material are among the finest in the world and, with the completion of each part of our ambitious project, we are increasingly able to present them—in some cases, for the first time since their acquisition—in compelling exhibition settings. This is certainly the case with the Cesnola Collection of Cypriot antiquities."

The Cesnola Collection
The Art of Prehistoric Cyprus: The Norbert Schimmel Gallery
Geometric and Archaic Cyprus
Cyprus during the Classical Period: A. G. Leventis Foundation Gallery
Cyprus in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Jake and Nancy Hamon Gallery
Publication
Audio Guide
Exhibition Organizers and Sponsors

The Cesnola Collection
The Cesnola Collection is remarkable not only for its size and diversity, but also for its historical breadth, ranging from the Bronze Age to the end of the Roman period. When The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its first building in Central Park in 1880, the collection was the focus of attention and was heralded as a significant resource for the City of New York, which was then fully emerging as a major cultural and commercial center. At a time when European excavations around the Mediterranean—and particularly those of Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890) at Troy and Mycenae—were causing a sensation, the Cesnola Collection helped to establish the Metropolitan's reputation as a major repository of classical antiquities. The Metropolitan's acquisition of the Cesnola Collection prompted subsequent British and French expeditions that sought to furnish European museums with comparable Cypriot material.

The new Cypriot Galleries are located on the second floor of the Museum, directly above the newly renovated galleries for Greek art and the future galleries for Roman art and adjacent to the galleries of ancient near eastern art. The works on view in the four galleries are arranged chronologically. The Cesnola Collection remains, by far, the most important and comprehensive collection of Cypriot material in the western hemisphere. The new Cypriot Galleries will display a selection of the primary works that illustrate the unique character of Cypriot art and highlight the exotic blend of classical and oriental influences felt on Cyprus throughout antiquity.

Learn more about the Cesnola Collection and the Metropolitan Museum's early history.

The Art of Prehistoric Cyprus: The Norbert Schimmel Gallery
The Prehistoric Gallery features works of art datable between ca. 7000 and 1000 B.C., representing the Neolithic (ca. 7000–ca. 3800 B.C.) and Chalcolithic (ca. 3800–ca. 2500 B.C.) periods, followed by the Bronze Age (ca. 2500–ca. 1000 B.C.).

Because works from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic (literally "copper-stone") periods of habitation on the island had not yet been discovered when the Cesnola Collection was formed, these early cultures are represented by a generous loan of four works from The Cyprus Museum, Nicosia, made possible by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus and the A. G. Leventis Foundation.

The breadth of the Cesnola Collection allows an unusually comprehensive display of the arts of Bronze Age Cyprus, which—despite its proximity to the mainland—appear to have developed in relative isolation during the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Characteristic works in clay represent the lively Cypriot tradition of modeling terracotta figures. The exhibition includes handmade pottery and terracotta sculptures of humans and animals, as well as stone implements, copper-alloy tools and works in gold, ivory, silver, and glass.

Learn more about the objects on view in the Prehistoric Gallery.

Geometric and Archaic Cyprus
During the first half of the first millennium B.C., Cyprus was populated by a succession of foreigners, all of whom left their mark on the island's culture and art. By the end of the 11th century B.C., Cyprus received the last of the refugees from the devastation that had overcome the great centers of Mycenaean Greece. These immigrants brought—and perpetuated—Mycenaean customs of burial, pottery production, warfare, etc. They were also responsible for introducing the Greek language.

By about 800 B.C., the island received an equally significant influx of Phoenician traders, who quickly established large settlements and profited from the indigenous resources, notably copper and timber. Between the end of the 8th century and the second half of the 6th century B.C., Cyprus fell under the successive domination of Assyria, Egypt, and Persia.

These remarkable historical circumstances underlie the correspondingly rich and complex artistic picture of Cyprus during the Archaic period, ca. 750–475 B.C. The scope of the Cesnola Collection makes it possible to illustrate the character and contribution of the various populations in a variety of media.

One strength of the collection is the sculpture made of local limestone, used to create impressive dedications in sanctuaries or elaborate sarcophagi. The sarcophagus from Amathus, with its many figures and well-preserved polychromy, is among the foremost monuments of Cypriot art. Particularly well represented also are the shallow bowls of gold, silver, and bronze that were made for, and dedicated by, the aristocracy of Cyprus. Together with other luxury items made of precious metals, semiprecious stones, and ivory, these reflect a fusion of disparate styles on a high artistic level and convey the wealth and diversity of Archaic Cyprus. This material is complemented by a selection of the finest vases, terracottas, bronzes, and other objects.

Cyprus during the Classical Period: A. G. Leventis Foundation Gallery
Cypriot sculpture, terracottas, vases, jewelry, and coins of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. are featured in this gallery.

Following the incorporation of Cyprus into the Achaemenid empire during the second half of the 6th century B.C., close contacts existed with other areas under Persian rule, such as Syria-Palestine, Phoenicia, and the East Greek cities on the west coast of Asia Minor. During the war between Greece and Persia (490–479 B.C.), Cyprus provided men and ships to the Persians, and the island was isolated from the mainstream of Greek culture and trade until the end of the 5th century, when the energetic king Evagoras I of Salamis (411–374/3 B.C.) fostered important ties with Greece, particularly Athens. Cypriot art in the Classical period was influenced strongly by Greek models, and most of the works in this gallery reveal a mixture of Greek, Phoenician, and native elements.

Learn more about the objects on view in the A. G. Leventis Foundation Gallery.

Cyprus in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Jake and Nancy Hamon Gallery
From the end of the 4th century B.C., Cyprus was dominated by foreign powers, first by the Ptolemies—a Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt—and later by the Romans, who made the island into a province of the Roman Empire in 58 B.C. Local Cypriot artistic and cultural traditions survived into the Hellenistic period, but gradually were assimilated into the Greek style that predominated in the eastern Mediterranean world. Under the Romans, sculpture, architecture, and the decorative arts reflected developments elsewhere in the Empire, demonstrating that the island was fully integrated into the Roman world.

During this period, Paphos was the principal city of Cyprus and gained fame from the temple of Aphrodite, which it displaed proudly on its coinage. Indeed, the whole island benefited from the fact that Cyprus was recognized as the birthplace of Aphrodite (Roman Venus). A number of other cults remained important at the same time. In this gallery, special emphasis is given to these cults, the sanctuaries they fostered, and the votives dedicated to them. Three such full-scale statues of figures dedicated at a sanctuary surround a large limestone statue of Aphrodite.

One case contains limestone and terracotta figures of very young children that were dedicated at a temple of Apollo, probably at the time when a child was placed under the god's protection. Statues of these so-called temple boys have been found in great numbers on Cyprus. A group of heads from votive statues demonstrates the realistic, portrait-like style that developed on the island as Greek taste supplanted local artistic conventions in the Hellenistic period. Smaller objects, jewelry, and coins complete the display in this gallery and also reflect the island's place in the wider Mediterranean world.

Publication
A publication, Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art—written by Vassos Karageorghis, in collaboration with Joan R. Mertens and Marice E. Rose, Research Associate—provides an introduction to the development of Cypriot art as represented by significant examples in the Museum's exceptional collection. The book—which is the first publication devoted to the Cesnola Collection since the comprehensive 1914 handbook by J. L. Myers—is published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. It is available in the Museum's bookshops and in the online Met Store.

This publication is made possible in part by a grant from the government of the Republic of Cyprus. Additional support has been provided by The Adelaide Milton de Groot Fund, in memory of the de Groot and Hawley families.

A brochure on the Art of Ancient Cyprus is available in the galleries.

Audio Guide
An audio tour, one of the Metropolitan's Audio Guides, is available for rental ($5, $4.50 for Museum Members).

The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg News.

Exhibition Organizers and Sponsors
The installation was organized by Carlos A. Picón, curator in charge; Joan R. Mertens, curator; Christopher S. Lightfoot, associate curator; Elizabeth J. Milleker, associate curator; and Seán Hemingway, assistant curator, all of the Museum's Department of Greek and Roman Art, and Dr. Vassos Karageorghis, former director of Antiquities, Cyprus. Installation design was by Jeffrey L. Daly, chief designer; with graphics by Jill Hammarberg, graphic designer; and lighting by Zack Zanolli, lighting designer, all of the Museum's Design Department.

Conservation support has been provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. The architects for the Greek and Roman Galleries Master Plan, which includes the Cypriot Galleries, are Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates.

Photograph Credits