A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1885–1903)

Author Introduction by Ernst Curtius

1885–1904

Not on view

Luigi Palma di Cesnola (1832–1904) can accurately be called a soldier of fortune. Born in Turin, Italy, he emigrated to the United States about 1858 after serving in the Crimean War. In 1862 he joined the Union army in the Civil War, ultimately rising to the rank of brigadier general. In 1865 he went to Cyprus as American consul and took up archaeological excavation as a productive way of spending his time. He returned to America with about 35,000 objects and, after much effort, succeeded in selling a large selection to the Metropolitan Museum. In 1879 he became the Museum's first director. Consisting of six quarto volumes, the "Cesnola Atlas" was published to present the collection of Cypriot antiquities to the scholarly world.

Illustrated: vol. 1, plate 88, no. 585, Hercules: statue of calcareous stone, found in the field west of the temple at Golgoi

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Title: A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1885–1903)
Author: Luigi Palma di Cesnola
Author: Introduction by Ernst Curtius
Date: 1885–1904
Culture: Boston: J. R. Osgood, 1885–1903
Medium: Illustrated book
Dimensions: 3 vols.; H: 17 3/8 in. (44 cm)
Credit Line: Presented by General L. P. di Cesnola
Object Number: 543.1N48 M97 Q
Curatorial Department: Thomas J. Watson Library

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