Ancient Art from Cyprus and the Mediterranean: Gallery 12

Ancient Art from Cyprus and the Mediterranean, exhibited in Gallery 12 of the Museum of Art, contains 201 objects. The Ringling’s collection of ancient Western art encompasses 3,550 objects that date from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Roman Period (ca. 2500 BCE to 500 CE). John Ringling purchased 3,360 of these pieces in 1928 at sales held at The Anderson Galleries of works formerly in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York. Also in 1928, Mr. Ringling acquired 135 ancient gems once in the collection of Émile Gavet.

The Ringling’s collection of ancient art is known for its particular strength in objects from the island of Cyprus, including sculpture in limestone and terra cotta, vessels in ceramic and glass, and metalwork in bronze, silver, and gold. With nearly 2,350 objects, The Ringling’s collection of ancient Cypriot art is the third-largest in North America. Luigi Palma di Cesnola unearthed the vast majority of these pieces in temples and tombs when he was the American Consul in Cyprus from 1865 to 1876. Another 38 objects come from a tomb at Karmi-Lapatsa, Cyprus, that James R. B. Stewart excavated in 1961 and that the University of Sydney donated to The Ringling in 1973.

Mr. Ringling’s purchases at The Anderson Galleries also included Cypriot, Levantine, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman objects purchased by or gifted to The Met from Arthur Lincoln Frothingham, Jr., Samuel T. Baxter, Cesare and Ercole Canessa, Edward C. Moore, Elbert Eli Farman, J. Pierpont Morgan, and John Marshall.