Displaying items by tag: hellenistic

An important, elaborately carved Roman urn of the first-early second century A.D.—one of the finest porphyry vessels to have survived from classical antiquity—has been acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The acquisition was made possible in part thanks to a challenge grant from Metropolitan Museum Trustee Mary Jaharis.

Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Museum, stated: “This rare and beautiful vase is a superb example of classical craftsmanship at its best. The public will now have the extraordinary opportunity to see it within the context of other Hellenistic and Roman works in various media, and especially other sculptures made of porphyry, in the collection of the Museum’s Department of Greek and Roman Art, one of the major repositories of classical art in North America.”

Sicily’s regional government has set a travel ban on 23 of its most important artworks, including a painting by Caravaggio, ancient Greek sculptures, and a rare collection of Hellenistic silver.

The ban was put into effect due to growing concern that Sicily’s most treasured holdings spend too much time outside of the country, causing their own museums to suffer. Officials also stated that loans to foreign museums “have not produced benefits” for Sicily and have not occurred under “conditions of reciprocity with the borrowing institutions.” By keeping the works in Sicily, officials hope to draw more tourists to the island.

The culturally rich island of Sicily has its own regional government, which operates individually within the Italian system. Sicily’s new policies differ substantially from Italy’s more flexible lending practices.