Ancient and Islamic Art

The Museum's collection of Ancient art includes works from the Egyptian, Near Eastern, and Classical civilizations. The most popular object in the collection is the mummy Amen-Nestawy-Nakht, with his well-preserved painted plaster case. Other Egyptian works include stone vessels from 3000 B.C., which are the earliest pieces in the collection, and objects of the 6th and 7th century from the Byzantine Era, which are the latest. Near Eastern art is represented with many works including an important cast copper Sumerian bull's head, stone reliefs from Assyria and Persia, Luristan bronzes, and a Babylonian foundation cylinder. Works from the Mediterranean region include a Mycenaean chalice, an Etruscan tripod, and a 2nd century Roman marble portrait of a wealthy young man. The collection also features objects from the later Roman and post-Roman world such as a 4th century tempera Fayum portrait from Egypt and a 6th or 7th century gold openwork Byzantine bracelet.

Islamic art is represented by a small but select group of ceramics, metalwork, glass, manuscripts, and textiles. These works of art illustrate the geographic breadth of Islam from the Arabian Peninsula to Iran and Iraq, Egypt, the Syro-Palestinian coast, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, India, Pakistan, and China. Highlights from this collection include Iznik ceramics and wall tiles, a 13th-14th century doorknocker from a palace of the Sultan Qalawun in Cairo, Mughal and Persian manuscripts, and the James Ballard collection of rugs, which features a Star Ushak Medallion Rug from Turkey. The Islamic collection also contains many architectural fragments; a pair of painted wooden marquetry doors is exhibited in the galleries.

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