Explore the collection of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art. Iconic sculptures, marble, bronze, juxtaposed with modern and contemporary works.
Art of Ancient Greece and Rome
Unknown artist, Juno, Roman, head: Trajanic or Hadrianic period, 1st–2nd century CE; body: early Imperial period, late 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE. Marble. Museum purchase with funds donated by George D. and Margo Behrakis.
Close to Exekias, two-handled jar (amphora) (detail), Greek, Archaic period, about 540–530 BCE. Ceramic, black figure. Henry Lillie Pierce Residuary Fund and Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900
Unknown artist, Mantiklos “Apollo,” Greek, late Geometric or early Orientalizing period, about 700–675 BCE. Bronze. Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900.
Unknown artist, earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot, Greek, Northern Greek, late Classical or early Hellenistic period, about 350–325 BCE. Gold and enamel. Henry Lillie Pierce Fund.
Unknown artist, chalice, Byzantine, early Byzantine period, 6th century CE. Silver. Edward J. and Mary S. Holmes Fund.
Unknown artist, sarcophagus or large urn with cover, Italic, Etruscan, Hellenistic period, late 3rd century BCE. Limestone (possibly travertine). Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912.
Unknown artist, Juno, Roman, head: Trajanic or Hadrianic period, 1st–2nd century CE; body: early Imperial period, late 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE. Marble. Museum purchase with funds donated by George D. and Margo Behrakis.
Close to Exekias, two-handled jar (amphora) (detail), Greek, Archaic period, about 540–530 BCE. Ceramic, black figure. Henry Lillie Pierce Residuary Fund and Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900
Unknown artist, Mantiklos “Apollo,” Greek, late Geometric or early Orientalizing period, about 700–675 BCE. Bronze. Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900.
Unknown artist, earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot, Greek, Northern Greek, late Classical or early Hellenistic period, about 350–325 BCE. Gold and enamel. Henry Lillie Pierce Fund.
Unknown artist, chalice, Byzantine, early Byzantine period, 6th century CE. Silver. Edward J. and Mary S. Holmes Fund.
Unknown artist, sarcophagus or large urn with cover, Italic, Etruscan, Hellenistic period, late 3rd century BCE. Limestone (possibly travertine). Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912.
The Art of Ancient Greece and Rome department is home to one of the most recognized and distinguished encyclopedic collections of classical art in the world. The more than 17,000 works in the collection range in date from the Bronze Age (about 2800 BCE) to the Early Byzantine period (600 CE) and were made, used, and seen principally in the Mediterranean but also elsewhere from Afghanistan to Britain. The collection is distinctive for its quality and the large number of singular, even iconic works; it is especially strong in Greek and Roman coinage and gems, Greek vases, and Roman portraiture.
Some of the Greek and Roman art was acquired through the Museum’s participation in the 1880s excavations led by the Archaeological Institute of America at Assos (Turkey) and the Egypt Exploration Society at Naukratis (Egypt); most was purchased on the European art market, beginning in 1885 under the leadership of Edward Robinson, the first classical curator in a US art museum, and through the agency of antiquities collector/dealer and Boston native Edward Perry Warren. Nearly 70 percent of the current collection had entered the Museum by 1914, the year World War I broke out in Europe. Individual works of art and their collecting history (also known as provenance) are exceptionally well researched and the collection has been extensively documented in publications.
Over the last decade, nearly half the classical galleries on the second floor of the George D. and Margo Behrakis Wing for Art of the Ancient World have undergone renovations. In late 2021, the MFA opened five freshly imagined spaces dedicated to gods and goddesses, Byzantine art, early Greek art, Roman portraiture, and contemporary art in relation to ancient Greece and Rome. These galleries tell new stories using some of the oldest works in the Museum’s collection, reflecting our time through the art of the past.
Highlights
Curators Circle
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Related Galleries
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Juno
A Colossal Roman Statue
The amazing story of a monumental statue If this monumental Roman statue could speak, she would tell of travels from a theater in ancient Rome to the...