Introduction

he Fitzwilliam Museums Greek

and Roman Gallery presents art
and archaeology through objects
found as far apart as Crete and
Cambridge, with a date range of
about 3000 BC to AD 400. Marble
gods and emperors rub shoulders
with painted pottery; bronze
statuettes, gold jewellery and silver
coins enjoyed by the living fnd a
place alongside coffns and other
monuments to the dead.
The arrangement of the gallery
is underpinned by chronology,
so visitors wanting to follow the
progress of Greek and Roman
civilisation can start with Case
1 and proceed around the room
to Case 13. The central display
presents the most spectacular
pieces of Greek and Roman
funerary sculpture, for which
the chronological tour can be
interrupted at any point. However,
as each section tells its own story,
you may well prefer to choose your
own route round.
Egypt
Ancient
Near
East
Ancient
Near
East
Cyprus
Map
Timeline
2
1
4
7
6 10
8
9
3
5
12
11
14
13
G
r
e
e
c
e
R
o
m
e
There are 693 objects on display. This is about 12% of
the Museums Greek and Roman objects - but because
it includes most of the larger works, its about 70%
of the volume of the collection.
MAP
The gallery was last
refurbished 47 years ago,
in 1963
The Gallery
his display introduces the
objects through the people who
have infuenced their production,
their survival, their arrival in
Cambridge and the way they
look today. Take Greek vases, for
example: Cases 4 and 7 focus on
their ancient users, but in Case 2
the display of fragments excavated
in Egypt in the late 19th century
also highlights their rediscovery.
Case 6 shifts the focus again,
introducing the technology of
vase production, the potters and
painters, and a pair of modern
collectors, Charles Ricketts and
Charles Shannon: on what grounds
did they make their selection? What
methods of restoration did they
favour?
Many of the objects displayed here
can provide windows onto the
worlds of Greece or Rome. But
understanding their later history
too, the way they have been - and
still are - collected, studied and
restored, can help us appreciate
how deeply embedded classical
culture is in our own.
Rebuilding Greece & Rome
he Greek and Roman gallery re-
opened to the public in January
2010, after eighteen months of
renovation. During this period a
great deal was going on behind the
scenes.
on: these included creating a
roughly chronological layout, and
leaving the colossal Caryatid in her
old position high up on the east
wall of the gallery. We also wanted
to move the Pashley sarcophagus
to the centre of the gallery, where
the raking light from the windows
would reveal the depth and beauty
of its carving.
The combined weight
of the two big marble
coffns is 2265 kg
(rather more than that
of an average
family car)
105 m
2
of glass was
used to make the
showcases
Every detail of the new displays,
from the overall layout of the
gallery to the lighting, the colour
scheme and the specifcations
of the plinths and showcases,
was planned by a team from
the Museum, the University of
Cambridge Faculty of Classics, and
external designers and contractors.
Between meetings, emails,
drawings and photographs few
rapidly to and fro for comment and
revision. There were also visits to
other museums and galleries to see
how problems similar to ours had
been tackled elsewhere.

How did we decide on the new
arrangement of the gallery? Some
decisions were made quite early
Other parts of the scheme, like the
grouping of the funerary sculpture
on three steel trees around the
coffns, emerged more gradually.
As the subject and form of each
section of the gallery were fnalised,
detailed plans were made for the
location of individual objects.
At the same time, we were hard
at work preparing the objects
that would eventually fll the new
spaces.
More than 1800
cotton wool swabs
were used during
the treatment of the
pottery coffn in
Case 3
Conservators worked
on the mosaic niche
for 43 days
At the start of the project, the
A.G. Leventis Gallery of Cypriot
Antiquities was turned into a
temporary storeroom for the new
gallery, with extra cases for small
objects and sturdy racks to hold the
sculpture. The condition of every
object was recorded and many of
them were cleaned. We examined
old repairs to assess whether we
should remove, replace or modify
them. Numerous mounts were
made, from simple Perspex rings for
round-bottomed pots to complex,
custom-ftted steel supports for
every piece of sculpture.
The labels are the result of a long
process of research, consultation
and debate. We asked a great many
people how much information we
should include and what sort of
things they wanted to know. What
did we ourselves want to say? What
worked well in other museums?

By early January 2010 all the
large pieces of sculpture had
been carefully positioned in the
gallery by a team of specialist
stone movers. Only then could the
installation of the smaller objects,
the labels and the lighting begin.
Finally we were ready to welcome
visitors back for a completely new
encounter with Greece and Rome.
948 individual spotlights
illuminate the gallery -
890 inside the cases and
58 on the ceiling.
We asked Museum colleagues and others who worked on the new displays
which objects particularly appealed to them.
About 4500 years ago, someone moulded
this simple cup and rested it on a leaf
before fring - perhaps to stop it sticking
to the table, but the pattern left is
beautiful. It shows how moments in
the past can leave impressions on
objects thousands of years later.
Abigail Baker, Antiquities volunteer
When the Cambridge Professor, E D Clarke, took
this sculpture away from Eleusis in Greece in the
early nineteenth century, he said that the locals
thought that their crops would fail if it was removed.
He thought they were primitive peasants. I always
wonder if they were pulling his leg.
Mary Beard, Professor of Classics
There is something very arresting about this
little group. You see frst its simplicity; just some
rolled ropes of wax, squished together between
the fngers to form
the model from
which the bronze
sculpture was
cast. But then you
notice that it is has
a touch of mystery
- two oxen, yoked
to the same plough
but going in opposite
directions?
Julie Dawson, Antiquities conservator
Shadowy eye-sockets rake the
galleryforget running. Wherever
you hide, Zeus messenger sees
you. Other deities have hassles,
but professional Hermes stays aloof.
His narrow lips deliver the divine
message, while his whiskery chin juts
assertively. Quicksilver god, Hermes,
ender of strife, bringer of healing -
forerunner of angels?
Clare Cambridge, Visitor Services
Cycladic cup
GR.7g.1923 (Case 1)
The Eleusis caryatid
GR.1.1865
Bronze model of a ploughing team
GR.4.1932 (Case 5)
Marble head of Hermes
GR.22.1850
Our Personal Choices
It is human nature to feel anxious for news of loved ones undertaking long
journeys. Perhaps the frst owners of this grey marble relief depicting myths
of perilous voyages by sea were reminded of their nearest and dearest whilst
indulging another natural impulse: the love of a good adventure story.
Gill Hart, Outreach and Access Offcer
A tangled mass of
limbs, the sinuous curve
of a serpents body,
a torso gripped by a
muscular arm it is
not immediately clear
what is happening here.
The sea-monster Triton
dominates the scene
and the hero Herakles
is surprisingly almost
hidden, identifable
only by his lion-skin
cape. I love the contrast
between the rather
formal black-fgure
technique and the
turbulent struggle!
Christina Rozeik,
Antiquities conservator
The revolutionary
naturalism of 5th-century
BC Greek art is all the
more remarkable when
carved in miniature and
intaglio (negative form), as
on the die from which this
silver coin was struck. The
seated satyr with a wine
cup, brilliantly posed to fll
the circular feld, illustrates
the all-too-human pursuits
of deities like Dionysos
and his troop.
Timothy Potts, Director
This object connects me to the
ancient world by conjuring up a
vision of a young man looking out
to sea watching some fying fsh. He
sees this dolphin-shaped rock and
decides to carve a fsh on it with his
name and 'I drew this' above it.
Bob Bourne, Antiquities technician
The Lansdowne Relief
Loan Ant.117
Naxian four-drachma silver coin
CM.MC.7559-R (Case 7)
The Dolphin Rock
GR.1.1854
Black-fgure water-jar
GR.33.1864 (Case 7)
While working on the ft-out of the gallery I started to wonder about the
person who frst owned and used such an intricate tool, who designed it, who
made it and why Modern mechanical items show lots of imagination and
skill in their conception and creation. For me, this single object highlights the
skills of the people of the Roman Empire all those years ago.
Keith Spriggs, MER Services
(contractor for the sculpture plinths and mounts)
I really enjoy this piece as I feel that it is possibly the best example of how
far weve come, and yet not very far at all. The ingenuity and the practicality
of the knife remind me that simplicity is often the best option.
Allison Kingsbury, Museum Facilities Manager
I've been to the red sandstone town
of Brough - it's beautiful in summer
but utterly bleak in winter...
What did 'Hermes' think of this far
northern border of the Roman Empire,
so many thousand miles from his
Mediterranean home? At least he died
among Greek-speaking friends, who
carved his affectionate epitaph.
Lucilla Burn, Antiquities curator
How best to advertise expensive perfume?
This scent bottle combines the exotic a black
African, outlandish trousers, a palm tree
with the soldier who is everyones sweetheart.
This black soldier opens his arms to welcome
you into his world, offering mystique while
promising that his perfume wont compromise
your reputation.
Robin Osborne, Professor of Ancient History
Roman Swiss Army Knife
GR.1.1991 (Case 12)
White-ground perfume fask
GR.5.1968 (Case 6)
The Brough Stone
GR.1.1884
'Feet of clay' is what I think when I see this object.
Impractical to the extreme as actual footwear, but
serving a defnite function of another kind, I like to
think that this person's foot was perfectly healthy
and that he / she just wanted new shoes.
Louise Jenkins, Antiquities technician
I constantly return to this wild and
exotic griffns head - a small piece
from a large bronze cauldron -
drawn by its shape and texture.
The gleaming surface of the
serpentine neck is broken by tiny
scales or feathers. The cruelly
curved beak and huge hollow
eyes are truly monstrous, but the
tiny ears are surprisingly tame
(domesticated?).
Kate Cooper, Antiquities curator
Continuing the Classical theme
he infuence of ancient
Greece and Rome can be
felt throughout the Fitzwilliam
Museum. The building itself is a
neo-classical structure. Casts of
classical statues stare down from
niches as you enter the Founders
Building. Female-shaped columns
or caryatids frame the door to
Gallery 3. How do these compare
to their ancient counterpart from
Eleusis? Inside the gallery, a copy
of the Parthenon frieze sets the tone
for viewing the paintings. Pompeo
Batonis 1758 portrait of The 7th
Earl of Northampton shows the Earl
seated at a Roman-style table, on
which stands a bust of Athena, the
Greek goddess of wisdom and war.
In the eighteenth century,
admiration for the Antique was
a crucial mark of education and
culture.
Throughout the centuries, artists
have been inspired by the classical
past, its stories and its physical
remains. In Tarquin and Lucretia
(c. 1571) Titian depicts the rape of
the noblewoman whose suicide
supposedly turned Rome from
monarchy to Republic. Even today,
the ancient world continues to
provide inspiration for painters and
sculptors.
Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787)
The 7th Earl of Northampton
Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) (1480/5-1576)
Tarquin and Lucretia
Clay votive shoe
GR.39.1984 (Case 5)
Bronze cauldron attachment
GR.2.1975 (Case 2)
The J.F. Costopoulos Foundation
The DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund
The Greek Ministry of Culture
The A.G. Leventis Foundation
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The Schilizzi Foundation
Denis and Minouche Severis
Trinity College, Cambridge,
and other individual benefactors
All images The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Generously supported by:
The Fitzwilliam Museum's Education Department runs specially tailored
sessions for school parties in the Greek and Roman and Egyptian galleries.
For information about these and other activities please visit:
www.ftzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/dept/education/ or ring 01223 332904
To fnd out more about the gallery project visit:
www.ftzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/dept/ant/greeceandrome/