"The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the richest and most varied representation, outside Cyprus, of Cypriot antiquities. These works were purchased by the newly established Museum in the mid-1870s from General Luigi Palma di Cesnola, a Civil War cavalry officer who had amassed the objects while serving as the American consul on Cyprus." "This catalogue is published on the occasion of the opening of the Museum's four permanent galleries for ancient art from Cyprus. It is also the first scholarly publication since 1914 devoted to the Cesnola Collection (which totals approximately six thousand objects). The volume features some five hundred pieces from the collection, illustrated in new color photography. Dating from about 2500 B.C. to about A.D. 300, these works rank among the finest examples of Cypriot art from the prehistoric, Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. Among the objects are monumental sculpture; weapons, tools, and domestic utensils; vases, lamps, and ritual paraphernalia; dedicatory figurines; engraved sealstones and jewelry; and luxury objects."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A history of the Department of Greek and Roman art -- Floor plan of the galleries of the Department of Greek and Roman art -- Art of the Neolithic and the Aegean bronze age : ca. 6000- B.C. -- Art of geometric and archaic Greece : ca. 1050-480 B.C. -- Art of classical Greece : ca. 480-323 B.C. -- Art of the Hellenistic Age : ca. 323-31 B.C. -- Art of Cyprus : ca. 3900 B.C.-ca. A.D. 100 -- Art of Etruria : ca. 900-100 B.C. -- Art of the Roman Empire : ca. 31 B.C.-A.D. 330 -- Notes on the works of art : Art of the Neolithic and the Aegean bronze age -- Art of geometric and archaic Greece -- Art of classical Greece -- Art of the Hellenistic age -- Art of Cyprus -- Art of Etruria -- Art of the Roman Empire -- Concordance -- Index of works of art

Mr. Casson's book is designed to show that the prehistoric and Hellenic sites in the island deserve much more notice than they have received. Mr. Casson emphasises the peculiarities of Cypriote art and usage; the Greeks evidently had reason to regard the Cypriote " character " or style as exceptional. Mr. Casson's illustrations of sculptures at Nicosia and in London show that his tempered praise of Cypriote art is justified.