Antiquities
The Ringling’s collections of ancient works of art were mostly acquired from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1928 by John Ringling. Today the collection numbers 3,070 pieces. The collection’s strength is Cypriot art found by Luigi Palma di Cesnola between 1865 and 1876 when he was an American consul on Cyprus. The 1928 purchase also included vessels and fragments of Roman glass from the Gréau collection as well as selected Greek and Etruscan objects. The collection includes ceramics, terracotta sculpture, stone sculpture (mainly limestone), jewelry of gold and silver, bronzes, and glass from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman period (ca. 2500 BCE to 400 CE).