Collectors of Antiquity
The antiquities you see in the Fitzwilliam Museum have a ‘modern’ as well as an ancient history. While the ancient craftsmen created the object, and ancient people using the object defined and shaped its ancient life, the more recent story of excavation, collection and journey to this Museum are also an important part of the object’s biography.
The collectors who owned the antiquities before they came to the Museum are particularly interesting. It is the particular passions, personalities and experiences of these collectors that have shaped the look of each object, and indeed of the whole collection. As well as telling stories about individual personalities who contributed to the Museum collection, these are also stories about the reception of the ancient world in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The following pages focus on the personalities who helped to create the Fitzwilliam Museum’s Greek and Roman Collection:
Collecting Antiquities
Robert Pashley
Edward Daniel Clarke
John Disney
William Martin Leake
