Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 27073

Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus

Book
Myres, J.L. (1914) Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 596 pp.
Sinkankas/Born No.: NIS/NIB  |  RWHL
gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, collection, comparanda, catalog, Cyprus, Greek, Greece
This handbook is intended to serve as a guide to the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus, or more precisely to those parts of it which are exhibited in the Cesnola Room and other departments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It offers at the same time an introduction to the study of the ancient arts and industries which the Cesnola Collection was formed to illustrate. But it is not in the strict sense a catalogue of the collection, though all the more important objects are described separately; for many of less individual interest are treated summarily and in groups, and the large “student series,” which is held in reserve, is not included at all. Nor is it a formal textbook of Cypriote archaeology, since it makes reference to objects in other collections only when these directly illustrate something which is exhibited here, and it gives only the most essential references to the literature. Those who wish to pursue the study further are referred to the Selected Bibliography (p. xliii), and to the exhaustive bibliographical works included in it. Above all, they are invited to study the collection carefully for themselves, in the light of these outlines and of their own common sense. Those who have the means, or the opportunity, will remember also that there is still much to be discovered in Cyprus itself, by anyone who has skill and zeal.