The Greek and Roman Collections
Sculpture Promenade 2010
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, until 28 January 2011
Virgil was wrong — don’t be afraid of Greeks bearing gifts, particularly if you’re a British regional museum. While our government has cut its grant to the Fitzwilliam by two per cent, Greek zillionaires have stepped admirably into the breach to subsidise the renovation of Cambridge’s heart-stopping Greek and Roman gallery, untouched since the Sixties. The Greek Ministry of Culture has chipped in, too; it may want the Elgin Marbles back but it’s happy to pay for Cambridge’s classical treasures to stay put, even while the Greek economy is on the skids.
Its prized euros have been well spent. The Fitzwilliam’s classical collection is the third best in the country, after the British Museum and the Ashmolean. Like the Ashmolean, the Fitzwilliam has benefited from several centuries’ worth of generous classics-obsessed professors and alumni.
Chief among those generous bequests is a vast, delicate marble bust of Antinous as Dionysus, vine leaves and grapes carved into his straggly hair.
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