Antiquities

Votive Statue of Eannatum, Prince of Lagash
Southern Iraq, Sumer
Early Dynastic II, 2600-2340 B.C.
Copyright © The Menil Collection

“Retracing the history of man fascinates me, as though some clue to our existence could thus be found,” Dominique de Menil once wrote. The Menil’s selection of antique art embodies this philosophical stance. Including works from Paleolithic to later pre-Christian eras, the collection consists of historical material primarily from Europe and Asia Minor. The Mediterranean tradition, while not completely excluding Greco-Roman art of the Classical period, emphasizes pre- and post-Classical cultures from Bronze Age Asia Minor, the Cycladic Islands, and Archaic Greece. Also emphasized are Hellenistic and Roman art from Asia Minor and Egypt.

The notable Paleolithic holdings feature sophisticated objects from an otherwise hunter-gatherer culture. Exhibited are incised bones delicately engraved with deer and horses, such as Reindeer, dated 22,000–15,000 B.C., the earliest work in the collection. From the Early Dynastic II period come archaizing statues such as Votive Statue of Eannatum, Prince of Lagash; on the back of this highly stylized alabaster model is an authentic inscription: ‘Eannatum.’ Exceptional are two Roman-Egyptian mummy portraits, Portrait of a Man and Portrait of a Young Woman, dated about. A.D. 150–200. These haunting works exemplify the merging of Egyptian art with Mediterranean influences that occurred before the seventh century A.D.

Also collected were important prehistoric European antiquities from the later Iron Age or early Celtic period, spanning a period from the fifth century B.C. to the first century A.D. Noteworthy are two bronze brooches from the Tyrol, significant in their intriguing documentation of early Celtic art. Further, a small bronze openwork plaque, Phalera, is one of ten known quadrilobe mounts to be found in southern England. This work reveals not only the technological achievements, but also the artistic talents of the metalworkers of the second Iron Age.