Figures from the fire: J. Pierpont Morgan's ancient bronzes at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

This beautiful publication presents a collection of exquisite ancient bronzes from theWadsworth Atheneum that were collected by John Pierpont Morgan. It accompanies aspecial exhibition of the bronzes at Bowdoin College.This fully illustrated catalogue presents highlights of the ancient bronzes that werecollected by J. Pierpont Morgan and are currently in the collection of the WadsworthAtheneum. Purchased between 1904 and 1916, the bronzes were given to the museumby Morgan’s son in 1917. Morgan was a passionate collector and spent years of his lifeacquiring exquisite works of art. He had a discerning eye and discriminating taste, and hisdriving motivation was to find works of quality and beauty. His Greek and Roman bronzesinclude a range of figure and vessel types: males and females, gods and mortals, humansand animals and hybrid mythological creatures, free-standing statuettes, and furnitureembellishments. This is the first exhibition and publication to consider the bronzes as agroup.Morgan chose each work of art for its exquisite craftsmanship, its quality ofcomposition and execution, and its preservation. These objects represent the very best ofancient Mediterranean bronze sculpture, with carefully rendered clothing, hair, and fur,and adorned with inlays of silver and other luxury materials. Showcasing different typesof objects and figures that were made in bronze in the ancient world, this exhibition andbook demonstrate the high level of quality that these works of art could achieve.The bronzes are important not only for their provenance and place in America’s‘Gilded Age’, but also as highly significant individual works of art that represent the bestof ancient bronzeworking. New high-resolution photography of each work of art will allowreaders to appreciate their intricate details of craftsmanship, including copper and silverinlay. This focused publication will also present current research on these exceptionalobjects to help readers better understand how they were made and what they representedin an ancient context.