The New Galleries of Ancient Art at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

In a ranking of North American museum collections of ancient art, the Walters Art Museum (formerly called Gallery) in Baltimore places in the top tier. Its extensive Egyptian holdings are especially rich in Late Period stone sculptures, its Greek collection includes superb small-scale bronzes and vases, its Etruscan material is renowned for its range and quality, and in the Roman section it can boast some of the finest sarcophagi in the world. The recent reopening of the ancient collection after an extensive building renovation presents an appropriate opportunity both to assess the collection and to consider how the Walters shapes contemporary perceptions of the art of antiquity.