Italian culture, 700-100 B.C., was the basis upon which grew up the antique culture of the slave-owning society of Rome. Continue reading →

In 1830 soldiers digging stone on the steppe near Kerch by chance came across, beneath the Kul-Oba burial-mound (Tartar “Hill of Ashes”), a grave dating from the fourth century B.C. containing many valuable objects, among them a large number of gold articles of Greek origin. Continue reading →

The art of the archaic and early classical periods, 800-450 B.C. The oldest examples of Greek art in the exhibition are some ninth – eighth century clay vessels with geometric patterns painted in black or reddish brown pigment. Continue reading →

The relics in the Hermitage of the culture of classical antiquity include a very rich collection of vases, carved stones, jewellery and terra-cotta, a rare collection of Roman portrait busts, and examples of Greek sculpture. Continue reading →