Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen is an important northern European collection of ancient sculpture and objects. It adds a museum where Greek and Roman sculpture can be read together with Egyptian and Near Eastern material.
The Glyptotek is useful for portraiture, the body, statues, collecting and museum restoration. It shows how ancient sculpture became a central language of the European museum.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity: Façade principale du Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhague.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity: Standing Anacreon from Monte Calvo in The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen Denmark Cast by P. P. Caproni and Brother in the Boston’s Symphony Hall.Collection and Historical Context
Like other glyptotheks, this museum should not be read as an archaeological map of one region. Its strength lies in comparison of sculptural types and in the history of the museum view of antiquity.
Work with this museum requires three levels to be kept separate: display, catalogue and archaeological context. The display shows the object's form and scale, the catalogue clarifies date, material, inventory number and collection history, while context explains whether the object came from a house, cemetery, sanctuary, fort, workshop or urban monument.
A single famous exhibit is not always typical. Series are more reliable: several vessels of one type, a group of inscriptions, a funerary assemblage, repeated military fittings or several related sculptural solutions. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity should therefore be read not only through its most famous objects, but through the links between galleries, collections and findspots.
Display and Main Materials
Greek and Roman sculpture, portraits, sarcophagi, Egyptian and Near Eastern antiquities, and the museum's handling of original, copy, restoration and collecting history deserve attention.
In the museum display it is important to look not only at individual masterpieces but at the neighbourhood of objects: sculpture, inscriptions, pottery, coins, architectural fragments and everyday items often explain one another better than an isolated photograph.
Relief of a hoplite (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek IN 1508). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Marble statue of the Roman emperor Trajan in armour (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark, Inv.-Nr. 1584). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Statue of the goddess Sekhmet, Ancient Egyptian art in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 20220618 1029 6989. Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.Related Topics
- Museums of Antiquity
- Glyptothek and State Collections of Antiquities, Munich
- Capitoline Museums and Antiquity
- The Louvre and Antiquity
- Roman Archaeological Sources
Official Pages and Catalogues
Statue of Silvanus, god of woods and wild fields, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (15725189801). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Sculpture, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, 20220618 1020 6980. Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Sculpture in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (1). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Sculpture in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (2). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Sculpture in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (3). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Sculpture in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (4). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Sculpture in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (5). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Danish sculpture gallery - Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek - Copenhagen - DSC09503. Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Grave relief for Claudia Pieris, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, 20220618 1046 7016. Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Relief from the palace of the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud, 9th cent. BCE, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (4) (36023083590). Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Relief of a hoplite (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek IN 1508) detail. Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.
Votive relief Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek IN839. Object from the collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Antiquity.Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
