Ancient and World Cultures Collection August 20, 2008

WCMA has substantial holdings in the ancient art of Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome. Almost 700 works, 6 percent of the collection, represent art of world cultures, with a strength in south Asian work. With the 1993 bequest of 60 important works of Indian art, WCMA's collection of Rajput and Mughal paintings of the 17th to 19th centuries, already significant, has become the foremost college museum collection of such art. The collection also includes fine examples of 17th-century Chinese painting and calligraphy and a collection of African art and artifacts, developed in conjunction with specific college courses. The African collection, started in the 1970s, has been enlarged by a significant number of gifts.