Highlights: Art of Ancient Middle East

The Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection of ancient Middle Eastern Art is stewarded by the Department of South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities. This collection celebrates the art, architecture, and cultural endeavors from west and Central Asia, a vast geographic region that stretches from the modern country of Turkey to the Indus Valley of present-day Pakistan. Dating from circa 4500 BCE to 800 CE, and representing ancient civilizations such as the Assyrian, Achaemenid, and Sasanian, this collection illuminates how centuries of trade and exchange impacted the region’s cultural legacy. As a noteworthy strength in this collection, the Cincinnati Art Museum is proud to care for architectural fragments from Khirbet et-Tannur. As stewards of the most significant collection of Nabataean material outside of Jordan, CAM is committed to the research, conservation, and display of these works for visitors and scholars alike.