Museum of Antiquities

The project which became the “Museum of Antiquities” began in 1974. It was initiated by ancient historian Michael Swan and art historian Nicholas Gyenes, both professors of the University of Saskatchewan. The collection began as a small group of replicas purchased from the Louvre, but grew to include replicas from other museums and workshops, as well as original artifacts. The collection grew through the generosity of the University and private benefactors until, in 1981, new facilities in the Murray Library were acquired, and the collection was officially opened as the “Museum of Antiquities.” In 2005, the ever-expanding Museum moved to a larger space in the newly-renovated College Building now known as the Peter MacKinnon Building. The long-term aim of the Museum is to offer a reliable and critical account of the artistic accomplishments of major Western civilizations and epochs from approximately 3000 BC to AD 1500. The first step in this endeavor was the presentation of a dependable picture of ancient Greco-Roman sculptural art, as it has heavily influenced much later Western art. The present collection focuses on items from the Middle Helladic (c. 1500 BC) to the Late Antique (c. AD 500) period. In recent years, it has been expanded to include pieces from the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt.