This museum was first conceived in 1523, when Cardinal Domenico Grimani, a noted humanist, left his collection of original Greek (5th-1st centuries BC) and Roman (mostly from the imperial era) marbles to the republic. Highlights include the statue of Kore (420 BC), an Attic original known as Abbondanza Grimani; the 1st-century BC Ara Grimani, an elaborate Hellenistic altar stone with a bacchanalian scene; a tiny but refined 1st-century BC crystal woman's head, which some say depicts Cleopatra; and a remarkable gallery of Roman busts. Don't miss the small collection of Egyptian and Assiro-Babylonian relics, including two mummies and a brick bearing the name of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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