Introduction
Welcome to the Eurasian Steppe Bronzes exhibit of objects from the Miami University Art Museum collection, including ancient bronzes from the Eurasian steppe region in the second millennium BCE to the first century CE.
This collection was donated to the museum by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, which was founded in 1965 by Arthur M. Sackler, M.D. (1913-1987). Dr. Sackler was a research psychiatrist, medical publisher, and an avid collector of art, choosing to establish this foundation in order to make his expansive art collections accessible to the general public. The Foundation collection itself consists of over 1,100 works that range from bronzes and ceramics to Buddhist stone sculptures and Chinese manuscripts; these works were contributed to the collection through purchases made by Dr. Sackler as well as gifts from the Sackler family.
Since 1973, the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation has organized several exhibitions of the Foundation’s and Arthur M. Sackler Collections, even publishing various scholarly catalogues on these collections. The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation has donated individual art pieces as well as full collections to various museums across the United States (as well as to made donations and contributions to international museums and other programs) and has several pieces of art on loan to assorted museums, namely the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C., which is part of the Smithsonian's national museums of Asian art.
Initial exhibit created by Audrey Fanshaw, Fall/Spring Intern 2018/2019