The Ancient World
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By the time Sir William Burrell gifted his collection – at this point totalling some 6,000 pieces – to the city of Glasgow in 1944, there were parts of it that he regarded as in need of strengthening. He considered the most important of these to be ancient civilizations. Between 1944 and 1957, Burrell acquired some 750 antiquities, many of them at his own expense, and which he donated to the city. His acquisitions at this time come from the cradle of Western civilization, the great civilizations of Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.
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The finest of these antiquities can be seen today in some of the Burrell Collection’s most contemplative galleries, the first that you encounter when walking around the building. Bathed in the cool northern light of floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the trees of Pollok Park are treasures from Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome. These works of art from the remote past are redolent of myth and legend, and testimony to the wealth and sophistication of the ancient world. Maybe most impressive of all, however, is the collection of Islamic works: opposite medieval jugs and ceremonial bowls hang some of the most stunning examples of the Islamic prayer rug. These complex, detailed rugs, weaving together vivid colours and varied Islamic motifs, are truly something to behold: jewels in the Burrell’s collection.