All roads lead to Rome

Thomas, 14th Earl of Arundel, amassed the first large collection of classical sculptures in the 17th century. Britain's passion for antiquities has endured to this day, albeit with a different approach, as Carla Passino discovers

-  Carla Passino

PITY the Roman legionaries flung by the whims of the Emperor to Britannia, where the sky from frequent clouds and rain is dull and hazy', according to Tacitus. 'Legion', an exhibition opening on February 1 at the British Museum, explores the Roman army's life in provinces such as the oft-maligned Britain, about which the poet Florus wrote: 'I don't want to be a Caesar/Stroll about among the Britons... And endure the Scythian winters.' (Hadrian, the Caesar in question, replied tersely he would rather be himself than Florus and 'Stroll about among the taverns/ Lurk about among the cook-shops,/And endure the round fat insects'.)

But if the Romans didn't always love this country, Britain has long loved their legacy and the antiquities that go with it. Although British collectors initially lagged behind those on the Continent, Stuart patricians began closing the gap, amassing with gusto ancient coins (Prince Henry) and classical sculptures (Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, whose namesake Marbles are now at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford). Interest in classical and other ancient artefacts boomed with the Grand Tour, continued through the 19th century (leading German classical scholar Adolf Michaelis to write 'no other country in Europe can... boast of such a wealth of Private Collections of antique works of art as England') and endures today, albeit with some changes. Lately, not least as a result of controversies over the way in which pieces were acquired in the past, 'buyers are looking for objects that have strong documented provenance,' explains Claudio Corsi of Christie's. 'It provides greater transparency in the legitimate marketplace for these magnificent objects.'