art collection

Also known as: art collecting

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Category: Arts & Culture

Key People:: Roger Brown; Christina; Katherine Dreier; Julien Levy; Belle da Costa Greene

Related Topics:: How to invest in art and collectibles: From pastime to portfolio; antique; the arts; Egyptomania; antiquarianism

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art collection, an accumulation of works of art by a private individual or a public institution. Art collecting has a long history, and most of the world’s art museums grew out of great private collections formed by royalty, the aristocracy, or the wealthy. A form of art collecting existed in the earliest civilizations—Egypt, Babylonia, China, and India—as arrays of precious objects and artworks stored in temples, tombs, and sanctuaries, as well as in the palaces and treasuries of kings. Such collections frequently displayed booty taken from conquered peoples and served to exalt the power and glory of a king or ...(100 of 934 words)

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