All human life

At the end of the tour he was asked which was his favourite sculpture. He smiled and led us back through the various galleries of the museum. We travelled back in time from the modern era, through the renaissance and the dark ages to the Roman era. He didn’t stop as he took us across the lobby and out through the main entrance. We walked across the courtyard and he turned round and directed us to look up at the frieze on the facing of the portico. It was a long, complex depiction of conquest and battle. A tangle of limbs and weapons, of soldiers dying and victorious. But, hidden amongst the strident martial images, were more peaceful notes - people playing music or making love. A cat stealing a fish from a merchant’s basket.