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A copy of this 2nd-century AD bronze masterpiece has been placed in the centre of the Capitoline star; the original is displayed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori.

The collection’s most renowned piece conveys great pathos. It is probably a 1st-century AD Roman copy of a Hellenistic bronze from the 3rd century BC.

The shimmering goddess of love gets a room of her own. This fine 1st-century BC copy of a Praxiteles’s Aphrodite from the 4th century BC shows her risen voluptuously from her bath, attempting to cover herself, as if reacting to someone’s arrival.

Originally the centrepiece of a floor decoration in Hadrian’s Villa, this jewel-like composition uses tiny marble and glass chips (tesserae ) to achieve a sense of texture and volume.

This hirsute reclining giant was originally a river god, and is believed to come from the Forum of Augustus. A Renaissance sculptor added the attributes of the god Ocean and placed him here, as overseer of this courtyard fountain.

Used to adorn an ancient grove or fountain, this young mythological creature is a copy of a 4th-century BC original by Praxiteles. His pointed ears, panther-skin cape and flute are attributes of the nature-god Pan. The statue inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Marble Faun (see Nathaniel Hawthorne).

Roman copies of idealized Greek portrait busts of the greatest Hellenic poets and thinkers fill this room, including the blind epic poet Homer.

The god of love embracing the personification of the soul, the two lovers are eternally united. This Roman copy of a Hellenistic original has inspired many sentimental variations.

This floor decoration of two Greek theatre masks is probably from the 2nd century AD. The use of perspective, light and shadow is highly skilled, employing small squares of coloured marble to create dramatic effects.

This copy of a Hellenistic original from the 3rd century BC is from a series of sculptures depicting the wages of vice.