# Is any ancient art judged by critics today as pure trash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-ancient-art-judged-by-critics-today-as-pure-trash/616082 "2012-03-17T22:32:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-ancient-art-judged-by-critics-today-as-pure-trash/616082/41 "2012-03-19T13:49:38Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Why do you think that that particular statue is the equivalent, in its own time, of a Black Velvet painting and not a Rembrandt? I bet the people buying Black Velvet paintings don’t think they’re tacky crap, they’re just looking for something appropriate to hang opposite their elegant gold veined mirror wall. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-ancient-art-judged-by-critics-today-as-pure-trash/616082/42 "2012-03-19T23:02:58Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > Isn’t that why archaeologists go to so much trouble to understand where things are found, instead of just digging them up and hauling them away? Placement says a lot - it seems safe to assume that the stuff in King Tut’s tomb was highly valued. Quite true, though you must make some inferences. Since a lot of ancient Greek writing has been well preserved, I wonder if any of it directly speaks of the tastefulness/tastelessness of art at the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-ancient-art-judged-by-critics-today-as-pure-trash/616082.md?page=2)