For this month's #ConnectingCollections, join our conservation team in the lab as they prepare a fragmentary Roman sarcophagus featuring three Muses: Erato (muse of love poetry), Thalia (Comedy), and Euterpe (Music and song), and a seated woman for the Getty Villa's galleries.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ In Greek mythology, the Muses were goddesses of poetic inspiration and the creative arts. Known as the nine daughters of Mnemosyne, or Memory, they were popular images on Roman sarcophagus reliefs, often with portraits of the deceased in their midst.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ This fragmentary sarcophagus was on display when the Getty Villa Museum first opened in 1974 and remained on view into the 1980s, but had since been in storage. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ When conservators examined the crates after nearly three decades, they found the figures in poor condition. They had been removed from their masonry display, which compromised much of the original conservation treatments.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ To better understand the conditions and differences between ancient...