From the 19th-century acquisitions of Asian material by Methodist missionaries, to the early 20th-century acquisitions, to the more recent acquisitions developed to support the University's strengths in Latin American, African, Classical, and Middle Eastern Studies, the Museum has a distinguished history.
Housed today in a landmark building designed by architect Michael Graves, the Michael C. Carlos Museum maps an exemplary breadth of ancient cultures, customs, and legacies. The collection consists of some 17,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Rome, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, as well as works on paper from the Renaissance to the present day.
Additionally, the Carlos exhibition calendar is considered to be one of the most international of any university museum.