The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon houses one of the world's finest private art collections, amassed over a lifetime by oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, one of the 20th century's wealthiest men. Gulbenkian's motto was 'only the best' which is mirrored in a magnificent collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Asian and Europeanart, comprising some 6,000 treasures. When the museum opened in 1969, Gulbenkian's wish that all his exhibits from around the world should be accommodated under one roof came true. Joao Castel-Branco Pereira offers us his personal selection from this extraordinarily rich collection, explaining the reasons for his choices.