The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki contains sculptures coming from various sites in Macedonia and Thrace, even from Eastern Thrace; it also contains sculptures from private collections and confiscations. As a consequence, some of the sculptures in the Museum are from other areas of Greece. Most of them, however, are finds from the city and the prefecture of Thessaloniki. While many come from excavations, others are chance finds.
Special efforts were devoted to photographing the works published in the catalogue as correctly and as thoroughly as possible. Every free-standing sculpture has been photographed from all four sides, except for a very few cases in which one side could not be photographed. In some cases, the photographs of the four faces are supplemented by photographs of details.
The bibliography includes all the publications in which each monument is discussed or mentioned.
The present condition of each sculpture is described in detail. Particular attention is paid to the technical characteristics, which in some cases are a useful guide for the reconstruction or interpretation of the monument.