Cohen Memorial Hall, new home of the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery. Photo by Steve Green, courtesy Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery in Nashville is digitizing its permanent collection to make it accessible to researchers and the general public.
Visitors to the gallery website at www.vanderbilt.edu/gallery can now link into the collection’s database and browse the collection. Photographs of 25 percent of the collection of 5,500 objects have been added so far, and work continues.
The gallery has a permanent collection of Asian and African art; 19th and 20th century European and American paintings and sculpture; Egyptian, Greek and Roman art; medieval sculpture; early Italian Renaissance paintings; and an extensive collection of historic and contemporary works on paper.
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Examples of 3rd century Roman coins: (top row) Elagabalus (silver, 218-222 AD), Trajan Decius (silver, 249-251 AD), Gallienus (billon, 253-268 AD, Asian mint); (bottom row) Gallienus (copper, 253-268 AD), Aurelian (silvered, 270-275 AD), barbarous radiate (copper), barbarous radiate (copper). Image courtesy Maximus Rex. LONDON (AP) – A treasure hunter has found about 52,500 Roman coins, one of the largest such finds ever in Britain, officials said Thursday.
The hoard, which was valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor.
Dave Crisp, a treasure hunter using a metal detector, located the coins in April in a field in southwestern England, according to the Somerset County Council and the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
The coins were buried in a large jar about a foot (30 centimeters) deep and weighed about 160 kilograms (350 pounds) in all.
Crisp said a “funny signal” from his metal detector prompted him to start digging.
“I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little radial, a little bronze Roman coin – very, very small, about the size of my fingernail,” Crisp said in an interview with the BBC.
He recovered about 20 coins before discovering that they were in a pot, and realized he needed expert help.
“Because Mr. Crisp resisted the temptation to dig up the coins it has allowed archaeologists from Somerset County Council to carefully excavate the pot and its contents, ensuring important evidence about the circumstances of its burial was preserved,” said Anna Booth, of Somerset Council.
Somerset Coroner Tony Williams scheduled an inquest Thursday to formally determine whether the find is subject to the Treasure Act, a formal step toward determining a price to be paid by any institution which wishes to acquire the hoard.
The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and will reveal more about the nation’s history in the third century, said Roger Bland, of the British Museum. The find includes more than 760 coins from the reign of Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and ruled until he was assassinated in 293.
“The late third century A.D. was a time when Britain suffered barbarian invasions, economic crises and civil wars,” Bland said.
“Roman rule was finally stabilized when the Emperor Diocletian formed a coalition with the Emperor Maximian, which lasted 20 years. This defeated the separatist regime which had been established in Britain by Carausius.
“This find presents us with an opportunity to put Carausius on the map. School children across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but are never taught about Carausius our lost British emperor.”
The discovery of the Roman coins follows last year’s discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins in central England. The so-called Staffordshire Hoard included more than 1,500 objects, mostly made from gold.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a department of the British Museum which deals with treasure finds.
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SAQQARA, Egypt (AP) – Egyptian archaeologists on Thursday unveiled a newly-unearthed double tomb with vivid wall paintings in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo, saying it could be the start for uncovering a vast cemetery in the area.
The tomb includes two false doors with colorful paintings depicting the two people buried there, a father and a son who served as heads of the royal scribes, said Abdel-Hakim Karar, a top archaeologist at Saqqara.
“The colors of the false door are fresh as if it was painted yesterday,” Karar told reporters.
Humidity had destroyed the sarcophagus of the father, Shendwas, while the tomb of the son, Khonsu, was robbed in antiquity, he said.
Also insribed on the father’s false door was the name of Pepi II, whose 90-year reign is believed to be the longest of the pharaohs. The inscription dates the double tomb to the 6th dynasty, which marked the beginning of the decline of the Old Kingdom, also known as the age of pyramids.
Egypt’s antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, said the new finds were “the most distinguished tombs ever found from the Old Kingdom,” because of their “amazing colors.” He said the area, if excavated, could unveil the largest cemetery of ancient Egypt.
The paintings on the false doors identified Shendwas and Khonsu as royal scribes and “supervisors of the mission,” meaning they were in charge of delegations overseeing the supply of materials used for pyramids construction.
A single shaft from the surface led down to the father’s tomb, from which a side passage led to that of the son, with the false door with paintings of Khonsu in front of an offering table.
Hawass pointed to a handful of duck-shaped artifacts and a small obelisk made of limestone. Such obelisks were often buried with the dead in the 5th and 6th dynasties to show their veneration for the sun god, Ra. “These artifacts were found at the end of the burial shaft, at 18 meters (yards) depth, but we covered it up,” Hawass told reporters.
Karar said that so far six tombs dating back to the end of the Old Kingdom have been unearthed since digging in the area three began three years ago. Work started on the double tomb five weeks ago.
The tombs lie just west of Saqqara’s most famed pyramid, the Step Pyramid of King Djoser, which is surrounded by a large burial ground, contain tombs from Egypt’s earliest history up through Roman times.
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The Three Graces Roman, Imperial period, second century A.D. Copy of a Greek work of the second century B.C. Marble; 48 7/16 x 39 3/8 in. (123 x 100 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Philodoroi, Lila Acheson Wallace, The Jaharis Family Foundation Inc., Annette de la Renta, Shelby White, The Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Moran, Jeanette and Jonathan Rosen, Malcolm Wiener and Nicholas S. Zoullas Gifts, 2010 (2010.260) NEW YORK — An ancient Roman group statue of great importance and beauty—a depiction of the Three Graces of Greek mythology—has been acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, it was announced today by Thomas P. Campbell, the Museum’s Director. The marble sculpture is a second-century A.D. Roman copy of a Greek work from the second century B.C. Discovered in Rome in 1892, the statue has been on loan to the Museum from a private collector since 1992, and has been on view in the center of the Leon Levy and Shelby White Sculpture Court since it opened in 2007.
In making the announcement, Mr. Campbell commented on the history of the composition: “The charming dance-like pose of the Three Graces—who stand in alternating front and back view, with their hands on each other’s shoulders—is one of the most famous and enduring compositions known from antiquity. It was first developed in the second century B.C., continued in popularity in the Renaissance, and has been influential during every subsequent period of Western European art. Thanks to the generous support of several Trustees and other good friends of the institution, we are delighted to announce the addition of this superb, extremely well-preserved, and beautifully carved work to the Met’s encyclopedic collection, where it will continue to delight and inspire future generations.”
The sculpture is on view in the center of the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court, where it is displayed with other Roman sculptures derived from Classical and Hellenistic models.
The Three Graces are Aglaia (Beauty), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Abundance). They bestow what is most pleasurable and beneficent in nature and society. In mythology, they play an attendant role; their closest connection is with Aphrodite, whom they serve as handmaidens. For ancient authors, the triad also served as an allegory for the cycle of giving, accepting, and returning favors, which were described by the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca as the “chief bond of human society.”
After its discovery in Rome in 1892 near the ancient Forum of Nerva and Vespasian’s Temple of Peace, this sculpture entered the collection of Joachim Ferroni and has since attracted much scholarly attention.
The Three Graces traditionally are shown as nudes with water jars covered by drapery at their feet, a representation that ultimately derives from the famous classical statue of Aphrodite by Praxiteles located at Knidos.
Rare Simon & Halbig character doll from the Roman Numeral Series, marked ‘Simon & Halbig S & H I. 16’ and stamped on back in red ‘01/0.’ Estimate: $12,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Frasher’s Doll Auction.
CHICAGO – More than 300 lots of choice dolls, including French bebes and German characters will be sold by Frasher’s Doll Auctions at their July 17 sale titled Mademoiselles & Mignonettes. The auction will be conducted in the Rosemont Convention Center Hotel at Chicago O’Hare Airport beginning at 10:30 a.m. Central.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
The auction features the private collections of two longtime United Federation of Doll Clubs members whose individual interests spanned the eras from 1850 to the heyday of the 1950s Barbie icon.
One of the starlets of the auction is a rare Simon & Halbig character doll from the doll maker’s Roman Numeral Series. The doll is marked “Simon & Halbig S & H I. 16.” It has a bisque socket head with blue sleep eyes and painted lashes and a closed mouth. In excellent condition with its factory dress and underclothing and original wig, the doll is expected to sell for $12,000-$15,000.
An early Jumeau Premiere Bebe with pale bisque and delicate facial decoration, in excellent original condition, is estimated at $5,000-$6,000.
An all-original Mattel Barbie no. 2 complete with striped swimsuit, black high heels, earrings, eye glasses, circular stand, Barbie booklet and a trademark box labeled “850 Brunette” is in excellent condition. This 1959 doll has a $4,000-$5,000 estimate.
Also selling will be googlies, all-bisque dolls, rare china dolls, Parians, papier-mâché and cloth dolls, Vogue Ginny, Alexanders, Shirley Temples and Dionne quints.
The auction will be held on the eve of the UFDC national convention, which will be held at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Chicago, July 18-23.
Frasher’s will provide a shuttle between the convention site and the auction site the day of the sale. Shuttle buses will leave the Hyatt at 8 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.
For details contact Barbara Frasher at 816-625-3786 or e-mail frasher@aol.com.
Rare brown-hair china portrait lady, circa 1850, 24 inches, fine modeling and finest quality porcelain. Estimate $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Frasher’s Doll Auction. French bisque automaton drummer by Roullet & Decamps, all original, circa 1900, head turns side-to-side as it beats the drum, 28 inches, Estimate: $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Frasher’s Doll Auction. All original Mattel Barbie no. 2, 11 1/2 inches tall, complete 1959 doll, excellent condition in original box. Estimate: $4,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Frasher’s Doll Auction. Rare Steiner French bisque whistler, unmarked, 13 inches, mouth open in whistling manner with red rubber bulb inside head and hole in back of head which was originally intended to accommodate a tube connected to a reed whistle (this is a non-working mechanism; all that remains is the bulb). Estimate: $2,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Frasher’s Doll Auction.
