The Art and Artifacts Blog is now being merged with the Bryn Mawr College Special Collections blog . . . the content of this blog will remain in place indefinitely for archival purposes.
However, to see the latest news, please see: http://specialcollections.blogs.brynmawr.edu/
Answers to these questions and more at our Jan. 20th presentation!
Introduction to the Art & Artifact Collections Database
Thursday, January 20th, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Seminar Room, Coombe Special Collections Suite, 2nd floor Canaday Library
All are welcome!
Refreshments and door prizes!
Come learn about Bryn Mawr’s outstanding (but hidden) collections of more 50,000 art, archaeological, and anthropological objects! The Collections staff will host an introductory/tutorial session for the Art & Artifact Collections Database on Thursday, January 20th from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. in the Seminar Room of the Coombe Special Collections Suite, 2nd floor Canaday Library.
All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded to 10 attendees. Feel free to stay for five minutes or two hours to explore the many avenues to Bryn Mawr’s rich collections.
Digital Collections Specialist Cheryl Klimaszewski will introduce and explain features of the database designed to facilitate discovery of collections. including advanced search techniques and selected highlights of the collections. Curator and Academic Liaison Emily Croll and Collections Manager Marianne Weldon will also be on hand to answer questions about how collections can be used in courses or in other ways around the campus.
Everyone is welcome at this event – so please join us whether you are interested in the collections for research or teaching purposes or would like to learn more about the College’s rich collections and the database. We look forward to seeing you.
The Special Collections departments at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges are excited to announce the launch of the new Art and Artifact Collections Database, now available to the Tri-College community at http://triarte.brynmawr.edu.
Please note that this resource is currently only available to the Tri-College community either on-campus or via off-campus access through your library’s website.
Art and Artifact Collections Database Homepage
The database includes over 20,000 archaeology, anthropology, and fine art objects from Bryn Mawr’s collections and several hundred from Haverford’s collections. This multifaceted web site makes possible for the first time access to the colleges’ rich teaching collections for use in classes, for individual research, or for simple enjoyment. Students, faculty, and staff at the Tri-Colleges can now search the collections by artist, subject, culture, geographic region, time period, object type, and many other entry points. Or, users can browse highlighted parts of the collection to learn about the diverse holdings of art and artifacts from around the world.
Special Collections staff and students at both institutions have been working for the past eighteen months on data migration and cleanup, object cataloging, and imaging. To date, over half of the objects in the database have images and the majority have at minimum a basic level of cataloging. The original impetus to harmonize and expand the old, piecemeal databases came from the Graduate Group in Archaeology, Classics, and History of Art, which provided the funding for the initial stages. “Since training in material culture and curatorial practice is a key part of the Graduate Group’s work, it made sense to direct funds towards making the Art and Artifacts Collections more generally known and available,” says Catherine Conybeare, the Director of the Graduate Group. “This project has been managed with extraordinary speed and efficiency, and the whole Special Collections team deserves our hearty thanks.”
Screenshot of a selection of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Featured Collections from Bryn Mawr College
Cheryl Klimaszewski came on board as Collections Information Manager at Bryn Mawr in February of 2009 to oversee the transition of the old database records to a new collections management system and to develop the web interface. “It is so rewarding to see the results of everyone’s hard work come to fruition,” she says of the online version of the database. “So many students have been working on this—from cataloging to imaging—they should all be very proud. Plus, it’s a really terrific learning experience, since the skills students learn by cataloging and imaging our collections are transferrable to any museum, library, or archive anywhere.”
The biggest benefit of the database will be the increased awareness of these resources on all the Tri-College campuses. “The Art and Artifacts Database is a huge step forward for Bryn Mawr and Haverford. A great deal of work has gone on behind the scenes to make this possible. Now students and faculty can know more fully the tremendous resources that are available for them to study. We hope this will lead to greater use of our material objects on both campuses,” says John Anderies, Head of Special Collections at Haverford College. Eric Pumroy, Director of Library Collections and Seymour Adelman Head of Special Collections at Bryn Mawr, agrees: “Our extraordinary collections of art and artifacts have been hidden for far too long. This database finally makes it possible for students and faculty to explore the collections in a systematic way, and should lead to exciting new opportunities for teaching and research.”
The Advanced Search screen
For more information about the
Art and Artifact Collections database contact:
Cheryl Klimaszewski, Digital Collections Specialist
cklimaszew@brynmawr.edu
610-526-5093
To see the collections in person, contact:
Brian Wallace, Curator/Academic Liaison for Art and Artifacts
bwallace@brynmawr.edu
610-526-5335
or
Marianne Weldon, Collections Manager
mweldon@brynmawr.edu
610-526-5022
Classics graduate student Diane Amoroso-O’Connor has been working for the past academic year as our Collections Information Management Intern. This position allowed her to experience all facets of working with collections information – from individual object cataloging to global data management in the new EmbARK database.
Of her work on the new Art and Artifact Collections database, Diane writes:
As the Collections Information Management Intern, I split my time between small-scale research projects, in which I research items from our collection that need a little more information, and large-scale data projects, in which I might edit a few thousand records at a time. Fortunately, the same general principles of data organization apply to both; the smaller projects provide practice for the larger data concerns, and the larger projects provide the global view of the collections that informs good object entries.
My first task in Collections was to accession a group of nine coins, and then to edit or add to all of our other coin entries, aiming for consistency and clarity. In order to identify the coins, I used the standard sources as references in the Collections (The Roman Imperial Coinage, etc.) but also tested out a variety of online sources, both academic and commercial. This gave me a look at the ways sites organized information and created something word-searchable out of graphic or image-based data. After entering the new data, I worked on the old data, editing for uniformity across the collection and (hopefully!) reducing ambiguities in titles or descriptions, such as whether a “Roman Coin” was issued in the Roman period, issued by the Roman government, or issued in Rome.
From left to right: Classical Didrachm of Elea (C.17), Classical Tetradrachm of Athens (C.96), and Hellenistic Slater of Itanus (C.112)
These sorts of changes were needed throughout the database, so I’ve gone through fictile ivories, geological photographs, anthropological artifacts, and all sorts of objects to make sure that data like dates or geographic origins of items are presented consistently across the database. Taking the objects in groups of thousands actually helps here; I can easily insure that I’m using the same terms or formatting throughout a type of item, then several types of items, building up to the database level.
Among the clean-up tasks, I’ve been able to intersperse research on our Egyptian Collections. Some of my favorite items in the College Collections are our pieces of Egyptian Predynastic pottery, donated by the American Exploration Society. In addition to checking the database entries against the two sets of cards for the objects, and updating some of the terminology used in the database, I had the opportunity to photograph these items (using a camera far better than any I could be trusted to own). Filling in lost data on our ushabtis has been my other pet project. I used Schneider’s typology to date our ushabtis, what I liked to call the “Hair and Handbag System,” as wigs and bags molded, carved, or painted on the figurines provided some of the most useful diagnostic data. This also allowed me to use Schneider’s terminology to make our descriptions uniform and easily referenced in Schneider’s work for anyone researching these objects in the future.
(If you don’t see an image below, it means that you will need to download the Quicktime plugin for your web browser).
Of late, my large projects have moved from the editing and reformatting of data to the classification of objects. We’re working with a few different hierarchical systems that should allow users to browse the Collections. I’ve been classifying the types of objects by using The Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging: A Revised and Expanded Version of Robert G. Chenhall’s System for Classifying Man-Made Objects, as well adding keywords to use a hierarchical system based on materials, time periods, subjects, and other features, grounded in The Getty’s Art and Architecture Thesaurus. While neither system captures every object or subject perfectly, either one provides a powerful search tool for anyone doing research on the collection, even before making any modifications or additions to the systems. (As a related note, if anyone has ever wanted to research numismatic depictions of helmets, it would be a very fruitful keyword search at the moment.)
Throughout this year, I’ve been amazed to see what the Collections database has become, and the research that other students have already put into action. Most of all, I’ve been fortunate to help make Collections a better tool for research and teaching, as well as work with, and learn from, Cheryl, Marianne, and Emily.
Andrea Guzzetti is a seventh-year graduate student in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. He is working with the Art and Artifact Collections as part of an NEH Curatorial Internship, which gives graduate students in the Graduate Group in Archaeology, Classics, and History of Art the opportunity to spend a semester (or summer) working with collections at Bryn Mawr and a second semester carrying out a project at a partner institution in the Philadelphia area.
Here is what Andrea has been working on this semester:
In particular, my work in the Collections revolves around a group of ca. 300 terracotta figurines, mostly Greek and Roman. The majority of them were given to the College by Bryn Mawr alumnae or faculty members. Since they have been acquired at different times and under different circumstances, the information available on them varies widely in quantity and quality. A few pieces have been published in journals or exhibition catalogues, such as a trio of Etruscan heads (T.7-9) and a weight with an owl in relief (T.182), while several others have been discussed in senior theses or class papers. More often, however, all that is known about these artifacts is limited to the contents of the old catalog cards, which can range from a detailed description and list of comparanda to a generic title (“terracotta head”) and measurements.
Terracotta heads (from left: T. 7, T.8, T.9)
Terracotta relief weight (T.182)
My primary task, then, has been to check the existing data, which had been transferred to the new Collections database, and to update and expand it. More specifically, the main goal of the project was to provide each object with a minimum of standardized information (title, description, measurements, date) that could be employed for display labels and online searches. Once the work had progressed enough, I began gathering further details about the iconography and the possible function of as many artifacts as possible.
The majority of the terracottas represent human figures, especially seated or standing females, although the subjects can sometimes be identified as deities. The figures are usually alone; in some cases there are couples or women with children (T.83).
Terracotta figurine of a woman and boy (T.83)
The collection also includes several animal figurines (T.125) and reproductions of body parts such as eyes or feet (T.97, T.192); the latter probably constitute offerings presented to healing sanctuaries in thanksgiving for the recovery of the corresponding organ. The artifacts range in date from the Late Geometric period (late eighth-early seventh century BCE) to Roman Imperial times.
Terracotta hen and cat (T.125)
Terracotta eye (T.97) Terracotta foot (T.192)
A general problem encountered during the project is the lack of context for practically all the terracottas. Since many objects are fragmentary or quite worn, or both, it is difficult to study them on the basis of style alone. Sometimes the region or site where an artifact was found is known, or can be determined from archival information on the donor, but such knowledge is seldom useful, as in the case of surface finds. Ignorance about their origin also raises questions of authenticity. For example, some of the best preserved figurines, which resemble popular Hellenistic types known from such sites as Tanagra in Boeotia or Myrina in Asia Minor, exhibit technical and iconographical features that suggest they are modern creations, produced to satisfy the demand for this kind of object that developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, following the discovery of the first figurines (T.77).
(If you don’t see an image below, it means that you will need to download the Quicktime plugin for your web browser).
Nevertheless, the collection itself, including the possible fakes, constitutes a very valuable tool for research and teaching, given the variety of techniques and styles represented in it, and I have really enjoyed working on this material. Although I have some experience with museum cataloging, I had never had the opportunity to work with terracottas before, and I have learned much about this class of artifacts.
Carrie Robbins is a PhD Candidate in the History of Art. Her work with the Art and Artifact Collections during the 2009-10 academic year has been focused on the college’s photography collection, which includes works by such notable photographers as Eugène Atget, Lewis Hine, and André Kertész. About her work, Carrie writes:
I have been researching, cataloging, and digitally photographing over a thousand of the collection’s beautiful and impressive “art” photographs. The distinction between art photographs and photographs used for the study of art history, or travel photographs, or family photographs, etc. is one example of the challenges faced in cataloging a collection of roughly 15,000 photographs. Another challenge specific to photography is the problematic identification of its specific medium — gum bichromate, collodion, platinotype, albumen, etc. — which can be hard to determine without microscopic or chemical analysis. Fortunately, the Art and Artifact Collections supported my participation in a Photography Identification and Conservation workshop that has aided my ability to make educated guesses and has helped me to understand how difficult an authoritative identification is to make. With these challenges in mind, I become anxious about the ways in which the distinctions I make and the classifications I impose might limit or mischaracterize future study of these objects. So I try to be mindful of the authority my cataloging will have as part of our collection’s archive. Thankfully, the EmbARK database which we use to catalog each object, artist, donor, etc. offers a lot of flexibility relative to data entry, as well as ease of use, so that objects will be searchable in myriad ways.
Two of Carrie’s favorite works from the photography collections:
Hilary Newman, Brooklyn, New York, October 1989, Gelatin silver print (2009.22.5)
Edward Sheriff Curtis, Replastering a Paguage House, Photogravure (2009.26.17)
Holly Pritchett is a graduate student in archaeology who has been cataloging pottery sherds from an excavation at Gözlükule, Tarsus, Turkey since the beginning of the 2009-10 academic year. To date, she has photographed and created descriptive records for over 800 sherds.
Here’s what Holly has to say about her project:
Gözlükule is the name of the mound south of the modern city of Tarsus on which the ancient settlement was located. Excavations carried out at Gözlükule show that it was first settled in the Late Neolithic Period, approximately 7000 BCE. Tarsus is situated on the Cydnos River just a few miles from the Mediterranean Sea. In ancient times it was strategically positioned at the junction of important roads of the time. Its location is one of the main factors for its long history, which wasn’t always entirely peaceful. During the 2nd millennium BCE, Tarsus was controlled by the Hittites. In the 9th century BCE, the Assyrians ruled Tarsus and in 612 BCE, the Persians attacked the city. The Persians were still in control when Alexander the Great visited in 333 BCE. After the death of Alexander, Tarsus was briefly held by the Egyptian Ptolemies and then by Rome. Julius Caesar visited the city in 47 BCE and after Caesar’s death, Marc Antony met Cleopatra in Tarsus (41 BCE) to plan their ill-fated revolt against Augustus and Rome.
Two examples of Mycenaean-style pottery sherds excavated at Tarsus (2009.14.259 & 2009.14.265)
In 1935, an American archaeological team under the direction of Hetty Goldman began excavations at Gözlükule. Ms. Goldman, Bryn Mawr College Class of 1903, received her Ph.D. from Princeton. This excavation lasted until 1939, when the dig had to be suspended due to the outbreak of World War II. In 1947, Ms. Goldman resumed excavations, which lasted until 1949. As a result of her excavations, 33 levels of habitation were determined, ranging from the Late Neolithic to the Islamic Periods.
It is the sherds from the earlier excavation that I catalogue. Each sherd is assigned an accession number, its dimensions are measured, and the color of the clay is determined by comparing the sherd to a spectrum of colors, referred to as its Munsell color (named after the man who developed the system). This information, along with a brief description is entered into the EmbARK collections database. I also take photographs of every pottery sherd, so a nice close-up picture accompanies each record.
Holly photographing sherds on the copystand.
In my research, I have referred to some of the many day-books written by the archaeological team leader, which contain notes about each day’s excavation, the items found, and drawings. Many of the sherds have been published in the second part of a six-volume set. The entire set includes not only the pottery found at Tarsus, but also the statues, sculptures, and coins that were excavated. Any bibliographic information is also added into the sherd’s database record.
Another one of my interests is ancient fingerprints that sometimes were inadvertently left on clay tablets and pottery when they were first made. Although I have discovered only one fingerprint so far, I examine each sherd, hoping to find a personal testimonial of the potter and/or painter who shaped and decorated these ancient pieces of pottery.
An important component of the database is digital imaging of our objects. Recently, we had a breakthrough in photographing objects “in the round” with the help of one of our undergraduate student workers, Nancy Muntz (Anthropology/Archaeology, 2011).
Place the cursor over the image below and hold down the mouse button (that’s the left mouse button for PC users – only one mouse button for MAC users). Move the cursor right or left to see a 360-degree view of the Nasca bowl from Peru (69.1.392).
(If you don’t see an image below, it means that you will need to download the Quicktime plugin for your web browser).
The 360-spin effect was created by first photographing the object on a lazy Susan at 10 degree intervals. The resulting images were stitched together using a program called Object2vr by Garden Gnome Software.
We welcome suggestions about which parts of the collection would benefit from having 360-degree views to help us prioritize our imaging work.
Stay tuned for more updates on cataloging and imaging being done this semester.
The 5,000 records that have been added since June include pottery sherds, photographs, prints, and drawings, among other objects.
The Art and Artifact collections staff members often become so wrapped up in working with the collections management database that it becomes difficult to make time for an update on our progress. Intensive and time-consuming work continues not only on cataloguing individual objects but also on cleaning up and standardizing large volumes of data. Most notably, Classics graduate student Diane Amoroso-O’Connor is working as the Collections Information Management Intern for the 2009-2010 academic year and has joined us in our quest for better quality data. Diane’s projects so far have ranged from cataloging coins and Predynastic Egyptian objects to standardizing titles, dimensions, and geographic data across collections.
A more completely cataloged Predynastic Egyptian vase, a gift from the American Exploration Society.
History of Art graduate student Carrie Robbins, working as the Graduate Assistant in Collections, has also been busy cataloging the photography collection, while Archaeology graduate student Holly Pritchett is working with Professor Jim Wright on accessioning, cataloging, and photographing sherds excavated at Gözlükule, Tarsus, Turkey. All this, of course, is in addition to the great team of undergraduate students who continue to inventory, photograph, and catalog collections objects. This semester, those students include Laura Kelly-Bowditch, Michelle Crepeau , Kristen Grubbs, Annette Hansen, Nancy Muntz, Moira Nadal, Jessica Nelson, and Jennifer Wright.
A cataloged sherd from Tarsus, Turkey.
Examples of prints and drawings from the John N. Estabrook Collection catalogued this summer by Amy Haavik-MacKinnon and Tienfong Ho, both of whom spoke about their work with collections at the Graduate Group talk on November 17th.
As the temperature outside begins to rise, so, too, are things heating up in the Art and Artifact Collections areas. Two days of training on the new database on May 4th and 5th were just the beginning. May was also filled with meetings with History of Art, Archaeology, and Anthropology faculty members both to introduce them to the new database and to seek their guidance on establishing priorities for our work on the database, so the collections can best serve their needs and those of their students. The database has so far been well received by faculty and students as they see how EmbARK is beginning to make the collections more accessible, even in these early stages.
Just over 20,000 records – not bad for a few months work!
In May we also prepared for the arrival of summer student workers, who will be busy with projects ranging from data entry to inventory and preventive conservation. History of Art graduate students Amy Haavik-MacKinnon and Tienfong Ho are creating complete catalogue records for objects in selected prints and drawings collections. Archaeology graduate student Joelle Collins is standardizing existing records for Greek and early Italian pottery. Undergraduate student Laura Kelly-Bowditch (History, 2010) and recent graduates Judith Barr (AB, ‘09, Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology) and Jenny Castle (AB, ’09, Philosophy and History of Art) are inventorying and photographing as much of the archaeology, anthropology, and fine arts collections as time will allow. The efforts of all these students are vital steps on the road toward building the database into an extensive virtual guide to the collections objects.
A sampling of images for objects currently in the database.