fall winter 2011
Director’sletter
new museum hours From September 10, 2011, the Museum will extend its weekend hours till 5 pm. The Museum will be open from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and from noon to 5 pm on Sunday. Regular weekday business hours from Tuesday through Friday are from 10 am to 4 pm.
in remembering Mrs. Thalia N. Carlos, beloved friend and patron whom we lost in May, the words courageous, generous, passionate, bluntly honest, and resolute come immediately to mind. The ever enthusiastic Mrs. Carlos was a tireless champion of the Museum and deeply proud of our work. She continued the legacy she and her late husband initiated when they became involved with Emory University’s museum, now the Michael C. Carlos Museum, by inspiring us to be “not just the best, but the very best” in all endeavors. She delighted in our successes and urged us to take on challenging exhibitions, insisting we stretch in order to mount compelling projects such as Cradle of Christianity. She rejoiced in the uniqueness of our educational programs, believing in the importance of adding to the scholarly conversation, especially in creative ways. She supported our efforts to secure stunning works of art, understanding that museums are defined by the quality of their permanent collections. Mrs. Carlos will be remembered for her steadfast dedication, her kindness and generosity, her quick wit and candor. She loved the Museum, and we loved her. As one of her last projects with the Museum, Mrs. Carlos, along with her son Chris and daughterin-law Merry, became the Presenting Sponsor of the upcoming exhibition Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy. Understanding the rarity of the Museum’s mummy and the importance of the research being conducted, Mrs. Carlos was excited about the conservation of the mummy, and thrilled to see the Museum
develop an exhibition around the entire project. As we move forward in partnership with the next generation of the Michael C. Carlos family, we will continue to rise to the challenge of being “the very best,” in honor of Mrs. Carlos and simply because the family, and all of us here at the Carlos Museum, expect no less. It will be a busy fall, just the way we like it here at the Carlos Museum. Life and Death in the Pyramid Age opens in September complete with a host of related educational programs. The exhibition Divine Intervention continues through December with a number of fabulous programs, including a not-to-be-missed Yam Festival. A wonderful exhibition of Hogarth works on paper will open in October. The Museum’s new handbook to the collections is now on sale in the Bookshop. And our fall fundraiser, Bacchanal, will be held on September 10. This is only to mention a few of the happenings at the Carlos Museum. As always, I hope to see you in the galleries! ✺
B on n ie Speed Director
cover: Emory's Candler Professor of Theology, William Arthur Shelton, visiting the Great Pyramid at Giza in 1920. Photo courtesy of the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Woodruff Library.
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OnView
LIFE AND DEATH IN THE PYRAMID AGE: THE EMORY OLD KINGDOM MUMMY BY DR. PETER LACOVARA
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n 1920, Emory theology professor William Arthur Shelton participated in an expedition to Egypt and the Middle East to acquire objects for use in teaching biblical history. The artifacts he brought back were housed in Emory’s new museum and soon became many of the University’s most cherished attractions and remain so to this day. However, what may have been the most important of Shelton’s acquisitions lay silently forgotten in a crate for over ninety years. The overlooked find was a mummy, but not just any mummy. It dated from Egypt’s glorious Pyramid Age, the Old Kingdom, and at more than four thousand years old, it is the oldest Egyptian mummy in the New World. Only a few of these mummies are known to have survived the ravages of time and tomb robbers, and fewer than half a dozen have ever been found. The mummy had deteriorated over the ages, and the long sea voyage from Alexandria to Atlanta in 1920 also took its toll. However, in late 2010 the mummy’s story began a very different chapter. With the assistance of Dr. William Torres of Emory Hospital’s Radiology Department and the dedicated work of conservators Renée Stein and Mimi Leveque, the mummy has been skillfully conserved, and the research conducted in the process has added greatly to the understanding of the development of mummification in Egypt. Relief of Funerary Ceremony. Egyptian, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, ca. 2350–2170 bc. Limestone. Gift of the Forward Arts Foundation. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2008.
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The exhibition Life and Death in the Pyramid Age tells the story of the mummy from its discovery in Egypt, through the work conducted to restore it, to placing the mummy in the context of the time in which he lived and died. Dr. Shelton obtained the mummy at Abydos, ancient Egypt’s holiest city. Thought to be the burial place of Osiris, the god of the dead and mythical first king of Egypt, the site became an important pilgrimage destination and its local governors grew wealthy and powerful. At the end of the Old Kingdom in the Sixth Dynasty (ca. 2350–2170 bc), the rulers of Abydos began building large brick tombs along a prominent ridge at the center of the great cemetery. The Emory mummy must have come from this cemetery and the careful mummification attests to his membership in this elite class. Research has revealed he was a young man, somewhere in his twenties, and he appeared to have had an easy, albeit short, life. The exhibition details the embalming techniques used on the mummy, as well as the rituals conducted as part of the burial. The installation evokes a tomb chapel suggesting what his original burial place would have been like.
Loans of art and artifacts from museums and private collections throughout the United States and Europe illustrate the types of decoration found in Old Kingdom tombs and the burial goods placed in them to provide for the mummy’s life in the hereafter. By the end of the Old Kingdom, construction of massive pyramid complexes for the pharaohs was disappearing while the assertion of power by provincial officials was rising. This would eventually lead to civil war and economic turmoil, but it also led to an evolution in art and religion. Having survived the ravages of time and a journey across continents, Emory’s Old Kingdom mummy will once again receive visitors as would have been expected so very long ago. The conservation of the mummy, organization of the exhibition, and related educational programs were made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsors—Mrs. Michael C. Carlos and Chris and Merry Carlos with additional funding from Supporting Sponsors—The Massey Charitable Trust, Mr. Mohamed Farid Khamis and Oriental Weavers, and an Anonymous Donor. The media sponsor for the exhibition is W SB -T V . ✺
Servant girl. Egyptian. Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, ca. 2465–2323 bc. Limestone with pigment. Lent by the University of Leipzig Georg Steindorff Egyptian Museum. Photo courtesy of the University of Leipzig.
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BEHIND THE SCENES OLD KINGDOM MUMMY CONSERVATION
Leveque returned to Atlanta from her Boston-area home in order to guide the treatment of this rare and exemplary mummy. uring the past year a team She has conserved several dozen of conservators, interns, and mummies throughout North volunteers have conserved the America, including those in the Carlos Museum’s Old Kingdom Carlos Museum. No other mummy mummy in preparation for the has presented such a challenge nor upcoming exhibition Life and such an opportunity for research Death in the Pyramid Age. into ancient mummification pracProfessor Shelton brought the tices, particularly during this early mummy to Emory in 1920, but period. After extensive examinait has remained in storage in recent tion and careful documentation, decades due to its very poor conLeveque and Carlos Museum dition. The linen wrappings were conservator Renée Stein developed torn, misshapen, and disintegrating. a strategy to stabilize and reunite The bones of the left shoulder and the remains. Calling upon both hip protruded from the wrappings. experience and ingenuity, the The left arm had come free from treatment involved realigning the shoulder and fallen across the dislocated bones, adding internal chest. The bones of the hands, supports, rewrapping exposed knees, and feet were lying in disareas, and repositioning ancient array amid the debris from millen- wrappings. Through this intervennia of deterioration. The mummy’s tion, the physical structure and head was stored in a separate box. visual appearance of the mummy Consulting conservator Mimi have been reintegrated to restore Leveque remarked that it would the dignity of his burial presentalikely have been easier to mend a tion, respecting both ancient bag of crushed potato chips than religious beliefs and modern to repair the extensive damage to conservation practices. this mummy!
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Consistent with the teaching mission of the Carlos Museum’s Parsons Conservation Lab, this mummy project offered opportunities for student participation in the hands-on treatment and the accompanying research. Interns Rebecca Levitan 14c and Arden Davis 12gsu assisted with rewrapping of the hands and feet, including recreating missing bones. They were assisted by conservator Katie Etre, Advanced Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation, who also dyed yards of modern linen, cotton, and sheer silk for the treatment. Monique Osigbeme 12c investigated the diet and health of the ancient individual, with assistance from graduate students and faculty in the Department of Anthropology as well as from a post-doc in the School of Medicine. The research and conservation efforts were presented at the 7th International Mummy Congress held in San Diego in June. Leveque and Stein will discuss the project in-depth during a public program at the Carlos Museum on Thursday, September 22, at 7:30 pm. ✺
Mummy. Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, 2345–2181 bc. From Abydos. Linen and human remains (recreated headrest) and wooden coffin base. Collected by William A. Shelton, funded by John A. Manget. Photo by Kay Hinton, Emory Photo/Video.
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OnView
A HARLOT’S PROGRESS: HOGARTH’S COMIC HISTORY OCTOBER 1–DECEMBER 4, 2011
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n October 1, the John Howett Works on Paper Gallery will feature the complete series of William Hogarth’s A Harlot’s Progress from the Museum’s permanent collections. The engravings, originally published in 1732, were the first of several satirical series by the British painter and printmaker that he referred to as “modern moral subjects.” The story of the Harlot illustrates the downfall of a fictional young woman in a corrupt eighteenth-century London. Sold by subscription, the series was so popular that it was widely copied by other engravers and published in various editions. This led Hogarth to join with other artists to success-
fully lobby Parliament to enact a law protecting the copyright of engravers. In six scenes Hogarth illustrates the girl’s “progress” from glowing innocence through criminality and imprisonment to disease and death. The title is an ironic reference to John Bunyan’s allegory of salvation Pilgrim’s Progress. There are sly allusions both literary and topical throughout the series, including a cameo appearance by Captain MacHeath, the original Mack the Knife. Hogarth includes several actual notorious characters of the day and bases the outlines of the story on real events reported in periodicals like The Spectator.
Steeped in the atmosphere of contemporary London, Hogarth’s story is presented with a fresh directness and a biting wit. Several educational programs will accompany the exhibition. These include a lecture at 7:30 pm on November 10 by Martine Brownley, Goodrich C. White Professor of English at Emory University, titled The World of Hogarth, and a young adult printmaking workshop The Art of the Print and Social Commentary on November 6. The exhibition will run through December 4, 2011. ✺
William Hogarth (British, 1697–1764). A Harlot's Progress, Plate 3. Engraving. Gift of Dr. Robert P. Coggins. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2010. 6
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Educationnews African Art and Religion Teacher Course this summer the Carlos Museum’s Institute for Teachers offered a professional development course titled African Art and Religion: Ancestors, Dreams, and Divination. Fourteen teachers from public and private schools attended the weeklong course that took them from the Divine Intervention: African Arts and Religion exhibition to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market and Ile Ori Ifa, a Yoruba woman’s retreat and cultural center in southwest Atlanta. Julie Green, Senior Manager of School Programs, developed the course with Dr. Jessica Stephenson, Curator of African Art. Emory faculty members from several departments were invited to participate. They included Marshall Duke, Candler Professor of Psychology; Dianne Diakite, Associate Professor in the Department of Religion; and Edna Bay from Emory’s Institute of Liberal Arts and African Studies. The class began with an introduction to themes and archetypes in African literature, represented by the story of Sunjata, who overcame physical and supernatural difficulties to become the first great king of Mali. Dr. Duke kept the focus on archetypes, with a discussion of Carl Jung’s visit to Yoruba communities in Nigeria and the relationship of psychotherapy to divination. Dr. Bay introduced asen, shrine sculptures from Benin, that are made to honor ancestors. In a workshop, teachers made folded paper versions of Asen and shared ideas for assessing student knowledge about them through a related writing activity. The spread of African religions to the Caribbean and the southern United States was
discussed by Dr. Diakite. She also introduced Alfred Santana’s film Voices of the Gods, which documents life in the Yoruba village of Oyotunjui in Sheldon, South Carolina, the only traditional African village of its kind in the U.S. Throughout the course, teachers worked with teaching artists Randy Taylor and Pam Beagle-Daresta, who led them in creating folded paper sculptures of heroes, divine animal guides, and books to tell their journey. Through these hands-on workshops the teachers transformed the course lectures and concepts into practical art and writing lessons for the classroom. What teachers said about the course: I have thought a lot about the course last week and how to use some of these ideas in the classroom. It really was excellent, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate. Thank you for an outstanding job of organizing and for creating such a stimulating yet comfortable learning environment. In addition to the academic information received there were many activities and art ideas to help present this material. Thank you for bringing these resources to us at a reasonable cost.
The special exhibition Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion is on view through December 4, 2011.
Every lecture, tour and activity had purpose for this course. They each made sense and brought an irreplaceable element to the table. ✺
Museum teacher Randy Taylor with educators from across Georgia.
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Educationnews Divine Intervention: Yam Festival ibo legend teaches that yams were created long ago, when the King of Nri searched for an end to the famine that plagued his people. The gods told him to sacrifice his eldest son, cut him into pieces, and bury him. From the remains of his son, Ahiajoku, sprang the tendrils of the first yam plant. Today, 94% of the world’s yams are grown in the African “yam belt” that includes Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Togo. Across this region, the annual harvest is celebrated with “new yam festivals.” In preparation, leftover yams from the previous year are discarded and all the cookware is cleaned. On the day of the festival, the first new yams are offered to the villages’ important deities and ancestral spirits. The oldest male in the village acts as the spirits’ intermediary and is offered the first new yam. After the ceremony, the women and girls of the village prepare an abundant feast, and use the new yams in every dish. This fall, as part of the programming around the exhibition Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion, the Carlos Museum and Emory Dining and Sustainability Initiatives celebrate the African yam and the Georgia sweet potato harvest with a series of programs focusing on these nutritious, versatile, and delicious fall foods. Come and learn about the importance of the yam in the ritual and daily life of people in West Africa and its celebration in art and dance. Enjoy sweet and savory dishes created by African home cooks and some of Atlanta’s most exciting culinary masters including renowned Southern chef and author Scott Peacock, Steven Satterfield of Miller Union, and Billy Allin of Cakes and Ale. Hear Jessica B. Harris, author of Africa Cooks and High on the Hog, deliver a talk titled Those Aren’t Yams, Those Are Sweet Potatoes: Culinary Confusion in the African-Atlantic World. Many varieties of locally grown sweet potatoes and yams will be available at the Emory Farmers Market for sale. See page 3 of the calendar for a complete schedule of events. ✺
A yam knife inspired the design of this mask in the Carlos Museum’s collection. From the previous collection of William S. Arnett. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011. 8
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Mr. Mummy at Emory University dr. bob brier is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on mummies and Egyptology. As Senior Research Fellow at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York, he has conducted pioneering research in mummification practices and has investigated some of the world’s most famous mummies including King Tut and Ramesses the Great. Affectionately known as “Mr. Mummy,” Dr. Brier was the first person in 2,000 years to mummify a human cadaver using ancient Egyptian techniques. Professor Brier is the author of Ancient Egyptian Magic, Egyptian Mummies, Encyclopedia of Mummies, The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story, Daily Life in Ancient Egypt, and numerous scholarly articles. He has investigated pyramids and tombs in fifteen countries and is the host of award-winning television specials for The Learning Chanel (tlc) including Pyramids, Mummies & Tombs, Mummy Detective, and The Great Egyptians. His popular courses for The Teaching Company include The History of Ancient Egypt and Great Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. On Tuesday, November 29 at 7:30 pm, Dr. Brier will speak about Emory’s Old Kingdom Mummy in the Carlos Museum Reception Hall. Tickets are required for this event. The tickets are free to Carlos Museum members and Emory students, and $8 for all others. Seating is limited so get your tickets now by calling 404-727-6118 ✺
Emory’s Office of Community Partnerships and the Carlos Museum Welcome Students from Coan Middle School to Camp Carlos through the financial support of the Emory University Office of Community Partnership’s Graduation Generation Project, students from Coan Middle School had the opportunity to attend Camp Carlos this summer. Lisa Wittington, art teacher at Coan, selected sixteen students from the school, singled out for their interest and talent in the visual arts. The students spent a week working with Atlanta artist Pam Beagle-Daresta exploring the art of handmade paper. Students created paper-pulp from recycled materials, including shredded money from the Atlanta Federal Reserve. The pulp was fashioned into sheets and embedded with leaves, flower petals, the colorful wings of insects, and tiny seeds. Then, they built armatures from bamboo and twigs and small limbs collected around campus. The handmade paper was “wrapped” around the armatures to create threedimensional paper sculptures. The sculptures are intended to be left outside in the elements, where the paper and armature will eventually collapse and decompose, and the embedded seeds will sprout and grow. These students will visit the Carlos Museum again in the fall. All seventh grade students in the Atlanta Public Schools visit the Museum each year as part of the Atlanta Cultural Experience Program. They will tour the Asian and African collections as part of their study of world religions. Plans are currently underway for all sixth graders to visit the Ancient Americas Galleries as they study the collision of cultures between Europe and the “new world.” This is another in a series of collaborations between the Office of
University and Community Partnerships and the Carlos Museum. For the past three years, oupc has awarded grants to pay for bus transportation to the Museum for schools in lowincome areas. More than 1,645 students, who otherwise would not have had the opportunity, have been able to explore the stories of civilization in the galleries of the Carlos Museum. ✺
A Coan Middle School student puts the finishing touches on his handmade biodegradable paper sculpture embedded with flower seeds.
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Acquisitionsandloans group e (Greek ca. 550–520 bc) Black Figure Amphora with Herakles Fighting Geryon Greek, Attic ca. 550–540 bc Terracotta Carlos Collection of Ancient Art Through the generosity of Mrs. Thalia Carlos, the Museum was able to purchase a jar for storing wine, complete with its lid, which was made in Athens around 530 bc. Its decoration is arranged in two panels that relate to two mythological stories not yet represented in the Museum’s collection. The decoration may be attributed to an artist of the so-called Group e, which is the environment from which the very greatest of all Attic black-figured artists emerged, Exekias. For his tenth labor, Herakles undertook a long journey to an island in the far West, Erytheia. Here he was to capture and bring back to King Eurystheus the cattle belonging to Geryon —a warriormonster with three human bodies joined at the trunk. The cattle were guarded by a herdsman, Eurytion, as well as a two-headed dog, Orthros (not represented here). Herakles, wearing the skin of the Nemean lion knotted around his neck and a short chitoniskos, has already dispatched Eurytion as he advances to kill Geryon. The nearest of Geryon’s three bodies carries a hoplite shield with a large white emblazon in the form of a leaf; the second two are notable for the elaborate crests projecting above their helmets. The outcome of the battle is already apparent: the central head of the three has been killed and turns back as it falls. In the words of the sixth-century poet Stesichoros, “Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes, shedding 10
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all its petals at once.” The effect of killing the central element will be to capsize the entire composite, and Herakles will deal with the two remaining parts on the ground. Upon killing the opposition, Herakles made a dedication, known as the “Pillars of Herakles” (commonly identified with the Straits of Gibraltar), and then drove the cattle of Geryon back through Spain, Southern France, and Italy before crossing the Adriatic to take them back to Eurystheus at Tiryns. On the other side of the amphora, Dionysos, the god of wine, holds out a long vine and a drinking horn as he faces a woman. Her bridal gesture in adjusting her veil identifies her as Ariadne, who, having helped Theseus to kill the Minotaur, eloped with him only to be forsaken on the island of Naxos. Three satyrs, part human, part equine, accompany them. This amphora, with its square lip, round handles, and echinus foot, is of so-called type b. It complements the Museum’s collection of an amphora of type c and a neck amphora acquired in 2007 and 2008 respectively. ✺
Mummy Mask Egypt, New Kingdom, reign of Ramesses ii, ca. 1279–1213 bc Painted cartonnage Gift of Joop Bollen
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011.
Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011.
This rare funerary mask depicts a man wearing a traditional, divine lappet-wig, headband, and a floral broad collar. The red coloring would symbolize rebirth evoking the hue of the rising sun. Made of fragile cartonnage (a mixture of plaster and papyrus or linen) very few of these masks survive intact. The only masks comparable to this are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum. ✺
Acquisitionsandloans New Acquisition Honors African Art Scholar and Faculty Curator of African Art in honor of Dr. Sidney L. Kasfir, this whimsical mask, from the West African Grassfields Regions of Cameroon, joins the Carlos Museum’s stellar collection of African art. An example of the Tikar culture, until now not represented in our collection, makes an important addition to the collection’s broad range. The mask was originally part of a male-female pairing that danced at annual harvest festivals and funerals in praise of the community’s ancestors. The tall cap represented indicates it is a male character symbolizing the founding ancestor of the Tikar royal lineage. The mask, designed to be worn on top of a
Crest Mask Depicting a Male Founding Ancestor of Royal Lineage (Ndim-yang). Cameroon, Tikar, Bankim (?). 19th century. Wood, pigment, fiber. Gift of the Art History Department, the Institute of African Studies, and the Michael C. Carlos Museum in honor of Dr. Sidney Littlefield Kasfir. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011.
dancer’s head, still retains parts of the raffia basketry frame used to secure the mask to the wearer and from which fabric was suspended to hide the dancer’s face. Dating to the 19th century, it left Africa in the early 20th century and then passed among several collections in the United Kingdom and United States before coming to Emory. Acquired in recognition of Dr. Sidney L. Kasfir, Professor of Art History, who retired from Emory in Spring 2011, this art work stands as a token of appreciation for the significant contributions Dr. Kasfir has made to the field of African art history as scholar, teacher and curator. Throughout her career, Dr. Kasfir has sought to rethink the way scholars, artists, museums, and viewers understand and categorize African art. Her research interests range from the traditional arts of the Idoma peoples of Nigeria and the Samburu peoples of Kenya, to newer art forms created for tourism, heritage, as well as modern and
contemporary African art. It was in particular her groundbreaking work in the later areas of inquiry that drew several generations of graduate students from Africa and the United States to study under her. Although Dr. Kasfir did not conduct research in Cameroon, the Tikar mask is a fitting tribute to her since it represents the founding ancestor of a lineage— in this case, a lineage of innovative scholarship and teaching founded by Dr. Kasfir. The mask was presented to Dr. Kasfir during a graduate student symposium held in her honor on April 22 and 23, 2011. Critical Encounters: A Graduate Student Symposium in Honor of Sidney Littlefield Kasfir, considered three themes to which Dr. Kasfir has contributed: Commodification and Tourism; Heritage; and The Artists, The Workshop, and Cultural Brokerage. Graduate students from across America and from Africa, in a variety of disciplines and working with visual culture in Africa, presented juried papers. ✺
(l–r) Dr. Sidney L. Kasfir is presented with the Tikar Mask by Dr. Judith Rohrer, Chair of the Art History Department, Dr. Jessica Stephenson, Curator of African Art, Dr. Delores Aldridge, Carlos Museum board member, and Dr. Clifton Crais, Director of African Studies.
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The Michael C. Carlos Museum Mourns the Passing of Cherished Friend and Visionary Philanthropist Thalia N. Carlos as a friend, patron, and Board member, Thalia Carlos’ contributions to the Carlos Museum were numerous as well as significant. Whether discussing exhibitions, acquisitions, educational programs, or fund raising initiatives, Thalia was steadfast in her encouragement of both staff and Board to make courageous choices that would move the Museum in an upward trajectory.
Mrs. Thalia Carlos and Carlos Museum director Bonnie Speed at the Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition preview event. 12
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Thalia took pleasure in all aspects of the Museum, and we all enjoyed the expression in her eyes when she learned the Museum had successfully acquired an important work of art at an auction or when she heard of a standing room only lecture. She had a keen eye and particularly relished her participation in the selection of artworks to add to the collections. And while she loved the beauty of an exquisitely made work of art, she also loved the thought of the Museum’s collections being used by university and grade school students alike for generations to come. Included among the extraordinary acquisitions she supported are the magnificent Aphrodite sculpture, a larger than life-size head of Tiberius, and a rare Predynastic Egyptian palette with gnostic inscriptions. Her passion for the Museum was also expressed in the numerous friendships she forged with Board members as well as with staff, working exceedingly well with all. From the moment Michael and Thalia Carlos decided to support Emory’s small museum over three decades ago, their involvement has been transformative to Emory and the broader Atlanta community. Their visionary commitment has allowed the Carlos Museum to become one of the premier university museums in the country today, and their generosity, which has grown in significance over the years, has always been carried out in the spirit of teamwork that conveyed great sensitivity and love. Thalia N. Carlos made an indelible mark on the growth of this museum, and her vitality and passion will be missed by all.
Menat of Necho II Egyptian, Dynasty 26, reign of Necho ii, ca. 610–595 bc Faience Baker Award purchase in honor of Sofi and Joseph A. Lewis ii
Joe and Sofi Lewis Receive the Baker Award in june, the Carlos Museum celebrated Joe and Sofi Lewis, the recipients of the Woolford B. Baker Service Award. No greater service can be given to a museum than to add to its collections. The Lewises have generously donated Egyptian objects to the Carlos Museum and have encouraged others to loan and donate to the Museum as well. Indeed, the literal centerpiece of the Museum’s next exhibition, Life and Death in the Pyramid Age, has been generously lent by them. They exemplify the spirit of dedication and generosity of Dr. Woolford Baker. The Baker Award was established for the Carlos Museum by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Gladden in 1999, and is presented each year to an individual or organization who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Museum through a leadership role, an exceptional contribution of time and expertise,
or a significant achievement in the Museum or Atlanta cultural community. The Baker Award is named in honor of Dr. Woolford B. Baker, the director of the former Emory University Museum from 1953 to 1982.
Joseph and Sally Gladden, Sofi and Joseph Lewis, Dr. Peter Lacovara, and Dr. Gay Robins Menat of Necho II presented to this year’s Baker Award recipients Joe and Sofi Lewis.
A menat was a type of amulet used as a counterbalance (would rest on the back of the wearer) to the collars worn by the Egyptians. Eventually, the menat became more decorative than the collar it was meant to balance. The menat, associated with the worship of the goddess Hathor, was often carried by priestesses or shown in the hands of goddesses. Many menats were inscribed with spells and prayers or left as dedications to the king. They were most commonly made of bronze, wood, or faience. A number of faience examples have been found in the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. This menat, though missing its round bottom portion, is inscribed with the cartouches of Necho ii and reads: King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Wahemibre (which means “Carrying out the Wish of Re”), the son of Re (Necho). Necho ii was one of Egypt’s last great native rulers. His battle with the Babylonian Empire for control of Syria is recorded in the Bible (2 Kings 23:29, 2 Chronicles 35:20– 24) and by the Greek historian Herodotus, who also recorded that Necho ii engaged Phoenician sailors to circumnavigate Africa. Necho ii, who demonstrated great interest in geography and travel, was the first to envision what would eventually become the Suez. After his death, many of his monuments were destroyed and his name erased, rendering this menat as one of the few surviving testaments to this great king. ✺
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Margaret Shufeldt Retires this Fall
after eleven years as Curator of Works on Paper, Margaret Shufeldt is retiring this fall. A truly remarkable curator and colleague, Shufeldt produced multiple original exhibitions every year, spanning fields from Renaissance to contemporary art. In addition to installations in the Works on Paper gallery, she regularly curated important projects for the special exhibition galleries and gave countless lectures, gallery talks, and classroom programs. Committed to engaging faculty and students in unprecedented teaching opportunities, Shufeldt mentored and taught students and invested hours working with faculty to facilitate the use of the collection. She worked tirelessly to build the Works on Paper collection, raising money, making significant acquisitions, stewarding a patrons group, and building partnerships across the University and Atlanta community that produced important, relevant additions to the collection. Shufeldt shaped the quality and focus of the collection in a way that will have lasting impact. In recognition of her contributions to the Carlos Museum, the Vellert engraving (below) was purchased in her honor on the occasion of her retirement.
Dirk Vellert (Dutch, 1480–1547). The Calling of Saints Andrew and Peter. 1523. Engraving. John Howett Fund and Museum Purchase in honor of Margaret Shufeldt. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2011. 14
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Dirk Vellert, New Addition to Works on Paper
The Calling of Saints Andrew and Peter, an engraving by sixteenthcentury Dutch artist Dirk Jacobsz Vellert (1480–1547), is the most recent addition to the Museum’s Works on Paper collection. The print illustrates the first moment of contact between Christ and his two disciples Andrew and Peter. Walter Melion, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Art History at Emory University, describes the acquisition as “an exceedingly fine impression of a rare print by one of the most important printmakers working in Amsterdam and Antwerp in the 1520s and 1530s. The…subject has to do with the conversion of an everyday task— fishing—into a metaphor for evangelical ministry—fishing for men.” During his lifetime, Vellert was renowned as a stained-glass designer and glass painter. His foray into printmaking during the years 1522–1526 was very likely inspired by artists Albrecht Dürer and Lucas van Leyden, who are also represented in the Works on Paper collection at the Carlos Museum. The delicate, silvery quality of the print is especially reminiscent of Lucas’s work. The delicacy of Vellert’s line meant that his engravings were only printed in small numbers. The Calling of Saints Andrew and Peter in particular is a great rarity. It is believed that no more than five impressions exist. In addition to the Museum’s example, other impressions of the print are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, and the British Museum. ✺
ConservationLab
Carlos&theCampus What Are Our Mellon Interns Up To?
Carlos Conservation Lab Helps Solve Egypt Mystery
on loan to the Carlos Museum is a striking head and torso masterfully carved in black diorite. A scholar at the Louvre Museum in Paris suggested that the sculpture belonged to a base in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, naming an Egyptian official of the Ptolemaic Period (332– 30 bc). The current owner asked the Carlos Museum to investigate. Conservators Renée Stein and Katie Etre made a cast of the break and sent it off to Cairo to be tested. When Egyptian Museum officials compared the cast to the break at the top of their statue, the two failed to join and they concluded that the pieces could not have belonged together. This may date the torso from the late Twenty-fifth or early Twenty-sixth Dynasty, as proposed by the American scholar Jack Josephson. He thinks the sculpture may well belong to Nesptah, the son of Mentuemhet, Mayor of Thebes, and it is clearly one of the masterpieces of Egypt’s “Nubian Renaissance.” ✺ Bust of an Official of the Temple of Mut. Egyptian, Dynasty 25–early 26 (ca. 747-590 bc). Diorite. Lent by a private collector. Photo courtesy of Medusa Ancient Art
Andi McKenzie 14phd, graduate student in art history, is working closely with Rebecca Stone, Faculty Curator of Ancient American Art in preparing for the 2012 exhibition “For I am a Black Jaguar:” Shamanic Visionary Experience in Ancient American Art. All object cases for the show have been designed, and McKenzie is working with professor Stone on exhibition label content, program activities, and educational opportunities, including an informative, college-level website. McKenzie has also been working with the planning team for the reinstallation of the Ancient American galleries, which will add Native North American works of art to the current cultural areas of Mesoamerica, Central America, and the Andes. Rebecca Levitan 13c, undergraduate student in art history, worked with Jasper Gaunt, Curator of Ancient Greek and Roman Art, on assembling a corpus of ancient vessels in semiprecious hard stones, including agate and rock crystal. This work naturally complements the gems in the Shubin collection and the Carlos Museum’s rock crystal bowl.
sav e t he dat e Night on the Nile Bacchanal 18 join the Carlos Museum on Saturday, September 10, for a Night on the Nile. This year’s Bacchanal celebrates the opening of the exhibition Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy. This annual benefit event for the Museum will include cocktails in an Egyptian bazaar, food provided by Atlanta’s best caterers, a dj, and a raffle to win a trip to New York City with a private tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a philanthropic event, proceeds from Bacchanal support the education and outreach initiatives that the Museum undertakes each year, reaching over 30,000 school children and countless k–12 schools across Georgia. For more information on event and raffle tickets, call Jennifer Long at 404-727-2623 or visit carlos.emory.edu/night-on-thenile. ✺
Melissa Mair 12c has assisted with various projects in the Parsons Conservation Lab, including bathing pre-Columbian textiles, preparing a teacher’s workshop, and developing treatment strategies for Near Eastern ceramics. She has worked with the Registrar’s office to unpack and process a recently donated collection of Near Eastern objects. She has also compiled notebooks of curatorial files and images related to the Near Eastern galleries in preparation for a future renovation. ✺
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0 2 v Veneralia 2011 celebrates the permanent collections on april 2, the Carlos Museum’s signature fundraiser celebrated the Museum’s permanent collections representing art and culture from five continents. Honorees were: Peter Lacovara, Senior Curator of Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art; Margaret Shufeldt, Curator of Works on Paper; Jasper Gaunt, Curator of Greek and Roman Art; Jessica Stephenson, Curator of African Art; Rebecca Stone, Faculty Curator of Ancient American Art; Monique Seefried, Consulting Curator of Near Eastern Art; and Elizabeth Hornor, Director of Education, who also represented the Asian art collection. Veneralia co-chairs, Merry Carlos, Annette Joseph, and Robert Long, dedicated many months to launching a seamless and beautifully-executed fundraiser. Key contributors were Platinum Sponsors Robert Long and Wilmington Trust, and Gold Sponsors Cartier, National Distributing Company, and Publix Supermarket Charities. Thalia Carlos, Anne Cox Chambers, Olga Goizueta, and Su and Al Longman were Gold Benefactors. ✺
veneralia twenty celebrate our collections
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A Honoree and curator Jasper Gaunt, Veneralia co-chair Merry Carlos, Chris Carlos, Carlos Museum Director Bonnie Speed, and Seaborn Jones B Laura and John Hardman, Emily and Rodney Cook, and John Taylor 16
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Save the Date Next year’s Veneralia is on May 19, 2012.
C Annette Joseph with Robert Long D Jim and Sally Morgens with honoree and curator Peter Lacovara E Sally Gladden, Joe Lewis, Charles Ackerman, Sofi Lewis, and Joe Gladden F Al and Su Longman G Radcliffe Bailey, Jolene Postley, Amanda Taylor, Matt Arnett, and Todd Murphy
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Bookshop re ce n t ly p ubl i s h ed b ooks o n a n ci ent e gy p t Journey Through the Afterlife: The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead Edited by John H. Taylor. Hardcover, $35 (discounted for Museum members).
Egyptian Mummies By John H. Taylor. Softcover, $19.95 (discounted for Museum members).
In this new edition of one of our most popular books, written by an Assistant Keeper at the British Museum, a concise and wellWith contributions from leading illustrated history of mummies scholars and detailed catalog entries opens with the religious beliefs that interpret the spells and painted that lay behind mummification. scenes of the Book of the Dead, this Individual chapters then explore fascinating and important book the evolution of preservation, affords a greater understanding of adornment and magical protection, ancient Egyptian belief systems and the symbolism of coffins and tombs, poignantly reveals the hopes and the rituals accompanying embalming fears of mortal man about the world and burial, and the role of animal beyond death. This edition features mummies in Egyptian religion. more than 240 beautifully illustrated In a final thought-provoking review, photographs of papyri along with the author traces our changing an array of contextual funerary views on mummies, alongside the objects such as painted coffins, valuable role of modern research in gilded masks, amulets, jewelry, tomb expanding our knowledge, not only figurines, and mummy trappings. of ancient Egypt, but also of human culture as a whole.
The Bookshop will have a booth at the Decatur Book Festival, September 3 and 4!
new fo r kids Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs By Marcia Williams. Hardcover, $16.99 (discounted for Museum members).
In this retelling of nine tales of ancient Egypt, Marcia Williams uses her signature comic-strip style to capture the rich mythology and early history of this great civilization. Beginning with powerful Ra rising from the waters of the Nile to create the gods of the earth, sky, and rain, this lively book takes readers through the curse of King Tut’s tomb and the rise of Cleopatra, with Rami, Ra’s beloved cat, highlighting Egypt’s many cultural and technological advances along the way. co m ing t his wint er Ancient Nubia: African Kingdoms on the Nile Edited by Marjorie M. Fisher (with contributions by Carlos Museum curator Peter Lacovara). Hardcover, $49.95, due in January 2012 (discounted for Museum members).
Only a handful of archaeologists have studied the history of ancient Nubia or unearthed the Nubian cities, temples, and cemeteries that once dotted the landscape of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Nubia’s remote setting in the midst of an inhospitable desert, with access by river blocked by impassable rapids, has lent it not only an air of mystery, but also isolated it from exploration. This lushly illustrated gazetteer of the archaeological sites of southern Egypt and northern Sudan attempts to document some of what has recently been discovered about ancient Nubia. ✺
To order books by phone call 404-727-2374, or visit our website at carlos.emory.edu/bookshop. 18
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Membership Thank you to all of you who have become new members or have renewed between January and July, 2011. We greatly appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the Museum for many years to come. Not yet a member? Visit carlos.emory.edu/join to join the ranks of these generous supporters. CAR LOS PA R T NER SHI P
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Morgens Mr. and Mrs. Gary W. Rollins Mr. and Mrs. Chris Michael Carlos D IR ECTOR CO U NC I L
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Astrop, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Curtiss Mr. Robert Long Mr. and Mrs. Al Longman Mr. and Mrs. M. Ed Ralston Wilmington Trust COL LECTOR CO U NC I L
Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Bunnen CURA T OR C OU N C IL
Cartier The Honorable Anne Cox Chambers Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Crawley Mrs. Olga C. de Goizueta Mrs. Louise S. Gunn Dr. and Mrs. Frank R. Joseph Mr. Avery V. Kastin Ms. Margie A. Koenig Dr. and Mrs. John Laszlo Drs. Jerrold H. Levy and Maria Arias National Distributing Company Dr. and Mrs. Diamondis John Papadopoulos Mr. and Mrs. S. Jay Patel Mr. Nicholas J. Pisaris Publix Super Markets Charities Mr. and Mrs. Clarence H. Ridley Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Peter Rosen Mr. and Ms. John D. Shlesinger Ms. Isabel Thomson Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. Tucker Mr. F. Glenn Verrill Mrs. Loraine P. Williams Ms. Joni R. Winston C O R INTHIA N
AirTran Airways Ms. Merrily C. Baird Canterbury Press Dr. and Ms. O. Anderson Currie, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Gladden, Jr. Mr. James E. Honkisz and Ms. Catherine A. Binns
Dr. and Mrs. Larry R. Kirkland Magnum Companies Dr. Erl Dordal and Ms. Dorothy K. Powers Drs. Kirk W. Elifson and Claire Elizabeth Sterk Messrs. Timothy David Tew and Joseph Northington Times 3 Mr. William K. Zewadski I O NIC
Dr. David S. Pacini and Mrs. Martha H. Abbott-Pacini Dr. Delores P. Aldridge and Mr. Kwame Essuon Mr. and Mrs. Miles J. Alexander Mr. and Mrs. William James Brehm Mrs. Martha Norton Caldwell Dr. Daniel B. Caplan Dr. Francine D. Dykes and Mr. Richard H. Delay Ms. Catherine Warren Dukehart Drs. Michael Lyn Flueckiger and Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Howard Mrs. Susanne W. Howe Dr. Joe B. Massey, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patrick McDevitt Dr. and Mrs. Patton H. McGinley, Sr. Mrs. Dorothy H. Miller Mr. L. Richard Plunkett Mr. and Mrs. William C. Rawson Mr. Alton Arnall Thomasson Messrs. Ben J. Tompkins, Jr. and Steven F. Satterfield Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. Vivona D O RIC
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Allan Mr. and Mrs. Carleton Allen Bishop John of Amorion Ms. Martha Andreatos Ms. Nancy L. Barber The Rev. Nancy Julia Baxter Drs. Herbert W. Benario and Janice M. Benario Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Neal Benham Dr. and Mrs. Bruce H. Bielfelt Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Boas Mr. Robert D. Broeksmit and Ms. Susan Gail Bollendorf Mrs. Laura Hailey Bowen Dr. Martine Watson Brownley Mr. Dean Brook and Ms. Joanna Buffington Mr. and Mrs. Mark B. Bullman Mr. Jeffrey Kirsch and Ms. Dana A. Burrell Drs. Aubrey M. Bush and Carol T. Bush Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Alan Busse Dr. and Mrs. Stewart Wright Caughman Mrs. Carolyn Joiner Childers Dr. Ann D. Critz Mr. Cameron S. Crowley Ms. Dorothy A. Cunningham Mr. and Mrs. Ajit Dalvi Drs. J. Anthony Paredes and Alleen D. Deutsch Dr. Robin Henry Dretler and Ms. Alice K. Michaelson Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Edge Event Rentals Unlimited, Inc. Dr. and Mrs. Alton B. Farris iii Mr. George Wendell Ford, Jr. and Mrs. Gina Marie Morelli
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Ford Mr. Brian McClain Fulford Mr. and Mrs. Brian Fultz Mr. and Mrs. Carl I. Gable, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Garrison Mr. Jonathan D. Dixon and Mrs. Allison M. Germaneso-Dixon Mr. Francis J. Gilmore Mr. and Mrs. John W. Grant iii Dr. and Mrs. John B. Hardman Mr. and Mrs. George R. Hemenway Mr. and Mrs. Ernest G. Jones iii Mr. and Ms. Richard S. Kaplan Mr. and Mrs. Martin Keller Mr. and Mrs. John G. Kokoszka Mr. and Mrs. Arnold H. Kurth Dr. Peter Lacovara Drs. Peter Carl Sederberg and Janice Love Mr. Michael L. Lowe Dr. and Mrs. Allen G. Macris Mr. and Mrs. Cecil C. Malone, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Mann Ms. Mahota Matthews Ms. Lee P. Miller Ms. Mimi Shetzen Monett Mr. and Mrs. I. Lewis Nix, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Solon P. Patterson Mr. and Mrs. Melvin A. Perling Dr. Sophia Brothers Peterman Dr. Frank M. Pickens Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Prosser Mr. and Ms. Williams D. Reynolds Mr. Darryl C. Payne and Mrs. Lisa C. Richardson Dr. Henry C. Ricks, Jr. Mr. David P. Robichaud The Honorable and Mrs. Mathew Robins Dr. Richard B. Rothenberg and Ms. Patricia A. Honchar Ms. Sharon Roy Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Rutledge Dr. and Mrs. Rein Saral Dr. Monique Seefried and Mr. Ferdinand C. Seefried Dr. Robert J. Samuels and Ms. Patricia Stone Dr. and Mrs. Carter Smith, Jr. Soiree Catering and Events Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stickell Dr. and Ms. Gary W. Tapp Ms. Virginia S. Taylor Ms. Lori Van Rossem Mr. and Mrs. J. Eric Viebrock Mr. and Mrs. Gudmund Vigtel Dr. and Mrs. James L. Waits Dr. and Mrs. Warren Walter Messrs. John A. White, Jr. and Richard G. Low Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. White, Jr. Mr. William B. White Mr. David J. Worley and Ms. Bernadette M. Drankoski Mr. Jessie Worsham âœş
Thank you
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571 south kilgo circle atlanta, ga 30322 carlos.emory.edu
Comingup
Visitorinformation
January 14–April 15, 2012
Hours: Tuesday through Friday: 10 am–4 pm; Saturday: 10 am– 5 pm; Sunday: Noon–5 pm; Closed Mondays and University holidays. caffè antico: Monday–Saturday: 11 am–3 pm.
Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism Third Floor Galleries February 4–May 13, 2012
Twentieth-Century European Works Admission: $8 general admission. on Paper John Howett Works on Paper Gallery Carlos Museum members and Emory students, faculty, and staff: Free. Students, seniors, and children Stayconnnected ages 6–17: $6 (Children ages 5 and under free). Update and upload on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and more! Visit www.carlos.emory.edu/connect
Explore Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy. Scan QR code or text MUMMY to 99699
Public Transportation: marta bus line 6 Emory from Inman Park/ Reynoldstown & Lindbergh stations or 36 North Decatur from Avondale and Midtown stations.
non profit organization u.s. postage paid atlanta, georgia permit number 3604
Handicapped Parking: Drop off for handicap visitors at Plaza Level entrance on South Kilgo Circle. Handicap-accessible parking is available in the Oxford Road and Peavine Decks. A handicap-accessible shuttle runs from the Peavine Deck, weekdays every 10 minutes. Tours: Advanced booking required for weekday or weekend groups of 10 or more. For reservations call 404-727-0519 at least two weeks before your group would like to visit. Public Tours: Begin in the Rotunda on Sundays at 2 pm, September through June.
Audio Tour: $2. Free for Museum members. Parking: Paid visitor parking in the visitor sections of the Fishburne Museum Information: 404-727-4282 and Peavine Parking Decks and in Web Access: carlos.emory.edu the new Oxford Road Parking Deck, located behind the new Barnes and Noble @ Emory, 1390 Oxford Road.