The William D. and Jane Walsh Collection of approximately 270 objects was donated to Fordham University in 2006 and served as the foundation for The Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art. The museum, dedicated the following year, is housed in the William D. Walsh Family Library at Rose Hill, named after Walsh who was a Fordham Alumnus, a member of the University Board of Trustees and a major contributor towards the library's construction (http://www.library.fordham.edu/information/about.html).
Understandably, as some of the objects had uncertain background information and lacked secure provenance, the acquisition of the collection by the University caused some controversy, becoming part of the debate concerning ‘what to do about existing private collections acquired in good faith’ and the loss in not making such collections public just because objects lack provenance (p. 12) (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/arts/design/06muse.html). U. summarises Merryman's arguments about an object-oriented approach to ancient artefacts, ‘that in the absence of detailed excavation and ownership records, a thorough study of the historical and artistic significance of an artifact along with its exposition to students, scholars, and the general public can mitigate the ethical quandary of displaying unprovenanced material’ (p. 12) (J.H. Merryman, ‘The Nation and the Object’, International Journal of Cultural Property 4 [1996], 61–76).
To face the legal and ethical challenges, the University decided to accept the collection and to put it on public display in order to invite scrutiny, even if that meant restitution of objects. This approach has been productive and in the case U. cites, the University came to a restitution agreement with the Italian government about the Villanovan hut urn (No. 37) which was revealed to have been illegally excavated, exported and sold at auction and will now remain on view as a long-term loan (pp. 12–13). Fordham University should be commended for taking on the thorny task and obligations of dealing with this collection in such an upright fashion. As recent and ongoing events have shown, the protection of artefacts may well be better served if they are in public and accessible collections around the world.
The publication contains a foreword by William D. Walsh; a list of contributors; acknowledgements; an introduction by U.; then catalogue sections divided by area and category: Cypriot art, Greek art (Mycenaean, Attic, Corinthian and South Italian), Villanovan, Etruscan and Italic art, Roman art, coins, Ancient Near Eastern art; a bibliography; and appendix: an illustrated list of works in the collection.
The objects included are primarily from the Walsh collection as well as ‘a number of Roman coins given to Fordham University in 1949 by Thomas Marrone, eight Roman glass vessels acquired at auction in 2008 from a collection assembled in the 1970s, and an Attic red-figure fragment attributed to the Greek vase-painter Makron, also acquired in 2008 and previously published in 1988’ (p. 13).
The contributors are: A. Anderson, the Villanovan cinerary urn, No. 37; S.E. Cox, Greek and Roman coins, Nos 93–103; R.D. de Puma, Etruscan pottery, Nos 39–49, Etruscan engraved mirror, No. 74; J.W. Earle, Cypriot pottery, Nos 1–3, Mycenaean and Corinthian pottery, Nos 4–7, Etrusco-Corinthian pottery, Nos 59–62; S.B. Graff, portrait head of Hadrian, No. 78, figurine of goddess, No. 92, cuneiform tablet, No. 104; A.C. Hrychuk Kontakosta, Roman sculptures, Nos 72–7, 79–82; P.S. Lulof, Etruscan antefixes, Nos 63–7, and a general discussion of Etruscan roofs and their decoration; A.F. Mangieri, South Italian vases, Nos 20, 22–32; M.B. Muratov, South Italian krater, No. 21, Greek terracotta figurines, Nos 34–6, Italic votives, Nos 68–73; L.C. Pieraccini, Etruscan pottery, Nos 50–8, and general discussions of Impasto Ware, Etruscan Bucchero and Stamped Caeretan Ware; A.S. Snowden, South Italian Gnathian ware situala, No. 33, Greek/Villanovan bronze armlet, No. 38, Roman [?] bronze askos, No. 91; R. Trentinella, Roman glass, Nos 83–90, and a general discussion of Roman blown glass; U., Attic pottery, Nos 8–19.
The publication is generally quite handsome. Catalogue entries usually begin on the verso with a full page photograph opposite. Occasionally, there are additional small images, some useful, as with the lid of the White-on-Red pyxis No. 44, but some are unnecessary as with amphoras Nos 50–5 where good drawings would have been a better solution. Indeed, additional views or drawings for many of the objects would have been welcome. Many of the objects are photographed against a nearly black field, making the viewing of edges difficult. While the quality of the entries varies, and there are inconsistencies in captions and format, most are well written and informative. As the catalogue generally follows a chronological order, the Ur III (late-third millennium b.c.e.) cuneiform tablet, No. 104, ‘a receipt for a shipment of reed bundles carried by boat from a city called Nagsu’ (p. 310) should have preceded the Late Cypriot I–II (c. 1600–1200 b.c.e.) milk bowl (No. 1).
Ceramic vases comprise over half the catalogue. The entries by U., Mangieri, Muratov and Snowden for the Attic and South Italian pottery are rich in detail. Many of the vases are attributed to individuals, circles and groups. Of the Attic black, there are attributions to: the Swing Painter, No. 8; the Painter of Berlin 2268, No. 9; possibly the Class of Athens 581, No. 10; the Circle of the Antimenes Painter, No. 11; the Leagros Group, No. 12; the Group of Brussels R-309, No. 14; and possibly the Lancut Group, No. 15; for Attic red-figure, attributions to: Makron, No. 16; and the Agrigento Painter, No. 17; and for Greek, South Italian red-figure, attributions to: the Painter of Boston 00.348, No. 20; Python, No. 21; the Perrone-Phrixos Group, No. 22; the Perrone-Phrixos Group / Circle of the Darius Painter, No. 23; the Baltimore Painter, Nos 25, 30–1; the Aphrodite Painter, No. 29; and the Virginia Exhibition Painter, No. 32.
The Villanovan hut urn, No. 37, lent by Italy in 2010 (previously belonging to the Fordham collection) and discussed by Anderson, is unusual in its roof decoration suggesting a raised ridge construction method (p. 134).
De Puma's entries for Etruscan pottery, Nos 39–49, are excellent: their use of multiple views and drawings should have been used throughout the publication. The objects include a ribbed dinos on a White-on-Red holmos, No. 39, which so closely parallels an example from Nance, Monte Lo Greco necropolis that De Puma suggests it was made in the same workshop or by the same potter (p. 141). His descriptions of the other White-on-Red objects and urns with attached bowls are equally informative as is his discussion of the Etruscan mirror, No. 50, depicting a seated goddess flanked by four women with retrograde inscriptions TURAN : UNI : MEA.
Pieraccini's discussions of Impasto Ware, Etruscan Bucchero and Stamped Caeretan Ware are useful but the entries for these objects, Nos 50–7, are disappointing in detail and illustration.
Highlights of the volume are Lulof's discussions of Etruscan Roofs and their decoration, the reconstruction drawing of a sixth-century b.c.e. roof pediment from a temple in the area of Vigna Marina-Vitalini, Caere using the antefixes from the Fordham collection, and the excellent discussions of the antefixes themselves, Nos 63–7.
Hrychuk Kontakosta discusses a previously unpublished early Imperial life-size, togate male figure, probably from a tomb monument, No. 75; a portrait head of Augustus of the Prima Porta type, No. 76; a previously unpublished torso of Hercules, No. 77; a portrait head of Caracalla as a youth, No. 79; a bronze hollow-cast head probably from a life-size statue also of Caracalla as a youth but with a variant arrangement of locks suggesting provincial production (p. 264); and a second–third century c.e. child's sarcophagus with a lid and interesting inscription, No. 82. The patron of the monument belonged to the twelfth urban cohort (p. 275). Graff discusses a portrait head of Hadrian with stylistic features suggesting Syrian origin, No. 78.
Trentinella's discussions and entries for glass, Nos 83–90, and Cox's for coins, Nos 93–103, are illuminating.
Despite the criticisms, this volume is a valuable contribution, not only to the corpus of ancient objects, but to the discussion of institutions acquiring, putting on public display and publishing good-faith private collections.
