art reclaimed
by Angela Spivey

he Egyptian ibis stands intact, but not without scars. "Chips around front of one wing. Hole at base of wing," writes Cathy Dorin. "Bronze corroded to a blue-green." Using these signs of aging, the shape of the statue's head, and published reports of similar statues, Dorin, a master's student in art history, concluded that the ibis was probably made around 300 B.C.

.: This wood and bronze Egyptian statue probably dates to 300 B.C. Photo courtesy Ackland Fund; click to enlarge. :.

The ibis is one of many pieces that had gone uncataloged in the collection of the Ackland Art Museum until Mary Sturgeon, chair of the Department of Art, assigned the task to graduate students taking her seminars. In many cases, Dorin says, an artifact's museum file contained only one notation — "more research required."

esearching and dating a single piece typically took weeks. Students paged through dozens of museum catalogs to find similar pieces, pored over archaeological reports, and hunted for journal articles. Then they wrote catalog entries describing the condition of each piece, its likely time period, use in the ancient world, and provenance — the archaeological site where the piece likely originated.

.: This winged Eros dates from the first century B.C. It represents the Greek pursuit of happiness and may have been worn by someone in search of a love match. Photo courtesy The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund; click to enlarge. :.

Jessica Boehman, a Ph.D. student in art history, cataloged many of the artifacts, including a winged Eros from the first century B.C. The Eros is made of gold alloy and was likely attached to an earring or pendant, Boehman writes.

Boehman relished the chance to examine artifacts in person rather than just by photograph. "It was a wonderful experience," she says, "to get behind the scenes of the museum world, to learn how to research an actual piece of art that you can look at up close."

The newly cataloged pieces were featured in the Ackland exhibition Journey into the Past: Ancient Mediterranean Art in Context.

Angela Spivey is the associate editor of Endeavors magazine.
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