Collection Guide
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Emerson (Alfred) Collection - Ancient Greco-Roman
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Table of contents
Title: Emerson (Alfred) Collection - Ancient Greco-Roman
Dates: 1901-1904
Collection Number: see Extent of Collection
Creator/Collector:
Emerson, Alfred
Hearst, Phoebe A.
Emerson
Hearst
University of California Museum of Anthropology
Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
Extent: Call Numbers: Acc.21, Acc.29, Acc.30, Acc.38, Acc.50, Acc.60, Acc.73, Acc.98, Acc.103, Acc.109, Acc.119, Acc.129, Acc.144,
Acc.147, Acc.151, Acc.153, Acc.155, Acc.158, Acc.165, Acc.169, Acc.171, Acc.173, Acc.181, Acc.182, Acc.184, Acc.193, Acc.208,
Acc.209, Acc.358, Acc.797 (relates specifically to Acc.119). Note: languages in accessions include English, French, Italian,
and German. Objects are from Ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria, with a few in collection from Egypt and Mycenae.
Online items available
Repository:
UC Berkeley. Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
Berkeley, California 94720-3712
Abstract: Documentation of Emerson’s collection is extensive. Within the accession files, there are papers detailing exchanges between
Emerson and others, such as letters between Emerson and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, in addition to information on the provenance
of objects. Other items include shipping labels and letters exchanged between museum staff regarding the collection. The files
also list the date each object came into the museum, as well as what numbers were assigned upon arrival. Objects were received
between the years of 1901 and 1904, all of which were part of antiquity or reproductions of objects from antiquity. For more
information on the specific items within each accession, please see the finding aid linked below under “only items URL section.”
Language of Material: English
https://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/request-a-research-visit/
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[Identification of item]. Emerson (Alfred) Collection - Ancient Greco-Roman. Collection Number: see Extent of Collection.
UC Berkeley. Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
For more information on specific objects and accessions, look at accessions in the finding aid (pdf attached).
To look at the objects, request a research visit at PAHMA: https://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/request-a-research-visit/
Biography/Administrative History
Alfred Emerson (1859 - 1943) was born in Greencastle, Pennsylvania on February 25, 1859 and died of a heart attack on October
19, 1943. Emerson received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1880 from the University of Munich and went on to hold fellowships
at Princeton University (1881-1882) and Johns Hopkins University (1882-1887). He was a Professor of Greek at Miami University,
Oxford, Ohio (1887-1889) and Professor of Latin at Lake Forest University (1889-1891). Between 1891-1898, Emerson was an Associate
Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cornell University. He also held the position of Professor of Archaeology at the American
School of Classical Studies in Athens (1898-1900). It was during and after this period that Emerson served as an art advisor
for Phoebe Apperson Hearst, purchasing many objects on her behalf which are part of the archaeological collections of the
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. In total, Emerson collected material objects under 31 accessions at the Hearst Museum.
Emerson was also the Curator of Antiquities and Assistant Director at the Art Institute of Chicago (1905-1916). He was involved
in archaeological expeditions in North Africa, Greece, and Italy.
Scope and Content of Collection
Objects include terracotta vessels and figurines, bronzework, glassware, mummy portraits, faiences, jewelry, mirrors, coins,
marbles, Egyptian sarcophagi, coins, wax rubbings and mechanical copies of over one thousand Greek and Latin inscriptions.
Negatives of antique pottery and watercolors by Eleanor Harrison Suplee that depict mummy portraits also included. Plaster
cast reproductions of statues and electrotype reproductions of ancient Greek gold and silver coins were also created. See
finding aid (“only items URL section”) for specific information on catalogue numbers and index of object types.
antiquity
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Etruria
archaeology
Emerson, Alfred
Hearst, Phoebe A.
Emerson
Hearst
University of California Museum of Anthropology
Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
Italy
Greece
Mycenae
Brussels
Germany
Paris
Egypt
bronze
marble sculptures
plaster casts
coins
watercolors
mummy portraits
terracotta vessels
jewelry
faience
sarcophagi
rubbings
collector
archaeologist