Museum Mosaic – Summer 2001

Highlights from the Museum’s traveling exhibi­tion, ‘THE ROYAL TOMBS OF Ur”—including the world-renowned “Ram-in-the-Thicket,” Lady Pu-Abi’s headdress, and a gold and silver drink­ing tumbler—returned to the Mesopotamian gallery midsummer 2001 and will be displayed through March 24, 2002. To date, more than 500,000 visitors in eight American cities have seen UPM’s traveling show of famous Sumerian materials, jointly curated by Dr. Richard Mettler, Associate Curator-in-Charge, Near East section; Dr. Holly Pittman, Curator, Near East section; and Dr. Donald P. Hansen, the Stephen Chan Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern Ar­chaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. The exhibition travels again in May 2002. Due to extensive gallery renovations, the Museum will not have a full reinstallation of this important Mesopotamian material in the galler­ies before 2005.

Inspired by his collaborative Black Sea Project with Bob Ballard (see Expedition Vol. 43, No. 1), Museum archaeologist and Penn professor DR. FREDRIK HIEBERT offered the first under­graduate Underwater Archaeology course at the University in more than 25 years. The course introduced students to some of the ground-breaking land and sea research undertaken by the Museum, beginning with the work of Dr. George Bass. Bass, deemed by many the “father of underwater archaeology,” taught the first Underwater Archaeology course ever, at the University of Pennsylvania.

Just to make sure his students got their feet wet, Dr. Hiebert coordinated a sailing expe­dition in May aboard the state of Delaware’s official tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel. Students boarded the ship at Penn’s Landing for a back­ into history journey. After a tour of the ship, which included a look at traditional navigation equipment and such niceties as pre—luxury ship living quarters, they received their sailors’ in­structions and left dock for a two-hour working cruise of the Delaware River.

DR. CHARLES K. WILLIAMS II. became the eighth recipient of the Angell Medal—named in honor of Marian Angell Godfrey Boyer (1892-1989)—established to honor distinguished service to the Museum by a Museum supporter. Dr. Jeremy A. Sabloff surprised Dr. Williams, an archaeolo­gist, long-time UPM benefactor, and member of the Museum’s Board of Overseers, with the award at the Board’s annual spring dinner on April 24, 2001. An active member of the Board since 1985, Dr. Williams is currently serving as Chairman of the $55 million, 21st Century Campaign, after helping to kick off the cam­paign in February 2001 with an unprecedented $16 million contribution.

IDA GOLDSTEIN. UPM’s longtime Volunteer Placement Coordinator, was the surprise recipi­ent of the Director’s Award, established to honor exceptional volunteer achievement. Dr. Jeremy A. Sabloff presented her with the award at a volunteer appreciation luncheon on April 24, 2001. Ms. Goldstein first came to the Museum in 1989 as a volunteer in the Education Depart­ment. Two years later, she became the Volunteer Placement Coordinator and since then has con­tributed more than 9,000 hours, devoting her time to the recruitment and coordination of more than 300 volunteers.

VIRGINIA GREENE. the Museum’s Senior Con­servator, received the Sheldon & Caroline Keck Award at the American Institute for Conserva­tion’s annual conference in June 2001. Each year, the prestigious award is presented to one or two senior conservators with a sustained re­cord of excellence in the education and training of conservation professionals. Ms. Greene first became interested in pursuing a conservation career while earning her master’s degree in an­thropology at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s, and assisting with UPM’s excavations at the renowned ancient Maya site of Tikal in Guatemala. Since 1971, when Ms. Greene began her career as head of the Museum’s Conservation Laboratory, she has trained and mentored a steady flow of conservation interns who have gone off to pursue careers throughout North America

DR. JEREMY A. SABLOFF. the Williams Director, has accepted chairmanship of the Smithsonian Institution’s newly constituted Smithsonian Science Commission, effective June 2001. The new commission, with members drawn from both inside and outside the Smithsonian, is charged with advising the Institution on the details of the restructuring of its scientific endeavors.