Curatorial Lab: Ancient Greek Vases at Middlebury

Middlebury College acquired its first Ancient Greek vase in 1953. Now the college museum holds well over sixty vases and shards that, together, constitute an outstanding teaching collection. In this writing-intensive curatorial lab we will study the ancient techniques pertaining to the creation of Greek pottery, explore its cultural contexts, and familiarize ourselves with the modern methodologies developed for organizing, categorizing, and attributing Greek vases. Next, we will study and document the Middlebury collection, resulting in an online catalog to which each student will contribute entries for a handful of vases and shards. The course includes a short trip to New York City to study, first-hand, collections (Metropolitan Museum) and meet with curators, dealers, and other museum and art world professionals. HARC 0100 or prior permission.