Catholic University’s Museum, an integral part of Special Collections, which also include Rare Books, is the proud home of a remarkable ancient Italian vase, a fourth century B.C. red-figure calyx krater. According to scholar Linda Safran (1), it was created by an artist referred to as the ‘Nazzano Painter,’ who was Faliscan, an Italic people closely tied to the Etruscans. It had a long journey to Catholic University, arriving as a donation in 1938, and a prize display for recent decades in the office of University Librarian in Mullen Library until recently moved to Rare Books, also in Mullen, where it is more readily accessible, with appropriate security, for viewing to interested scholars, students, and visitors.
The vase is a red-figure calyx krater measuring 15.5 x 16 inches and was donated to The Catholic University of America on October 20, 1938 by Miss Belle Moriarty of Brooklyn, New York, in memory of her brother Stephen F. Moriarty, who she said purchased it in Rome. He had been knighted by Pope Leo XIII and was friends with Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val and Cardinal Mariano Rampolla, who narrowly lost the 1903 Papal Election, as well as Cardinal Herbert Vaughan of Westminster, England, and was the founder of the Catholic Truth Society in England and the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites) in the United States. (2) The donation was facilitated between Mother L.R. Clark of St. Regis in NYC and Rev. (later Msgr.) Paul Hanly Furfey, longtime CU Sociology professor whose papers reside in Special Collections along with the vase.
When the vase arrived at Catholic University it was accompanied by an auction catalog describing it in French. The contemporary translation includes “red painted figures on a black background, with some tones of flesh color subdued with white high lights. 1st are Hercules and Minerva receiving some offerings from three women and from a hero…bordered with Grecian palms and branches from the olive tree.” It also says “Villa Borghese Pavillon de l’Horloge – Place de Sienne – Marbres Antiques objets d’art, du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et Armes. Rome 1893.” (3) By 1993, the vase was on display in the University Librarian’s office, Third Floor Mullen Library, where a conservator, Steven Koob, examined it, observing it was an “intact vessel except for one large section of the rim on the B side which has been broken and rejoined” with some small chips “missing along the break.” His restorative work, which included cleaning, stabilizing cracks, and sealing edges was completed in 1994.
Linda Safran’s aforementioned study (full citation below) is the definitive study to date though others have more recently examined the vase. Safran’s article is a detailed examination and study of the vase where she argues it is “a high-quality addition to the existing corpus of Faliscan vases” and “its iconography seems to be unparalleled.” (4) Referring to the auction catalog accompanying the donation plus her additional research, Safran observed the vase was apparently part of the Borghese Collection, but its verified location between 1893 and the 1938 donation to Catholic University is unknown. To inquire about the vase or any other of the university’s museum items, please contact us at lib-archives@cua.edu.
Notes:
(2) Memo to The Museum from the Rector, CUA, December 7, 1938, Special Collections Museum Reference File.
(3) Museum Reference File.
(4) Safran.
(5) Special Thanks to Alexis Howlett and Shane MacDonald for their assistance.
How do you know if one really posses a piece of Ancient Etruscan Piece?
Excellent question. Art, artifacts, or museum items can be appraised by professionals in the field using a variety of means, including lab tests and provenance research.