Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art houses a unique collection of antiquities rarely found in the United States. Located on the main floor of the William D. Walsh Family Library in the Bronx, this collection serves as a tool to teach both students and the general public. The collection was acquired by Fordham alumni William D. Walsh to serve as an additional tool for the Latin and Greek programs. In 2007, this museum opened its doors to showcase artifacts such as Greek pottery and Roman imperial portraiture. This museum is open to the public free of charge for seven days a week.

Images

William D. Walsh Family Library

Museum Exhibit

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The William D. Walsh Family Library houses the Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art. This library was built in 1997 to replace the former Duane Library which had become insufficient to meet the growing library collection. The library is named for William D. Walsh, an alumnus who attended Fordham University who studied Latin and Greek.

The passion for the subjects of Latin and Greek is what led Walsh to collect artifacts and open a museum in his namesake library. Walsh obtained his artifacts by participating in public art auctions rather than illegally using a dealer of artifacts. After he and his wife collected a significant number of artifacts, they donated the pieces to the library to be displayed for a museum. This became the Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art.

The Museum opened in 2007 and has served the students and public free of charge since its opening. This museum contains artifacts that are meant to meant to portray the elite as well as the humble of classical Mediterranean antiquity. Greek sculptures and pottery make up a decent portion of the collection. The Museum contains a Neck-Amphora that depicts Heracles attacking a centaur. The collection also contains several portrait sculptures of several significant Roman emperors such as Caracalla and Hadrian. The simpler objects such as perfume bottles or oil lamps are also displayed alongside the grandiose pieces.

While many museums that contain antiquities receive backlash from the countries they contain artifacts from, this particular institution urges those who take issue to come forward. Fordham University is adamant about allowing the artifacts to be viewed by the public rather than sitting in a private collection.

Sources

William D. Walsh, www.fordham.edu. Accessed September 24th 2020. https://www.fordham.edu/info/26211/hall_of_honor/9557/william_d_walsh.

Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art, www.library.fordham.edu. Accessed September 24th 2020. https://www.library.fordham.edu/digital/collection/Hist.

Pogrebin, Robin. "Fordham Opens Its Gift: An Antiquities Museum." The New York Times (New York) December 6th 2007. .

Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art: Home, fordham.libguides.com. April 15th 2020. Accessed September 24th 2020. https://fordham.libguides.com/FordhamMuseum.

Additional Information

Fordham University Library Website