The Past is Present: The Kempner Collection of Classical Antiquities at the Nasher Museum

In 2006, the collection of 224 antiquities assembled by Walter Kempner, M.D. was donated to the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University by Barbara Newborg, M.D. Ranging from the 3rd millennium to the 3rd century B.C.E., the collection includes Mediterranean antiquities such as Cycladic marble artifacts; Greek ceramics attributed to significant Athenian painters, including the Kleophrades Painter, the Athenian Painter, and the Matsch Painter; and carved amber likely from an Etruscan workshop. In The Past Is Present, scholars and Duke University students present the collection, including many objects that have never been published before, and discuss its significance for art history, classics, museum studies, and archaeology. The introductory essay by Kimerly Rorschach, Director of the Nasher Museum, discusses the gift in the context of current issues surrounding the acquisition of antiquities and the aims of university museums. Contributors Carla Antonaccio Elizabeth Baltes Larissa Bonfante Kaila Davis Sheila Dillon Robert Dudley Susan Foster Kiki Fox Alex Jorn Christina Kaplanis Mary King Anna Kivlan Lindsay Levine Michael Ma Jennifer Morris Jenifer Neils Daven Reagan Kimerly Rorschach Brendan Saslow Tyler Jo Smith Andrew Tharler

Publication of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University