Archaeology Magazine - September 1954 - 56

possible, basing it on seal impressions
found on datable clay tablets. Rachel
Wischnitzer presented a new interpretation of parts of the mosaic of the
Beth Alpha synagogue, finding in it
elements of a rain-making ritual.
J. M. Plumer, in his paper "Vishnu and
the King," explainedvariations and apparent inconsistenciesin the iconography of Nara Simha. M. S. Dimand
spoke on early Islamic cut glass from
Persia.
In the Linguistic Section we may
mentionB. P. Lozinski'spaper on "The
Language of the Sasanians and the
Dating of the so-called'Sasanian Coinage and Art." He concluded that the
art attributed to the Sasanians must be
dated in the Parthian period, and that
it is related to the art of China and
India in the pre-Christian era.
In the Islamic Section G. E. von
Grunebaum presented a paper on "The
Hellenistic and Muslim Town," comparing their planning, political function
and cultural structure. A. S. Ehrenkreutz discussed some aspects of the
coinageof Islamic Egypt, attempting to
elucidate the principles underlying the
exchange rates between various types
of gold coins.
In the Mesopotamia Section E. I.
Gordon spoke on Sumerian proverbs
found on tablets from Nippur, finding
that these were originally assembledin
a series of "books." S. N. Kramer presented an analysis of some of the Nippur tablets inscribedwith literary compositions. Beatrice L. Goff spoke on
"Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals as
Amulets."
Two symposia were held in the
course of the meeting. The first, conducted in collaboration with the Far
East Association,was entitled "Critical
Transition Periods." Max Loehr spoke
on "Chou Art and the Art of the Nomads," Stella Kramrisch on "Critical
Transition Periods and their Appraisal," FlorenceE. Day on "The Ummayad Period," and Aschwin Lippe on
"The Artists of the Yiian Dynasty and
the New Direction of Chinese Painting." The secondsymposium,"Authority and Law in the Ancient Orient,"
featured six speakers, each taking a
geographical area as the subject of his
paper. J. A. Wilson discussed Egypt;
E. A. Speiser, Mesopotamia; H. G.
Güterbock, Anatolia; I. Mendelsohn,
Canaan and Israel; D. H. Ingalls, India; and D. Bodde, China. .
184

American Research Center in Egypt
The trustees of the American Research Center in Egypt have announced
that the Director of the Center for
1954-55will be Dr. Bernard V. Bothmer, of the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts. Mr. William K. Simpson, of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been
appointed Research Associate of the
Center for the same period. Those who
wish to communicate with Dr. Bothmer may address him at 1, sharia el
Shams, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt.
Peruvian Pottery Exhibit
Some two hundred of the best examples of Peruvian pottery from the
Wasserman Collection recently acquired by Nathan Cummings of Chicago are on exhibit at the Art Institute
of Chicago through the end of this
year. The collection,which consists of
approximately1500objectsof gold and
other metals as well as ceramics,dates
from ca. 800 B.c. to the time of the
Spanish conquestand is extraordinarily
rich in Mochicastyle pottery. Piecesselected for exhibitionat the Art Institute
illustrate the evolution of this important civilization,with special emphasis
on the strong and forceful style of the
early Mochica people as contrasted
with the suave and sophisticated pottery of the later period.
Guggenheim Awards
Of the 243 grants made by the Guggenheim Foundation for the year 195455, fourteen are for research in archaeology and allied fields. The recipients
are as follows:
Milton V. Anastos, Dumbarton
Oaks Research Library of Harvard
University. Studies in the intellectual
history of the age of the Emperor Justinian I.
Truesdell S. Brown, University of
California, Los Angeles. Studies in the
field of Hellenistic historiography.
Theodor H. Gaster, Dropsie College. Studies of the Samaritans.
Virginia Grace, American School
of ClassicalStudies, Athens. Studies of
trade in the ancient Mediterranean as
documentedby stamped wine jars.
Evelyn B. Harrison, American
School of Classical Studies, Athens.
Studies of ancient Greek stone sculpture.
Arthur W. Hummel, Library of
Congress. Studies of Chinese history
and culture.

Benno Landsberger, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. Studies
of the ancient languages and cultures
of the Near East.
Jakob A. O. Larsen, University of
Chicago. A historical study of the
Greek federal states.
Henry Lumpkin, U.S. Naval Academy. A study of ancient Greek naval
power.
Hallam L. Movius, Jr., Harvard
University. Studies of the origin and
developmentof Upper Palaeolithicculture.
Ann L. Perkins, Yale University.
Studies of the archaeologicalhistory of
Mesopotamia.
Ben E. Perry, Universityof Illinois.
Studies of ancient Greek and Roman
fables.
Paul S. Wingert, Columbia University. Studies of the art of the South
Pacificislands.
Herbert E. Wright, Jr., University
of Minnesota.Studiesof Iraq and adjacent areas with special reference to the
physical and climatic settings of their
early cultures.
Menander in Dayton
A sculptured head reputed to be that
of Menander, Athenian writer of
comedies and friend of Epicurus, has
recently been presented to the Dayton
Art Institute. The head came from the
collection of Lord Melchett, being
part of the Ludwig Mond Collection
which was inherited by Lord Melchett from his father. This is the
second time that this piece has been
placed on public view. The first time
was at the Burlington Fine Arts Club
in London in 1904.
The sculpture is made of the creamy
marble of the type quarried near Ephesus. Scholarshave dated it to the fourth
century or early third century B.c., the
time when Hellenistic sculptors were
striving for realistic portraiture.
Old World Chronology
The Archaeological Institute of
America announcesthe publication of
Relative Chronologies in Old World
Archeology,the papers of a symposium
sponsored jointly with the American
Anthropological Association and published by the University of Chicago
Press. The assembledpapers present a
survey of interlocking archaeological
evidence for cross-dating between

Archaeology Magazine - September 1954

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - September 1954