On the ground floor of the Walsh Library, there’s a quiet, colorful space where students can step away from their studies for a moment to contemplate rare objects from the ancient world. The Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art is a one-of-a-kind campus resource that’s free and open to all. Now the collection is growing, thanks to some visiting objects on long-term loan from the Hispanic Society and Brooklyn Museum.
The 11 new items include antiquities from Roman Spain—a fascinating and under-studied area of the ancient Mediterranean basin, according to the museum’s curator, Jennifer Udell. There are also new pieces of Greek and Roman sculpture from the Brooklyn Museum.
A Welcoming Space for All
Udell said the museum has attracted some “regulars”—students who stop by often and help out around the space. Some have even helped to install the objects, getting the rare opportunity to unbox and arrange pieces of pottery and glass created by human hands thousands of years ago.
One such student is senior Grace Monteith. When the museum reopened in 2022 after the pandemic, she helped with the reinstallation. “The unpacking was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Dr. Udell took a picture of me and it’s everywhere on my social media. It’s the coolest,” she said.
First-Hand Encounters with Antiquities
The museum is a teaching collection that creates unique experiential learning opportunities. Professors in several academic departments bring their classes to the museum, and Udell herself teaches courses in museum studies and other subjects. Like business students who gain experience on the Gabelli School trading floors, students who take a museum studies class with Udell get to work with the objects, make decisions about how they’re presented, and curate a group exhibit at the end of the semester.
One group of students, Udell’s interns for this semester, are at work on an interactive new development: a mobile app through Bloomberg Connects that will offer museum visitors a guided tour of the collection. They’re putting together audio and video content that will provide historical context and highlight points of interest.
Udell says the tour will not just be for art history students. The app will have information about theatrical masks for theater majors, ancient glass objects for those interested in organic chemistry, and even something for students studying finance. “We have a cuneiform tablet that’s a receipt for a bundle of reeds. It’s not crypto, but it is ancient economies,” she said.
New Wonders with Each Visit
For senior Ryan Moore, visiting the museum never gets old. “Every time I come I notice something new that I’ve never seen before,” said Moore, who helped to reinstall the objects for the reopening in 2022. He pointed to a case he’d helped to arrange, noting the way a sculpture’s wings parted to create the perfect opening through which the object in the background could be seen unobstructed.
“That’s an arrangement I happened on by chance,” he said. “It’s something I’m still proud of to this day.”
