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Former name | Museum of Classical Archaeology |
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| Established | 1928 (1928) |
| Location | Newberry Hall 434 S. State St Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Type | archaeology museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Collections | prehistoric throughmedieval times |
| Collection size | >100,000 |
| Director | Nicola Terrenato |
| Owner | University of Michigan |
| Website | lsa |
Newberry Hall | |
| Location | 434 S. State Street Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°16′36.7″N83°44′26.″W / 42.276861°N 83.74056°W /42.276861; -83.74056 |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1888 (1888) |
| Architect | Spier and Rohns (original building) Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Inc. (2003 addition) |
| Architectural style | Richardsonian Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000660[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 24, 1972 |
TheKelsey Museum of Archaeology is amuseum ofarchaeology located on theUniversity of Michigan central campus inAnn Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. The museum is a unit of the University of Michigan'sCollege of Literature, Science, and the Arts.[2] It has a collection of more than 100,000ancient andmedievalartifacts from thecivilizations of the Mediterranean and theNear East.[2] In addition to displaying its permanent and special exhibitions, the museum sponsors research andfieldwork and conducts educational programs for the public and for schoolchildren.[2] The museum also houses the University of Michigan Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology.[2]
The history of the museum begins before the museum was established. The founder of the university's collection of artifacts wasFrancis Kelsey, a professor of Latin at the University of Michigan from 1889 until his death in 1927.[3][4] Kelsey began acquiring artifacts in 1893 in order to help his students understand the ancient world.[5] In 1893, he made his first acquisitions: 108lamps,vases, and building materials fromAlfred Louis Delattre, theJesuitpriest and archaeologist who was conducting anexcavation atCarthage inTunisia, and another 1,096 objects from dealers inTunis,Rome,Capri, andSicily.[5] Together with several thousand coins donated to the University of Michigan in the 1880s, these objects formed the core of the university's archaeological collections.[5] Kelsey continued to acquire objects (by gift and purchase) for the university until he died in 1927.[5] These artifacts includedpottery,terracotta figurines, paintedstucco, inscribedtombstones, daily life objects,glass,tombs, andpapyri.[5]
In 1924, Kelsey secured funding for excavations at sites around theMediterranean and began to ship a large number of artifacts back to Ann Arbor.[5] In 1924, he sent nearly 45,000 objects fromKaranis, illustrating "in detail how daily life was lived inEgypt under Roman rule."[5] The same year, excavations atSeleucia-on-the-Tigris inIraq yielded another 13,000 objects.[5] In 1925, Kelseycommissioned the Italian artist Maria Barosso to paint a set ofwatercolorreplicas of themurals of theVilla of the Mysteries atPompeii, which now are housed in a special room in the Upjohn Exhibit Wing.[5]
The building that now houses the museum was originally built for the Students' Christian Association for religious services and other meetings and activities.[3] It was designed by theDetroitarchitectural firm ofSpier & Rohns.[6] Construction began in 1888 and was completed in 1891.[7]
The building is described as a "massive, asymmetricalRichardsonian Romanesque building of rough-cut, randomly placed localfieldstone."[6][7] The building has ahip roof broken byparapeted cross-gables, with afacade "dominated by a projecting three-story cornerturret topped by a conical roof"; "decorativecolonettes,arches, and regularly coursed variegated brickbandcourses break the heaviness of the imposing stone structure."[6] The building was dedicated on July 21, 1891 at a cost of $40,000 and was namedNewberry Hall—a name still engraved on the building's front—in honor of railroadmagnate John S. Newberry, whose widow Helen Newberry contributed $18,000 toward the building's construction.[3]
The universityleased Newberry Hall in 1921 for classroom space, housed its collection of ancient artifacts there from 1928,[3][7] and finally purchased the building in 1937.[3] In 1953, the museum was named in honor of Kelsey.[3][4] Newberry Hall was designated as aMichigan State Historic Site on August 13, 1971, and was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1972. It is one of the oldest still-standing buildings on the University of Michigan campus.[7]
By the early 1990s the museum was experiencing overcrowding, deterioration of artifacts, and lack of adequate storage space.[7] It was closed in July 1993 for renovations and reopened in October 1994.[8] During that time, a new third floor was added in space formerly occupied by achoir loft (from the building's Christian Association period) and a new climate-controlled Sensitive Artifact Facility and Environment space was added to maintain "appropriate storage,humidity, and temperature requirements for optimal artifact longevity."[8] A new registry,conservation lab, objects study area,water-sprinkler fire control system,security system, and elevator to the new third floor were added.[7][8] The building was also made morehandicapped accessible.[8] The $1.3 million project was funded by a $250,000 gift from Eugene M. and Emily Grant ofNew York City, along with grants from the University of Michigan and theNational Endowment for the Humanities, as well as funding from the Kelsey Museum Associates and other private contributions.[7][8]
In 2003,Edwin andMary Meader ofKalamazoo, Michigan, longtime benefactors of the university, gave an $8 million gift to expand the museum by the addition of a new wing in the back of the museum.[7][9] At the time, this was the largest gift in the history of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.[9] The Meader gift, along with a $200,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, covered all of the project's $8.2 million cost.[10] TheChicago-based architectural firm ofHammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Inc. designed the new addition.[10] In 2009, theWilliam E. Upjohn Exhibit Wing was completed, adding more than 20,000 feet of study, storage, and display space in a climate-controlled facility; the new space allowed the museum, which previously had been displaying less than 1 percent of its collection, to dramatically expand the number of artifacts on public display.[3][4][7][11] The wing was named after Mary Meader's grandfatherWilliam E. Upjohn, the noted pharmacist.[11] The building reopened to the public in November 2009.[12]
The Kelsey Museum's permanent exhibition on display in the William E. Upjohn Exhibit Wing features many artifacts and artworks from the ancient and medieval world in theMediterranean and Near East. The collection includesancient Egyptian, Near Eastern,Greek,Roman,Etruscan,Coptic,Persian, andIslamic archaeological artifacts.[11][13] In addition to its more than 100,000 artifacts, the collection is also home to some rare objects important to the study of archaeology, excavation records, and an archive of 25,000 archaeological andfine arts photographs."[5]
Among the museum's most significant holdings are:
The collection also includes a colorfully-painted ancient Egyptianmummy;amulets; a variety ofglassvessels,ancient Greek pottery; andancient Roman sculpture.
The Kelsey Museum has conducted fieldwork for nearly 100 years. Its past excavations and other fieldwork have taken place at the followingarchaeological sites:[14]
The Kelsey Museum is currently sponsoring the following fieldwork:[15]
The indie rock band The Kelseys, formed in 2016 by University of Michigan students, is named after the museum.[16][17][18]
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