John Boardman - On the Fascination of Objects: Greek and Etruscan Art in the Shefton Collection

In memory of
Brian Benjamin Shefton (19192012)
and Jutta Shefton (19292014)

Published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by
OXBOW BOOKS
10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW

and in the United States by
OXBOW BOOKS
1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083

Oxbow Books and the individual contributors 2016

Paperback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-006-4
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-007-1
Kindle Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-008-8
PDF Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-009-5

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

On the fascination of objects: Greek and Etruscan art in the Shefton collection / Edited by John Boardman, Andrew Parkin and Sally Waite.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-78570-006-4 (hardback)

1. Art, Greek--Themes, motives. 2. Art, Etruscan--Themes, motives. 3. Art--Private collections--England--Newcastle upon Tyne. 4. Shefton, Brian B.--Art collections. 5. Great North Museum (Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne, England) I. Boardman, John, 1927- editor. II. Parkin, Andrew (Andrew R.), editor. III. Waite, Sally, editor.

N5630.O5 2015

709.495--dc23

2015035985

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Printed in Wales by Gomer Press

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Contents

John Prag

Antony Spawforth and Andrew Parkin

Elizabeth Moignard

Diana Rodrguez Prez

Sally Waite

Susan B. Matheson

Franois Lissarrague

Brian A. Sparkes

David W. J. Gill

Athena Tsingarida

Judith M. Barringer

Dyfri Williams

Andrew Parkin

Alessandro Naso

John Boardman

Contributors

PROFESSOR JUDITH M. BARRINGER

Professor of Greek Art and Archaeology,

Department of Classics,

University of Edinburgh

PROFESSOR EMERITUS SIR JOHN BOARDMAN

Emeritus Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art,

Oxford University

PROFESSOR DAVID W. J. GILL

Director of Heritage Futures,

Suffolk Business School,

University Campus Suffolk

PROFESSOR FRANOIS LISSARRAGUE

Directeur dtudes,

Ecole des Hautes Etudes
en Sciences Sociales, Paris

SUSAN B. MATHESON

Molly and Walter Bareiss Curator of Ancient Art,

Yale University Art Gallery,

New Haven, Connecticut

PROFESSOR EMERITA ELIZABETH MOIGNARD

Professor Emerita of Classical Art and Archaeology,

University of Glasgow

PROFESSOR DR ALESSANDRO NASO

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche,

Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico

Roma

ANDREW PARKIN

Keeper of Archaeology,

Great North Museum: Hancock,

Newcastle upon Tyne

PROFESSOR EMERITUS JOHN PRAG

Hon. Professor in the Manchester Museum and Professor Emeritus of Classics,

University of Manchester

DR DIANA RODRGUEZ PREZ

Research Assistant,

CARC-The Beazley Archive,

University of Oxford

EMERITUS PROFESSOR BRIAN A. SPARKES

Emeritus Professor of Classical Archaeology,

University of Southampton

EMERITUS PROFESSOR ANTONY SPAWFORTH

Emeritus Professor of Ancient History,

School of History, Classics and Archaeology,

Newcastle University

PROFESSOR ATHENA TSINGARIDA

Centre de Recherches en Archologie et Patrimoine,

Universit libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

DR SALLY WAITE

Teaching Fellow in Classics,

School of History, Classics and Archaeology,

Newcastle University

DR DYFRI WILLIAMS

Former Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum;

Gerda Henkel Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow and Professeur invit,

Universit libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Acknowledgements

This volume is a testament to the significant contribution Professor Brian Shefton made to Greek and Etruscan archaeology, both during a lifetime dedicated to scholarship and through the creation of a notable collection of artefacts. All the contributors to the conference held in honour of Brian Shefton in April 2013 and to this volume are to be thanked for highlighting the importance of the Collection and producing stimulating papers on some of the objects within it.

There are several organisations to thank for the support they have provided in the production of this volume. They are the Great North Museum, the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums and Newcastle University. The editors are also indebted to a number of individuals who have helped at various stages in the publication process; we would like to thank Joanne Anderson, Colin Davison, Sarah Glynn, Monica Hughes, Jacob Parkin, Sajidah Saleem and Tony Spawforth for their invaluable help. Penny Shefton has provided steadfast support and encouragement throughout.

Abbreviations

Foreword: Memories of Brian Shefton

John Prag

It must be nearly fifty years since my path first crossed with Brians. Like so many people who got to know him, the meeting of ways will have been in the Ashmolean library me an earnest (sometimes) student, fascinated by this man with the camera and the chest-pod furiously photographing book after book before disappearing back to Newcastle to read his home-made microfilms. Once I had started on my doctoral research we often discussed those books and the pictures in them, for my research was on the iconography of the Oresteia, which was a subject that interested him deeply too. My favourite memory of Brian is of a scene that took place in early 1969 in Room 2 of the Ashmolean library: as a research student I was working there as usual with Brian busily photographing books in the background (also as usual). A young woman came over to ask my advice on something on which she was working. As ever, Brian couldnt resist coming over to see what it was since he and I did after all have very similar interests. But the real reason wasnt the book at which we were looking at: full of excitement he turned and asked me (out of the blue) and is this your fiance? He was of course right, to his great delight and pleasure, and he and Kay became very good friends in the years that followed.