Collections

The Donald Newton Wilber collection is comprised of approximately 2,500 black-and-white negatives of Iranian architectural monuments. The collection depicts monuments from the Achaemenid and Sasanian empires.

The Donald Newton Wilber collection is comprised of approximately 2,500 black and white negatives depicting tombs, shrines, mosques, gardens and bridges throughout Iran. The negatives depict Wilber's work in Iran during the 1930's when he studied the architectural monuments of Iran, including the Shrine of Imam Riza in Mashhad, the Do Minar Dardasht in Isfahan, and the Achaemenid tomb in Naqsh-i-Rustam. Some of the monuments date from the Archaemenid (550-330 CE) or Sasanian Empires (224-651 CE).

The archive contains 53 collodion prints depicting Egyptian architectural monuments (mosques, tombs, and palaces). Most of the photos include the photographer’s name, print number, and image description at the print’s bottom right corner. All but one print are mounted on board and include hand written identifications describing the image in English or French.

The Egyptian Mounted Prints collection contains approximately 53 mounted collodion prints depicting Egyptian and Middle Eastern architectural monuments from the 19th century. While the earliest trends in Egyptian photography depict ancient Egyptian architecture, this collection focuses on the Islamic and Coptic religious architecture of Cairo, produced by photographers active from the 1870-1890s. The photographs were taken by three prominent photography studios, the Maison Bonfils (5 photos), Adelphoi Zangaki (C. & G. Zangaki) (1 photo), and G. Lékégian & cie (48 photos). The photos primarily depict Egyptian architecture in mosques and gateways within Cairo. The collection includes approximately 8 photos which depict daily life in Cairo. Finally the collection includes two photos taken of furniture and decorations located in museums.

The collection consists of approximately 900 negatives depicting the art and architecture of Latin American countries, including Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico and Cuba. The negatives were the product of Dr. Wethey's research focus on Latin American art and architecture starting in the 1940's.

The collection consists of approximately 900 negatives depicting the art and architecture of Latin American countries, including Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico and Cuba. The negatives were the product of Dr. Wethey's research focus on Latin American art and architecture starting in the 1940's. The majority of the collection focuses on the art and architecture of Peru, with a secondary focus on Argentina, especially religious architecture, including altars, facades, cloisters, naves, and chapels. The some of the Peruvian art is from the Cuzco school. Many of the negatives have been photographed from books. The artwork includes the work of Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Prilidiano Pueyrredón, Benito Quinquela Martín, and many others.

The collection was rehoused but the original negative sleeves were preserved, complete with the original description. The information written on the original envelopes was transferred to the new sleeves and recorded in an inventory, which is available upon request. The original sleeves are housed in the last two boxes of the collection.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photographs Collection. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama, and additional photographs of Islamic architecture.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph. The Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu collection documents the Islamic and pre-Islamic art and architecture of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Spain. Arthur Upham Pope focused primarily on Persian architecture and monuments, but his collection also includes photographs of Persian ceramics, textiles, and illustrated manuscripts. Wilber, Pope's colleague, also primarily studied Iranian monuments but he focused on those built during the Achaemenid and Sasanian empires. Oleg Grabar's work focused on the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty, the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornaments, and contemporary Islamic architecture. On the other hand, the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection depicts Afghanistan sculptures, statues, figural reliefs, pottery, and other archaeological remains, the majority of which are from the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan. Finally, Dr. Simpson's collection documents her work and her notes from her study of Islamic manuscripts around the world. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama.

The Kozo Sasaki collection is comprised of approximately 3,185 images of Asian artwork. The images are a compilation of slides and black & white photographs taken by Dr. Kozo Sasaki. The artwork ranges from the Momoyama period (1573-1603) to the Taisho period (1912-1926).

The Kozo Sasaki collection contains 3,033 slides and 152 black & white photographs taken by Dr. Kozo Sasaki himself. The slides and photographs depict Asian artwork, primarily Japanese, ranging from the late 16th century to the early 20th century and cover the Momoyama (1573-1603) to Taisho periods (1912-1926). The majority of the images are Edo period paintings and hanging scrolls. Many of the slides were taken of art in situ. Also included in the collection are images of sculptures, ceramics, mandalas, woodblock prints, sketches, illustrations, decorative arts, and photographs of temples. A set of twelve Japanese handscrolls are captured in a series of 152 black & white photographs.

The Marianna Shreve Simpson Islamic Manuscripts Collection is comprised of Dr. Simpson's notes on Islamic manuscripts from around the world. The collection contains approximately 5,455 digitized pages of her notes pertaining to about 610 Islamic manuscripts from around the world. This manuscript collection spans the history of the Islamic book between 1300 and 1600 CE.

The Marianna Shreve Simpson Islamic Manuscript Collection is comprised of approximately 5,455 digitized pages of Dr. Simpson's notes on about 610 manuscripts. The collection also contains approximately 4,800 unprocessed images, which Dr. Simpson collected during her research. Simpson's collection spans the history of Islamic book art and pays particular attention of illustrated manuscripts from 1300 and 1600 CE. Dr. Shreve Simpson created a documentation template which she used during her research with each manuscript. The template allowed her to create a detailed record of the titles of each manuscript, names of calligraphers, painters, patrons, date and places of production, and dimensions of each folio or text block, as well as additional descriptive details. Her notes span 4 decades of research in libraries, museums, and private collections. The Marianna Shreve Simpson Islamic Manuscript Collection is part of the Islamic Art Archive Collection.

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The Ağa-Oğlu collection is comprised of approximately 42 glass lantern slides and 648 slides, which depict Islamic and pre-Islamic art and architecture of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Spain. The collection was compiled by Professor Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu and Professor Grabar during the 1930's.

The Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu Collection contains 42 4 x 5 glass lantern slides and 648 slides compiled by Professor Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu and Oleg Grabar. The glass lantern slides depict images of pre-Islamic and Islamic architecture and material culture. The buildings (mosques, tombs, fortresses, domestic spaces) and objects (illuminated manuscripts, metalware, glassware) represent a vast geographical range from the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Spain. The 648 slides contain original field photographs, official museum photographs, and photographs of printed reproductions published in scholarly texts. This collection offers insights into the early state of the field of Islamic art and therefore is of particular interest to specialists concerned with issues of historiography. Likewise, scholars interested in studying monuments over time will find these photographic images useful.

The collection contains 11,469 black & white and color slides intended for classroom and/or coursework. Nearly all the slides are attributed with the artwork’s title, artist’s name, and artwork’s date. Occasionally, the institutional site of the artwork (i.e. museum, gallery) is stated on the slide. Approximately eighty percent of the slides are filed under individual artist names; the balance is filed under topics and themes in the History of Art.

The collection offers students, researchers, and educators the opportunity to study and/or teach a survey of 20th century Modern and Contemporary art through various media such as painting, sculpture, illustrations, prints, photography, architecture, and site-specific art. In general it is categorized by the artists name, without distinction within his/her/their body of work or notation of the art movements in which the artwork belonged. The strengths of the collection are in the quality of the slide images and the breadth of artists who are represented, totaling over one thousand. A substantial portion of the collection is devoted to the category of painting, followed by sculpture. The majority of the slide images were taken of art in situ and/or from publications. Nearly all the slide objects are in very good condition. The collection is in the process of being digitized.

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The Oleg Grabar collection is comprised of approximately 580 photographs, slides, and negatives compiled during Dr. Grabar's research and expeditions to Syria, Israel, and Jordan. Grabar specialized in the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty. Later his interests broadened to include the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornament, and contemporary Islamic architecture.

The Oleg Grabar collection is comprised of approximately 580 photographs, slides, and negatives compiled during Dr. Grabar's research and expeditions to Syria, Israel, and Jordan. Grabar specialized in the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty but later his interests broadened to include the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornament, and contemporary Islamic architecture. The collection is divided into three main series, the Photograph series, the Negatives series, and the Slides series. The Photograph and Negatives series contains photographs and negatives produced during the excavations of Qasr al-Hayr al-sharqi in Syria between 1964 and 1971. The Slides series is comprised of the slides created from Dr. Grabar's research and travel throughout Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Iran. The slides have been digitized and are available online.

Additional materials regarding Dr. Oleg Grabar and the excavation of Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi can be found at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. The Kelsey holds the excavation records from the site and correspondence regarding the dig (October 1962-September 1998), publications, maps, drawings, and more.

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The Palace Museum Archives Collection was part of a project from 1963 to 1964 to create and distribute a photographic record of the holdings of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. The archive is composed of three primary collections, the National Palace Museum (NPMT), the Chinese Art Treasures (CAT), and Chien-Mu, and contains the negatives and master file prints of all the photographs taken throughout the project.

The Palace Museum Archives Collection was part of a project from 1963 to 1964 to create and distribute a photographic record of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan's holdings. The archive contains two main series, which reflect the two mediums of the collection, Negatives and Master Files. The Negatives were originally produced during the photograph reproduction project at NPMT, while the Master Files are the black and white prints of the negatives. These series are further divided by the three main collections that make up the PMA, the National Palace Museum (NPMT), the Chinese Art Treasures (CAT), and the Chien-Mu. The photographs and negatives within these collections are then arranged by the dynasty during which the original artwork was created and finally by the medium.

The NPMT and CAT both contain paintings, various albums, and various medias. The Painting series contains handscrolls, hanging scrolls, calligraphy, and portraits. The portraits contain approximately 79 portraits of various emperors of China. For many of them, the artist and the dynasty they were commissioned during are unknown. Several of the earliest paintings depict mythical emperors or subjects who did not have portraits painted of them during their lifetimes. The Various Albums contains approximately 42 multi-leaf painting albums and they contain various artists, subjects, and dynasties. The Various Medias series contains photographs of objects made from bronze, ceramic, fa-lang, ink stone, ink sticks, jade, k'ossu, lacquer, silver, or wood. The Chien-Mu collection only contains handscrolls, hanging scrolls, and various albums and these items are generally understood to be lesser or more unreliable in terms of authenticity than those found in the NPMT or CAT.

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