Arthur L. Frothingham records from the Etruscan tomb groups excavation

Although classical, including Etruscan, collections had been donated to the University of Pennsylvania Museum since the early 1890's it was in 1896 that Dr. William Pepper as President of the Museum’s Board of Managers and Sara Yorke Stevenson as Secretary of the Museum and Mediterranean Section Curator formally authorized excavations in Italy and the acquisition of Etruscan tomb groups, as well as individual objects, for the Museum. Professor Arthur L. Frothingham of Princeton, then Secretary of the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, was commissioned to represent the Museum in Italy. Most of the tomb groups which Frothingham obtained are from Narce and Vulci, although there are objects from many other sites including Cerveteri, Orvieto, and Civita Castellana. Although the actual excavation work was conducted by Italian archaeologists, Francesco Mancinelli-Scotti in particular, Frothingham sent letters, notes, and photographs (made by Lorenzo Cozza) of the Etruscan finds to Stevenson for the Museum's decision on purchases. Thus, much of the correspondence is of a financial nature, and is often between Stevenson and the Museum's managers as well as Frothingham, and a small amount with Mancinelli. Many of the funds for these purchases were provided by the American Exploration Society, which worked closely with the Museum and had been founded by Pepper and Stevenson as a fundraising arm of the institution.

Frothingham was connected with the University of Pennsylvania Museum from 1895 to 1898 and was even named an associate curator in January of 1897. However, his relationship with the Museum deteriorated following a dispute between Frothingham and Italian archaeologists over the ownership of armor from Narce and Stevenson's simultaneous questioning of Frothingham's appropriation of Museum funds following her visit to Italy in the summer of 1897. Much of the correspondence concerns the controversy over Frothingham and is often with Hector de Castro, Consulate-General of the United States, who represented the Museum. Since John Wanamaker had both contributed heavily to the Museum's Etruscan funds and entered into a contract with Frothingham to acquire his own small Etruscan collection, many of the papers concern him. Much of the correspondence was copied or summarized by Stevenson.

The records relating to the excavation of Etruscan tomb groups in Italy was originally compiled by Sara Yorke Stevenson, first Curator of the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s Mediterranean Section (1894-1905). These records were later gathered together by Edith Hall Dohan (Assistant Curator, 1911-1915, and Curator, 1930-1943) in order to prepare her 1943 publication, Italic Tomb Groups. It consists of correspondence, notes, financial accounts, and photographs related to the excavation of Etruscan tombs through which the Museum obtained the majority of its Etruscan collections.

Papers relating to other acquisitions of Etruscan material (Coleman Collection, Phoebe Hearst, Platt, etc.) are filed in the records of the Mediterranean Section — Sara Yorke Stevenson. Frothingham was asked to also investigate the purchase of marbles from Lake Nemi, and therefore some of the letters in the Etruscan Tomb Groups collection pertain to these finds.

In the "Excavation Notes" series, most seem to have been written originally by Mancinelli, but some were copied in other hands. Many were obtained by de Castro from Frothingham, then sent to Stevenson. The folder on Musarna concerns a collection of Etruscan sarcophagi and includes newspaper clippings from 1900.

For related collections see Sara Yorke Stevenson’s and Edith Hall Dohan’s curatorial papers in the Mediterranean Section records. See also the artifact photograph collections for studio photography of the Museum pieces, the Minutes of the Board of Managers, and the Mediterranean Section object catalogues.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, July 2009

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Corporate Name(s)

• University of Pennsylvania. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Field notes

Geographic Name(s)

• Cerveteri (Italy)
• Cività Castellana (Italy)
• Narce (Italy)
• Orvieto (Italy)
• Vulci (Italy)

Personal Name(s)

• Frothingham, Arthur L.
• Stevenson, Sara Yorke, 1847-1921