SEMITIC MUSEUM GETS COLLECTION OF RELICS

Dr. Robert B. Pfeiffer, Curator of the Semitic Museum today announced that the gift of a valuable collection of ancient pottery and glassware has been received from the estate of the late Reverend Mr. George S. Fiske '91 of Boston. The collection has been placed on public display at the museum.

Most of the objects in the collection come from the vicinity of Jerusalem and were assembled by the late Professor Max L. Kellner of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge during his journeys in the Near East in 1913-14.

The pottery, consisting of eighty well-preserved specimens, dates from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, 2000-1200 B.C., and from the beginning of the Iron Age, 1200-600 B.C. The 46 glass objects are excellent examples of the principal varieties of glass bottles, jugs, and bowls found in tombs dating from the Greek and Roman periods.

The Curator also made public the acquisition of a square stone foundation box with a long cuneiform inscription of Ashur-nazir-pal II, King of Assyria from 883 to 859 B.C., summarizing his military campaigns.

This box was excavated by natives at Tell Abu-Maria, a village 20 miles west of Mosul. Another recent purchase is a collection of South-Arabian antiquities, including twelve short inscriptions on stone and small bas-reliefs on red sandstone.