Meghan Brady – Page 5 – Special Collections & The Gallery

Object of the Week – “The Gathering” by Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali
The Gathering
Lithographic print
23” x 27”
1980
2010.02.0001
Gift of Mr. Joseph Elkind

Ramadan Mubarak (Blessed Ramadan)! One of the holiest months of the year for Muslims, Ramadan commemorates the month in which the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by Allah (God). Daily fasting is practiced, and it is a time of self-reflection and spiritual improvement. Ramadan is a time to strengthen one’s relationship with Allah through reading the Qur’an and prayer, as well as reinforce communal bonds through shared meals when breaking the fast and giving to the poor. This print depicting figures in white walking towards a mosque with two minarets and a gold dome is by American Muslim, sports figure, celebrity and political activist, Muhammad Ali, who joined the Nation of Islam in 1964 and later converted to Sufi Islam after a pilgrimage to Mecca in the 1970s.

Object of the Week: Crucifixio Jesu Christi

Friedrich August Ludy
Crucifixio Jesu Christi
Engraving
13.375” x 17.5”
1852
83.2.137
Gift of Anonymous Donor

“Good Friday is much more than reliving the passion of Jesus; it is entering into solidarity with the passion of all people of our planet, whether in the past, the present, or the future.” – Henri Nouwen

Each year on Good Friday, Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Ludy’s engraving depicts these events. Pontius Pilate is shown a plaque which reads, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, as Jesus is nailed to the cross in the background. The figure depicted on the far-left kneeling in prayer is artist Johann Friedrich Overbeck who painted the original work on which this engraving is based.

Object of the Month: Design for Renovation for Existing Tester at Seton Hall Chapel

Design for Renovation for Existing Tester at Seton Hall Chapel
architectural drawing
11 1/8” x 16 ¼”
1963
2016.03.0001
Department of Archives and Special Collections, Seton Hall University

This design for the renovation of the tester (canopy) in Seton Hall University’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was created by Robert Robbins. It is rendered in gold and red with accents of white and blue. The letters “IHS” set into a sun shape are a Christogram, or an abbreviation of Jesus’ name in Greek. The Robert Robbins Studio designed church interiors, mainly in Anglo-Catholic churches. Robbins sketched the actual designs while his brother, Toby, took care of practical matters. A third brother, Bill Robbins, was Rector of Saint Thomas’ Church in New Haven, Connecticut.

Object of the Month – #37 Wool Baseball Uniform

#37 Wool Baseball Uniform
wool flannel
mid-20^th century
2019.04.0001, 2019.04.0002
Gift of the Smith Family

This wool flannel, short-sleeved Seton Hall University baseball uniform was in use in the 1950s. It was purchased locally from Crelin’s Sport Shops, located at 491 Valley Street in Maplewood, New Jersey. The shop was known for having “Anything in Sports.” While the school colors remain the same, uniforms are now made of polyester. Uniforms today are similar in style, though pants are not cinched at the ankle and knee-length pants are sometimes worn. The baseball program at Seton Hall has had an active presence on campus since its establishment in 1853 and twenty-nine of its players have gone on to play in the major leagues.

Object of the Month – Bayley-Seton League Banner

Bayley-Seton League Banner
felt
32 ½” x 172 ½”
mid 20^th century
Monsignor Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center
SHU0047
2018.23.0001

The Bayley-Seton League was founded in 1938 and is recognized as the oldest service organization at Seton Hall University. The League’s goals are to assist and support wherever possible the faculty of Seton Hall, to promote the scholastic and social efforts of the student body and to stimulate and advance the spiritual, educational and development of its members. One of the League’s first initiatives was the restoration of The Immaculate Conception Chapel. The League is still active today.

Object of the Month – Flemish Madonna and Child

Flemish Madonna and Child Statue
painted wood statue
71” x 36” x 22”
17^th century
73.3.1
Gift of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary – Summit, New Jersey

The Madonna and Child was part of a pair of statues that represented St. Godelieve and were carved for the eponymously named abbey in Bruges, Belgium. The sculpture made its way to the United States sometime in the early 20^th century. Documentation shows it was on display in 1933 at the Chicago Progress Exhibition, after which it came into the possession of an art dealer in New York who subsequently donated it to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, a Dominican Monastery, in 1963. In 1965, the statue was accepted into the Seton Hall University Collections. From 1994 until 2016, the statue was installed in the Art Center until being moved to its present location in the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives and Special Collections Center.

China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Visit

Calligraphy Creation — China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Members

Jeanne Brasile, Peiliang Zheng, and Greg Stevens with the finished calligraphy — Jeanne Brasile, Peiliang Zheng, and Greg Stevens

A 17-member Chinese delegation from the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles organized by the Triway International Group of Falls Church, Virginia visited the Walsh Gallery on November 5 and 7, 2018. They viewed the two solo exhibitions on display in the gallery, David Freund’s Gas Stop: Culture and Tom McGlynn’s Standards, and then heard presentations on relevant museum topics, specifically the changing roles of museums and curators, by Gallery Director, Jeanne Brasile, and chair of the Museum Professions graduate program, Greg Stevens. During the visit, Mr. Peiliang Zheng, the Deputy Director of the Professional Commission of Calligraphy and Art Center, created a piece of calligraphy that is now in the Seton Hall University Permanent Collection and hung in the Walsh Library’s Chinese Corner.

For more information about the visit, check out this article.

Chinese Corner Chinese New Year Celebration — Chinese New Year Celebration in the Chinese Corner

Object of the Month – Nazi Era Star of David

During World War II, German forces occupied parts of France from 1940 until 1944. Starting in June 1942, it was required that people of Jewish descent wear the six-pointed Star of David – a common symbol of Judaism—to signify their heritage. “Juif,” the French word for “Jew,” is written in Hebraic-style lettering. This star belonged to Michel Jeifa of Paris who was sent to southern France and hidden by a Christian family in 1942 at age 16. He and his sister survived the Holocaust, while their parents lost their lives at Auschwitz concentration camp.

This patch is part of the Jeifa Family Collection and was donated in honor of the Jeifa Family.

Object of the Month – Benito Mussolini Ethiopian War Speech Scarf

This silk scarf commemorates three speeches presented during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War by Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (b. 1883 – d. 1945). In the speeches, Mussolini compares the burgeoning Italian Empire with Ancient Rome. The speech from October 2, 1934 (left) announces the war with Ethiopia, the one from May 9, 1936 (center) declares Ethiopia’s annexation, and the one from May 5, 1936 (right) proclaims the occupation of Addis Ababa by Italian troops. These Italian actions were significant in the events leading up to World War II as Italy directly violated agreements with the League of Nations, of which both Italy and Ethiopia were members.

This scarf is part of the Valente Collection and was donated by Ruth Bystrom.

Object of the Month-Pima Tray Basket

Pima Tray Basket 3 ½” h x 10 ¼” w M92.5.2

Akimel O’odham women of southern Arizona (also known as the Pima) use techniques passed down through generations to create fine baskets. Though baskets are now treated as art objects, they were originally created for storing, carrying, serving, drinking, and protecting food items. Beginning in the 1880s, more and more tourists, scientists, and collectors traveled by the new railroad lines to the southwestern United States, resulting in the creation of increased numbers of baskets, such as this one, for the tourist trade. The pattern shown on this basket is known as coyote track.

This basket is part of the Seton Hall Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology Collection.