Blog – Page 3 – Special Collections & The Gallery

BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE!

Students in Dr. Laura Wangerin's "VIKINGS!" class discuss a replica of the Gundestrup Cauldron from the university's collections

This semester, students experienced history first-hand through object-based learning (OBL), an approach that adds value to classroom studies. In OBL, students learn via engaging in conversation and discourse using artworks, artifacts, archival materials, or digital representations of unique objects as catalysts to foster a sense of wonder, awe and curiosity. Object-based learning prioritizes critical thinking inspired by close observation to connect objects to concepts learned in the classroom.

Dr. Laura Wangerin’s “VIKINGS!” class visited the Archives and Special Collections recently to view the university’s replicas of the Gundestrup Cauldron and Book of Kells in a conversation guided by the student’s thoughts, questions and observations – relating the imagery back to what was learned through readings and coursework. Students were taken by the scale of the work, the construction of the cauldron, and the high relief imagery which is visible 360 degrees around. Engaging objects via the senses connects students to the past while making connections to the present. Objects are powerful tools for learning, especially when students realize they are standing in the presence of an object made by people or cultures from long ago. In this sense, objects can become almost like time machines, bringing us back to pivotal moments in human or natural history.

Noticias Summarias das Perseguições da missam de Cochinchina, principiada, & continuada pelos Padres da Companhia de Jesu. (OCLC #: 16077971)

In Dr. Kirsten Schultz’s course “Religion and Society in Early Latin America” students visited to see rare books published around the time of the Counter-Reformation to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the issues at stake as they discussed the role of the Church in colonial society. Conversation centered on the adventencia pages of the “Noticias Summarias,” which served as an agreement that the book could be published. The volume is an important account of the Portuguese mission in Cochinchina and Tonkin, today’s Vietnam.

The Walsh Gallery and Archives and Special Collections care for the university’s various collections and make them available for study, research, exhibitions and related programs. Objects include materials from world cultures and span from the neolithic era to the present. Highlights of the collection include Byzantine and Greco-Roman coins and artifacts; Native American basketry, ceramics and beaded crafts along with tools and leather goods; Japanese toys and 19^th century woodblock prints; 3,000-year-old Chinese ceramics and metalwork; contemporary Chinese art; 17^th and 18^th century European engravings; and documents dating to the founding of the Newark Diocese and Seton Hall College. There are also significant collections from New Jersey politicians such as Brendan Byrne – the state’s 47^th governor and Donald M. Payne, New Jersey’s U.S. representative who served the 10^th congressional district from 1989 until his death in 2012.

A portion of the university’s collections can be viewed on Google Arts and Culture and you can view scholar Dr. Caterina Agostini’s recent digital exhibition, “Currency Culture” which uses coins from the Ron D’Argenio Collection of Coins and Antiquities to discuss notions of power and politics as conveyed on minted coins from the Byzantine and Roman Empires.

Dr. Caterina Agostini presents her research on coinage — Dr. Caterina Agostini, D’Argenio Fellow at Seton Hall University presents her research on the university’s collection of coins to students in the Italian Studies Program.

Those interested in viewing the Gundestrup Cauldron can view it through the end of the semester on the first floor of the Walsh Library in the display windows outside the Archives and Special Collections. If you would like to make an appointment to use the collections for research, class visits or other scholarly pursuits, please contact us. We would love to hear about your projects and how we can work together to illustrate your ideas!

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The Walsh Gallery has a considerable collection of fine art, artifacts and archeological specimens for use by faculty, students and researchers. For access to this or other objects in our collections, contact us at 973-275-2033 or walshgallery@shu.edu to make a research appointment. Now on view in the Walsh Gallery: Seton Hall Re/Collects through Friday, December 9^th. The gallery is located on the 1^st floor of the Walsh Library and is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Groups of 8 or more must make an appointment prior to visiting.

Scary Stories from the Rare Book Collections

Get into the Halloween spirit with these spooky tales from Seton Hall’s rare book collections! They come from the book Ancient Legends of Ireland, written by Lady Wilde (mother of Oscar Wilde!), which we hold in our collections, and is currently on display in Walsh Gallery. You can read the entire book online at the Internet Archive.

Happy Halloween!

With thanks to the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center for filming and editing.

New Collections Available to Scholars in the SHU Archives

One year ago, Seton Hall’s Monsignor William Noé Field Archives and Special Collections Center received two grants: one to process the papers of New Jersey politicians, and one to process the papers of Irish fraternal organizations. Apprentice archivists were hired and trained by Seton Hall staff, and they got to work organizing boxes of material, deciphering handwriting, and creating custom archival boxes for obsolete media such as LPs and Super-8 videos.

The results are now ready for scholars:

MSS 132 Papers of Arthur A. Quinn, early 20^th century labor leader

MSS 003 Papers of Richard Hughes, the first Catholic governor of New Jersey

MSS 002 Papers of Bernard Shanley, Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower

MSS 0135 John Concannon Collection, National Historian of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians

MSS 0145 James MacFarland Collection, past president of the AOH New Jersey State Board

MSS 0146 AOH New Jersey Collection, materials documenting Irish American life sourced from the AOH New Jersey

MSS 0147 Knights of Columbus / Catholic Daughters of the Americas Collection, materials from these fraternal organizations

MSS 0148 James Comerford Papers, papers of a New York City judge who spent time as a volunteer in the IRA

MSS 0150 Gloria Schneider Papers, papers which document the donor’s involvement in numerous Catholic organizations in Northern New Jersey

The archives encourage those interested in these newly available materials to make an appointment to see them in the reading room. We look forward to seeing scholars use these collections to enrich our understanding of history!

PETROGLYPH FEATURED IN TRAVELING EXHIBITION

On the second floor of the Walsh Library is a rare petroglyph – a prehistoric rock carving – made between 3000-1000 B.C.E. The petroglyph generates numerous research requests each year due to its unique nature. One of those requests was made by the National Scenic Visitors Center/Earthwalk USA of Zionsville, Pennsylvania for their Earthwalk Explorer multi-media interactive exhibition. They requested a visit to the petroglyph to do a 3D scan which was written about in a previous blog post roughly two years ago.

petroglyph being scanned — the petroglyph being 3D scanned in preparation of the replica

This traveling exhibit pairs maps, topography, history, culture, written and spoken language and storytelling in an immersive experience that projects videos onto a topographical map of the East Coast of the United States. The looped video begins by revealing the original Lenni Lenape trails that eventually became the highways and busy roads we use today; facets of Lenape history and culture, and other fascinating information about the region’s forests, parks and borders. The National Scenic Visitors Center worked closely with Chief Demund of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania who offered this blessing which opens the video program:

“Grandfather, sacred and holy father, you whose breath we hear in the four winds. I say thank you for the wingeds, the four leggeds, the fish people, the creepy crawlers, the plants, the trees, the grandfathers. I say thank you for the breath of life and for all my relations.”

– Chief Demund, Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania

Adjacent to the exhibit is an activity area featuring a reproduction of the petroglyph. Visitors learn about the glyphs – their conjectured meaning, what they depict and how the words are pronounced in Lenape. The project relied on the Lenape Talking Dictionary for some of the interpretations. Professor Sean Harvey of Seton Hall University discussed the petroglyph’s significance in a video produced last year for Native American Heritage Month.

The petroglyph was located on Rudyard Jennings’ property along the Delaware River in Walpack Township, New Jersey until 1968 when it was moved to Seton Hall University by Herbert Kraft, a field archaeologist specializing in Lenni Lenape people and culture. Kraft was also a renowned professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at the university. At the time of the move, Kraft sought to preserve the petroglyph which was at risk due to a plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to dam the river which would have flooded the area: submerging the petroglyph. Plans to build the Tocks Island Dam were never realized, but the petroglyph had already been moved by the time the project was abandoned. The petroglyph is the only one discovered along the Delaware River, making it a unique resource that offers tantalizing glimpses into the life and values of the Lenni Lenape people.

Gallery Director Jeanne Brasile recently visited the Earthwalk Explorer which is on view at Northampton Community College in Easton, Pennsylvania to see how the petroglyph was integrated into the exhibit and interpreted for visitors. Brasile met with Mary Ellen Snyder, Executive Director of the National Scenic Visitors Center and Amy Hollander, Strategic Consultant at Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor who developed the educational programs and much of the content. Joining them were two student docents, Alexander Almonte and Alejandro Zuniga who enthusiastically and expertly guided the experience for visitors. Almonte described how his interest in GIS (a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface) and geography drew him to this work but the exhibit also stirred more of a connection to his own lineage which is partly indigenous Peruvian on his mother’s side. The exhibition uses the concept of geography and topography as a jumping off point for discourse on issues such as colonialism, land stewardship, respect and migratory patterns.

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Activity area features Lenape glyphs and language

The First In-House 3D Model

By Jeanne Brasile and Jacquelyn Deppe

Walsh Gallery is delighted to announce its first use of in-house 3D modeling in its current exhibit, Seton Hall Re-Collects.

Screenshot of the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session) being edited in Blender.

For our first model, the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session), a gift of Peter Ahr, was used. The medal was scanned in the TLTC’s Digital Scanning Lab using the KIRI Engine app and later edited in Blender to create the final file. By uploading the file into a 3D viewer plugin on WordPress, it allows visitors to rotate and zoom in on the front of the medal while appreciating the back displayed by its physical counterpart. Using 3D technology has allowed us to display both the front and back of the medal simultaneously!

Image of the reverse side of the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session).

Medal
Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session)
C. After
gold plated metal
2″
1965
Gift of Peter Ahr
2021.01.0015

Make sure to stop by and check out Seton Hall Re-Collects in the Walsh Gallery, a crowd-sourced exhibition featuring the university’s collections. Objects on display were selected by those who have worked with them, collected them or used them for research. Participants include students, faculty, staff, interns, volunteers, donors and scholars from other institutions – each contributing a label written in their unique voice which describes their interest in the object(s) they chose. The show includes of a wide array of art, artifacts and rare books including Japanese toys, historic 19th century ledgers, 17th century engravings, Roman and Byzantine coins, a print by Salvador Dalí and a medal from the Second Vatican Council – among other items. The show is on view September 12 – December 9, 2022.

The show’s inspiration draws on a series of exhibits organized by the Art Department in the 1980’s titled Seton Hall Collects. Each exhibition highlighted a related group of objects; traditional Japanese prints, Modern paintings and contemporary American prints. This reboot similarly highlights the collections though the selections are not limited to any one medium or type of object to emphasize the breadth and scope of the university’s holdings. Labels reflect the writers’ perspectives, favoring personal and contextual information about the objects over their physical attributes which was once the fashion for exhibitions. Gallery Director Jeanne Brasile conceived of the exhibition when she found an old exhibition catalogue from 1984 featuring Japanese prints while researching the Asian art collection. “This exhibition harkens back to the history of Seton Hall and the people who cultivated the many collections we enjoy today, while bringing this time-honored format into the future. It was exciting to see the exhibition take shape through the eyes of our collaborators.”

Seton Hall University’s beautiful main campus is located in suburban South Orange, New Jersey, and is only 14 miles from New York City — offering students a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. Seton Hall’s nationally recognized School of Law is prominently located in downtown Newark. The University’s Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) campus in Clifton and Nutley, N.J. houses Seton Hall’s College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences as well as the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. The Walsh Gallery, located on the first floor of the Walsh Library is open 9am to 5pm, Monday—Friday. Groups of 8 or more must register in advance. Admission to the gallery and its programs is free and
open to the public.

And stay tuned for more 3D models!

Asian Studies at Seton Hall University – The First Decade, 1951-1959

From its earliest days, Seton Hall has welcomed international students from locations across the globe. During the post-World War II era, the school made a concerted effort to introduce and promote educational initiatives specifically devoted to the Asian experience. These measures have enhanced the intellectual and interactive opportunities for the benefit of countless Setonians over the past several years.

The formal genesis of a venture into learning more about civilizations across the Pacific Ocean led to the creation of the Far Eastern Institute (now known as the Asia Center) at Seton Hall University on October 29, 1951. This date became a major milestone in school history as Monsignor John McNulty, University President hosted various dignitaries from Japan and the Republics of China (Taiwan), Korea, and Vietnam at the South Orange campus to officially christen the Institute. The basis of this alliance was founded on the principles of offering specialized instruction, promoting scholarship, programming opportunities, and the encouragement of cultural exchange with the faculty, student body, and community at large.

Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Inaugural Prospectus Cover Art, 1951

In more formal terms, the principles of this center were outlined in the following manner: “The Institute of Far Eastern Studies was organized to promote better understanding between the American people and the people of the Far East. The academic courses of this Institute will give the student an opportunity to study the cultural, historical, political, economic, religious and social aspects of the Far East. Since the Institute wishes to use every means available to encourage the interchange of Eastern and Western culture, it is engaged in research work, it conducts public lectures and forums, and publishes articles, monographs and books.”

First Board Advisory Board for the Institute of Far Eastern Studies, 1951

The first advisory board featured a distinguished group of officials who directed the incorporation and implementation of programs ultimately adopted by the Institute. This “regency” of trustees included the following individuals: The Reverend John J. Cain, representative of Seton Hall University and the Archdiocese of Newark; The Most Reverend Paul Yu-Pin, Archbishop (later Cardinal) of Nanking; The Honorable John Chang Nyum, Prime Minister of South Korea; The Honorable Kostaro Tanaka, Chief Justice of Japan, who later became President of Tokyo University; The Honorable Ngo Dinh Diem, former Prime Minister of Việtnam who later became President of the Republic; and Dr. John C.H. Wu, Chinese Jurist and Minister of China to the Holy See who also served as a Professor of Law at the Seton Hall University School of Law.

The first noticeable examples of institutional support came in the form of Seton Hall-endorsed research projects that focused upon various aspects of Chinese socio-political life. The major studies that began this trend included one by the Reverend John Niu, who investigated the cultural and social development of the Industrial Bank of China along with the reorganization of Chinese Economics from a Communistic perspective. In addition, Mr. Yeu Yeu Pan, former Commissioner of Education of Shanghai, conducted research on the principles of democracy as explained by selected ancient Chinese writers representing different centuries and schools of thought.

Concurrent with the inauguration of the Institute, the first documented Asian students to graduate from Seton Hall occurred during the early 1950s. Counted among the first alumni were Mr. Ly-Chanh-Du, ’52, a native of Travinh, Việtnam who earned a B.S. in Social Studies while attaining Dean’s List status and participated in the Le Circle Français Society. Mr. Francis P. Sing, ’53 hailed from Sen-Hui, Kit-Yang, Swallow, China, and earned his B.A. in Science and Management.

The creation of a formal and specific Asia-centric curriculum offered through the Institute commenced during the early-mid 1950s and was open to both high school and college students who could register both on a registered or non-matriculated basis. Courses were held at the University College Center campus located at 31 Clinton Street in Newark as part of the greater Seton Hall University Urban Division. Primary class offerings included Culture, History, Philosophy, and Political Science by country (including India and Pakistan) along with elementary through advanced levels of language instruction opportunities in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

In the wake of the growing allure of the Institute, The Reverend R.J. de Jaegher was dispatched by Monsignor McNulty on a goodwill tour of Asia during the late-1950s to meet with various dignitaries to further enhance the program. Counted among his findings included the following highlights . . .

The University of Viet-Nam is willing to exchange books, professors, etc., with Seton Hall. President Diem would like to have Father de Jaegher back to Vietnam for important work there as soon as possible.
Chiang Fu-Tsun, Director of the Chinese National Central Library, is a Catholic convert, and he is willing to exchange books with Seton Hall. Recently he has sent some valuable books for the Seton Hall Centennial.
All the Korean Universities invited me to give lectures and gave me a trunk full of Korean books for our Institute. All those Universities asked for documentation on Seton Hall.
Bishop Paul Marie Kinam Ro of Seoul (Korea) has a Holy GHOST MEDICAL College, the only Catholic College in Korea, and Bishop Ro requested me to ask you to have his College affiliated with Seton Hall Medical Center.
Father Willem Grootaers – a professor from the Catholic University of Peiping, a great authority on linguistics . . . after receiving a Doctorate at Seton Hall, could be research professor for Seton Hall in Japan and do some work for Seton Hall free of charge.

Msgr. John McNulty, University President poses with the following distinguished visitors during Commencement Exercises at Seton Hall University in 1957. Hon. Kotaro Tanaka, Chief Justice of Japan LL.D.; Hon. Chang Chi-Yun, Minister of Education, Republic of China LL.D.; Hon. John Myun Chang, Vice President of the Republic of China LL.D.

Additional advancements were made as the school continued to thrive into the late 1950s and subsequent decades as Seton Hall University teamed with the United States Department of Education, Health and Welfare to offer scholarships to students who were willing to learn to speak fluent Chinese or Japanese. Along with external support, the administration looked to broaden the program and affiliate it with the Department of Social Studies. This led to other opportunities that would arise in subsequent decades including various research endeavors undertaken by a number of faculty and students, the creation of the Seton Hall University Press which specialized in Chinese language texts, and official student and professor exchanges with individual Chinese colleges and universities among other activities of note.

Additional introductory information on the Institute including faculty and graduates of the school can be found within our online yearbook collection – https://scholarship.shu.edu/yearbooks/

Resources related to the Asian Studies experience are varied https://archivesspace-library.shu.edu/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&op%5B%5D=&q%5B%5D=Asia&commit=&field%5B%5D=&from_year%5B%5D=&to_year%5B%5D= Additional specific subject areas and topics beyond the 1950s alone including program development, faculty profiles, and other aspects of Asian Studies at Seton Hall can be made accessible upon request.

For more information on our resources and to schedule an appointment please contact via e-mail: archives@shu.edu or by phone at: (973) 275-2378.

Selected Bibliography

Asia Center, 50^th Anniversary Program. South Orange, NJ: Seton Hall University, 2002.

Far Eastern Institute Prospectus. South Orange, NJ: Seton Hall University, 1951.

“Far Eastern Institute” Files. Office of the President & Chancellor of Seton Hall University: John L. McNulty records Collection, Identifier: SHU-0003-012

“Seton Hall Inaugurates Far Eastern Studies,” The Setonian, 2 November 1951, Vol. XXVI, No. 6, 1-3.

Seton Hall University Catalog(ue) Bulletin, 1956-57. South Orange, NJ: Seton Hall University, 1956.

Walsh Gallery Receives Donation of African Art and Artifacts

Donor Richard Stern (L) and Gallery Director Jeanne Brasile (R) with some of the African sculptures donated to Seton Hall University

Retired Seton Hall University Librarian and Assistant Professor, Richard E. Stern recently donated a significant collection of African art and artifacts to the University. Stern acquired the objects when he was a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Liberia from 1969 to 1970. The donation includes more than sixty-five pieces of cloth – some hand-dyed by Stern – using traditional methods and natural materials such as indigo and cola nuts. Many pieces were hand-woven, including a small selection of Kente cloth from Ghana. Other hand-crafted objects include wooden masks and sculptures, cast metal figurines and beaded necklaces. “This donation is significant for Seton Hall University. The objects illuminate world cultures and artistic traditions unique to West Africa, while embodying the donor’s personal relationships to the people he met and places he traveled during his Peace Corps service. Stern’s personal recollections about the objects and the people connected with them are being preserved, providing a crucial layer of context for the collection. We could not be more appreciative.” stated Gallery Director Jeanne Brasile.

The collection amplifies the university’s Diversity Initiatives which celebrate a rich tapestry of global ideas and perspectives. Stern’s generous donation will expand Seton Hall’s collections overall, while augmenting existing collections of African art and artifacts including sculptures, paintings, photographs and prints. Presently, Collections Manager Laura Hapke is preparing the objects for exhibition by cataloguing each item and creating a safe storage environment for each, thereby ensuring access to this unique collection for generations of students, faculty, researchers and scholars.

Collections Manager Laura Hapke documenting Kente cloth donated by Richard Stern

The Walsh Gallery cares for and interprets Seton Hall University’s collections of material culture. In addition to the African art and artifacts the university collections include The Wang Fangyu Collection of Asian Art which spans over 3,500 years of cultural traditions from China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, India and Vietnam; The Seton Hall University Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology which includes objects from North American cultures including the Leni Lenape, Paiute, Zuni, Pomo and Tlingit peoples as well as objects from South America, Asia and Europe; and The D’Argenio Collection of Coins and Antiquities which includes coins from ancient Etruscan, Greek, Roman and Byzantine cultures. Appointments to see the collections can be made by completing this form. A sampling of our collections can be viewed on Google Arts and Culture. The Walsh Gallery is open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday—Friday and is located on the first floor of the Walsh Library. The gallery is free and open to the public.

Cloth vendor in Liberia – image courtesy of Richard Stern from his personal collection

Pathmakers in New Jersey Politics

exhibit walls behind glass — Pathbreakers in New Jersey Politics on display on the first floor of Walsh Library

Seton Hall cares for fourteen archival collections documenting the careers of New Jersey politicians, illustrating the evolution of this state since its founding in 1787. In 2021, the National Archives awarded Seton Hall a federal grant to process five of these collections: the papers of Arthur A. Quinn, early twentieth-century pioneer in labor activism, the papers of Bernard Shanley, Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower, Governors Richard Hughes and Brendan Byrne, and first Black Congressman from New Jersey Donald Payne. After processing, these unique materials will be available to the public, enriching our understanding of the state we live in and the many people who worked to make it better.

Exhibit case featuring photos, writings, inscribed book, political buttons and bound copy of Shanley diary

The exhibit includes photographs of these politicians, excerpts from their writings, political buttons issued by their campaigns, and most exciting: the daily diary kept by Bernard Shanley when he was Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower. The archives has a full copy of the diary now available to researchers, in addition to the bound copy on display.

painting of trees along a riverside, with sun glinting off the water — Edwin Havas
Along the Delaware
35 1/2” x 47 1/2”
oil on canvas
Date Unknown
2011.29.0001
Seton Hall University Permanent Collection

This exhibit is currently on display in the Archives Reading Room and may be viewed when the library is open. Hanging next to the hallway exhibit is a landscape by Seton Hall professor Edwin Havas, titled “Along the Delaware,” providing a contrast of the natural landscape in which all this political debate took place.

Special Collections and the Gallery acknowledge the support of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission, which generously provided funding for the archival work which made this exhibit possible.

closeup of exhibit text and acknowledgement — Acknowledgement to the National Historic Publications and Records Commission for its support.

Irish Immigrant Mutual Aid Societies in New Jersey

Recently, the Archives received a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission to organize and describe a large collection of records from Irish immigrant cultural organizations, primarily the Ancient Order of the Hibernians.

These records show how immigrants to the United States organized themselves to help one another. These mutual aid organizations provided an early form of insurance – members would pay a little every month, and if they were injured or got sick or a breadwinner in their family died, the society would pay them a benefit in order to provide financial security. These organizations played a crucial role in supporting working class people before the New Deal provided unemployment insurance on a national scale.

As their original role of financial support receded, these organizations shifted their focus toward celebrating culture and community. The Ancient Order of the Hibernians played a prominent role in organizing the famous St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York.

St. Patricks' Day parade program, printed on green paper — St. Patrick’s Day parade program, 1963

The John Concannon papers, which project archivist Quinn Christie is processing, also contain planning documents for the parade, invitations to local dignitaries to attend and play roles in the celebration, tickets, musical lineups, and much more. As Christie says, “This collection is full of surprises. I never know what I’m going to find when we open a box. In the papers of Concannon, we found the records of James Comerford, who served as President of the AOH and Chairman of the Parade. In addition to papers from his organizational roles, we found his membership card in the Irish Volunteers (predecessors to the IRA) from 1918.”

The collection will be available to researchers by the end of 2022.

Walsh Gallery Exhibits Objects from Seton Hall’s History “Out of the Vault” January 31 – May 13, 2022

painting of African American pregnant Mary — Deborah McDuff Williams
“Remember Me” (detail)
acrylic on canvas
1997

The Walsh Gallery presents “Out of the Vault,” an exhibition of objects that illuminate important moments in Seton Hall’s history. The exhibition situates the viewer with the founding of Seton Hall College in 1856 by James Roosevelt Bayley, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Newark and nephew of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton – the first American born saint and the university’s namesake. The exhibition then jumps 75 years to Seton Hall’s Diamond Jubilee Anniversary in 1931. Objects from this period include a gold embroidered brocade vestment, historic commencement photographs, and a hand-written inscription from President McLaughlin to Bishop Walsh written on a yearbook page. “Out of the Vault” also explores the 700^th Anniversary of poet Dante Alighieri’s birth in 1961 with paintings by Professor of Art Anthony Triano, engravings by William Blake and a rare text of Dante’s “La Vita Nuova” translated by celebrated artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

image of Walsh Gallery's current exhibit — Out of the Vault at Walsh Gallery

The Walsh Gallery and Department of Archives and Special Collections care for and interpret the objects in the university’s collections. This exhibition is one of the many ways the departments preserve the university’s history via material culture and research. Other collections include The Wang Fangyu Collection of Asian Art which includes objects spanning over 3,500 years from China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, India and Vietnam; The Seton Hall University Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology which includes objects from North American cultures including the Leni Lenape, Paiute, Zuni, Pomo and Tlingit peoples as well as objects from South American, Asian, European and African cultures; and The D’Argenio Collection of Coins and Antiquities which includes coins from ancient Etruscan, Greek, Roman and Byzantine cultures. The collections are available to students, faculty and scholars for research and scholarly purposes. Appointments to see the collections can be made by completing this form or a portion of our collections can be viewed on Google Arts and Culture.

The Walsh Gallery is open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday—Friday.