The University of Michigan Press recently published Roman Decorative Stone Collections in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, the tenth volume in the Kelsey Museum Studies Series. Authored by J. Clayton Fant (University of Akron), Leah E. Long (Mercersburg Academy), and Lynley J. McAlpine (San Antonio Museum of Art), this publication provides an in-depth look into the rich collection of Roman decorative stones amassed by Francis W. Kelsey at the turn of the 20th century.
The Kelsey Museum’s stones represent one of the largest and most varied collections of such artifacts outside Europe. Numbering approximately 700 and dating to the Roman period, they are mostly architectural elements, many of which came from renowned ancient sites including the Baths of Diocletian in Rome and the Palace of Herod in Jericho. This richly illustrated book—the first formal catalog of these artifacts—focuses on their archaeological contexts and object biographies, tracing each stone’s journey from antiquity to its current display in the Kelsey Museum.
“The volume provides a thorough introduction to the collection and a detailed catalog. The scholarship is meticulous and up-to-date,” noted Ben Russell of the University of Edinburgh. “All possible topics dealing with the subject treated in the volume have been covered with different in-depth analyses in a well-balanced way,” added Lorenzo Lazzarini from the University of Venice. “This work will add to our knowledge about the collection of decorative stones used in antiquity in general, and, more particularly, in the 20th century.”
