Artefacts of Excavation

The collection owes its gestation to the efforts of Professor Richard Austin Rice, the first professor of the History of Art and Civilization at Williams College 1881-1911. He amassed a variety of study materials to support the teaching of art at the College including photographs, lantern slides and original works of art, the latter becoming the nucleus of the collection in the Williams College Museum of Art. Through his connection with the Egypt Exploration Fund some 29 objects were secured for the college, including 11 Predynastic black-topped pottery vessels from el-Amrah (listed on the college's website as Abydos, but the description of the object marks as b crossed with a t on the vessels confirms that this is el-Amrah material e.g. b205, b75, b73, b1093, b161) and 18 decorated wall fragments from Deir el-Bahri.