History of the Collection
In summer 2006, approximately 800 ancient archaeological objects were wrapped, boxed, and gently transferred from the Rose Art Museum to the Classical Artifact Research Collection (CLARC) in the Rabb Graduate Studies Center. CLARC's mission is to allow students to study art and history experientially by identifying and tracing the origins and provenance of these artifacts.
Dr. James Rush of Clearwater, Florida made a generous gift to install a state-of-the-art security system to protect the collection. The office of then-Provost Marty Wyngaarden Krauss secured and helped fund the establishment of the new home for these objects, including marble and bronze figurines, ceramics, weapons, jewelry and medical instruments from 1500 B.C.E. to the Byzantine period.
These objects, mostly gifts to the university, were accessioned more than 20 years ago by classical studies. An additional gift from Dr. James Sussman led to a further, signifcant expansion of the existing collection. Regarding the collection itself, Director Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow calls it astonishing, saying, "The students' amazement at the artifacts is palpable. We hope it will captivate and inspire our students and archaeological scholars for years to come."
The Sussman Artifacts
In September 2006, the center received a generous gift of artifacts from Brandeis biologists and Professors emeriti, Raquel and Maurice Sussman.
The collection of twenty-four ancient artifacts consists of bowls, pitchers, cups, and perfume and oil vials that range in age from the Middle Bronze Age (2,000 B.C.E.) to the late Roman period (500 C.E.). The items were collected while the Sussmans lived in Israel from 1973-76. The accession of the Sussman's generous gift increased opportunities for scholarly engagement at all levels through CLARC.