Semitic Museum Report

The annual report of the Semitic Museum, by the Curator, Professor D. G. Lyon, announces the completion of the Semitic Building. The building, including furniture and cases, has cost about $80,000, and is the gift of Mr. Jacob H. Shiff. The Museum will be formally opened early in February, but the exact date has not as yet been determined.

The Semitic collection formerly exhibited in the Peabody Museum has been transferred to the new building and with it a large number of objects which it has been impossible to exhibit hitherto for lack of space. In addition to the former collection, the Museum has received large acquisitions during the past year both by gift and by purchase.

As far as possible, the material is grouped geographically. On the second floor is an exhibition room about 80x50 feet, to be known as the Assyrian Room; in it will be exhibited the casts of Assyrian, Babylonian and Hittite bas-reliefs and monuments and a number of smaller original objects. The Palestinian room on the third floor will contain the objects from Palestine. Arabia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria and Persia; and one or more cases will be devoted to each of these countries. Among the Egyptian objects is a collection of about one hundred numbers deposited by Rev. E. E. Hale '39; there is also on deposit a collection of rare Egyptian scraabs and beads.

A large number of gifts have been received by the Museum during the past year, and the acquisitions by purchase have been extensive. During Professor Lyon's stay of five months in Palestine, Syria and Egypt, he bought a great variety of objects illustrating both ancient and modern life in the Orient. The Palestinian and Egyptian exhibition is further supplemented by a collection of about five hundred photographs, taken during Professor Lyon's recent trip.

A large part of the report is devoted, as was last year's report, to showing the desirability of having the Semitic Museum undertake various explorations on its own account. Several European governments and at least two American Universities are displaying great activity in Semitic exploration, especially in Egypt, and any work undertaken there would certainly be justified by the results. In Palestine, where there is also material of great interest, the promising sites are not numerous and are gradually growing fewer. In conclusion the report urges the desirability of an endowment or of special contributions to enable the Museum to bear a part in the work of oriental research. For this work $10,000 a year is needed for from three to five years.