Gave my first test today. Everyone got 100%. Are they brilliant, or was my test too easy? I think they are brilliant.
The students have been anxious to talk about treatment of ivory, and I have been anxious to know more about the fate of the Nimrud ivories. Everyone’s wishes were fulfilled today. Most of the Nimrud ivories still await treatment, and I am hopeful that the training I am providing will make a difference in the outcome.
This evening had dinner with an architectural conservation consultant. He was born and raised in Africa, became a zookeeper in England (he was a friend of Gerald Durrell, one of my favorite authors!), and had a few other careers before settling into his current niche. His house reminds me of a Disney movie set–I was waiting for the princess to appear at one of the upper balconies.
I am traveling to Dohuk (a 3 hour drive) very early tomorrow morning to give lectures at University of Dohuk and to the Director General of Antiquities and his staff. Must finish preparing my lectures NOW.
Terry Drayman-Weisser is a guest blogger here on Culture Comment, during her trip to Iraq. She is the director of conservation and technical research, at the Walters Art Museum, and travels to Iraq to assist with conservation efforts there.
Gary Vikan, director of the Walters Art Museum since 1994, has been with the Baltimore institution for more than 20 years. A native of Minnesota, Gary received his B.A. from Carleton College in 1967 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1976 before working as Senior Associate for Byzantine Art Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.