Cornell Cast Collection

About this collection

This digital collection is part of a larger aggregate of five distinct collecting areas on antiquities, which include ancient coins, gems, photographs and squeezes. Cornell University owns several collections of antiquities – originals and reproductions – from the ancient Mediterranean. Acquired mostly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their primary purpose was to serve as hands-on material for teaching and research. Once housed on the ground floor of Goldwin Smith Hall, the University’s former Museum of Archaeology, they are now dispersed over several institutions, colleges, departments and buildings on campus.

Historical context

Cornell University once owned a collection of plaster casts of sculptures, gemstones and inscriptions from different cultures and periods such as the ancient Near East, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome (the majority), the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the 19th century. In addition, architectural models and details of architectural sculpture from the above-mentioned periods formed part of the collection together with more abstract drawing models for art students. Only a part of this collection has survived, often in very bad condition and distributed all over campus.

Using the collection

For more information about this collection, contact Prof. Annetta Alexandridis, Department of History of Art and Visual Studies, aa376@cornell.edu and Prof. Verity Platt, Classics Department, vjp33@cornell.edu.

More information

Collection steward

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Metadata creation

Prof. Annetta Alexandridis and Prof. Verity Platt; Cornell University Library

Funding

Grants Program for Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences, awarded to Annetta Alexandridis, 2010

Credits

This collection overview was last reviewed in 2025.