Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

aCKnoWledGmenTS
i would first like to thank Philippe de montebello, director
emeritus of The metropolitan museum of art, and Carlos
a. Picón, Curator in Charge of the department of Greek
and roman art, for affording me the opportunity of guiding
the disassembly and reconstruction of the monteleone
chariot. mr. de montebello was also instrumental in organizing
with adriano maggiani, then director of the istituto
di Studi sulle Civiltà italiche e del mediterraneo antico,
the details of my collaboration with the metropolitan for
this project. To Carlos Picón i owe gratitude for his support
and the generosity with which he made his department’s
staff and its resources available to me during a period of
more than five years. Joan r. mertens has taken an interest
in my work since i first visited the chariot in 1989, and she
has provided considerable help in various forms during the
reconstruction of the chariot and the preparation of this
article.
my thanks go to those who have served as director of the
istituto di Studi sulle Civiltà italiche e del mediterraneo
antico of the Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche in italy
since my study of the monteleone chariot began: the late
mauro Cristofani, adriano maggiani, Francesco roncalli di
montorio, Paolo Xella, and Paola Santoro, the present director.
They encouraged my work, making it part of the institute’s
broader research Project on ancient Sabina.
i am grateful to the Soprintendenza per i Beni archeologici
per la Toscana, the Soprintendenza per i Beni
archeo logici per l’umbria, the Soprintendenza per i Beni
archeologici per l’etruria meridionale, the museo Gregoriano
etrusco at the Vatican museums, and the archivio
Centrale dello Stato for giving me access to many objects
and documents pertinent to my investigations.
i join The metropolitan museum of art in expressing our
appreciation to The Vannozzi monteleone Chariot Fund for
contributing to this publication.
in the department of Greek and roman art of the
metropolitan i am indebted to William m. Gagen, Collections
manager, who facilitated every aspect of moving the
chariot and every logistical detail; Fred a. Caruso, Collections
Specialist, who was of particular help when the chariot
was being assembled; John F. morariu Jr., Supervising
departmental Technician; and Jennifer Slocum Soupios,
Principal departmental Technician; matthew noiseux,
assis tant administrator, who patiently organized all the
arrangements pertaining to my trips to new York; and
mark C. Santangelo, associate museum librarian, The
onassis library for Hellenic and roman art, who facilitated
my use of the department library.
also at the metropolitan my thanks go to lawrence
Becker, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge, objects
Conservation, and James H. Frantz, research Scientist,
department of Scientific research, for their oversight of the
chariot’s conservation; to richard e. Stone, Conservator
emeritus, objects Conservation, for his willingness to discuss
the many questions posed by the object; and to
dorothy H. abramitis, Conservator, objects Conservation,
who resolved many inquiries of a technical nature. my special
admiration goes to Kendra roth, Conservator, objects
Conservation, who did most of the work on the chariot and
also contributed the descriptions of bronze corrosion in the
catalogue entries. in her readiness to provide information as
well as to discuss and clarify questions she proved a superb
colleague. Frederick J. Sager, Senior Conservation Preparator,
was meticulous in fashioning the substructure of the
chariot following my drawings, and the late John Canonico,
Conservator, provided help in many situations. Hermes
Knauer, armorer in the department of arms and armor, contributed
his exceptional expertise in removing the ancient
pieces of the chariot from its modern mount. Peter Zeray,
Photographer in The Photograph Studio, is responsible for
the superb documentation of the chariot—the individual
pieces when it was taken apart and the whole when it was
reassembled. i thank marco leona, david H. Koch Scientist
in Charge, and mark Wypyski, research Scientist, department
of Scientific research, for their role in the metal analysis,
as well as anibal rodriguez, Senior museum Tech ni cian,
division of anthropology, american museum of natural
History, new York, for the analysis of the ivory.
Special thanks go to the editorial Board of the Met-
ropolitan Museum Journal for accepting my manuscript for
publication and to the staff of the editorial department whose
exceptional skill brought it into being: Sue Potter, editor of the
Journal, and alexandra Bonfante-Warren, for their particular
editorial care and expertise; elizabeth Zechella, editor; Bruce
Campbell, designer; douglas malicki, production manager;
and Jean Wagner and amelia Kutschbach, bibliographers.
among the colleagues who have enriched my knowledge
in various ways i thank larissa Bonfante, marina
martelli Cristofani, laura ambrosini, maurizio Sannibale,
mafalda Cipollone, mary B. moore, Sidney Goldstein,
Françoise Gaultier, Jette Christiansen, and Judith Swaddling.
my special thanks go to Claudia Grasso and lawrence
Jenkens for their care in translating my italian text, dalia
lamura for her professionalism in producing the new drawings
of the chariot, and eleonora Stella for helping to compile
the list of authors cited in the article.
The Monteleone Chariot: Acknowledgments 107