COLLECTING ARCHITECTURE: A CASE STUDY OF ANCIENT ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENTS HELD BY THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM

Abstract

Museums care for millions of objects, and therefore cannot possibly put their entire collections on display. Often, it is the grander objects that are pushed into service to illustrate the past while the broken and unimpressive pieces stay tucked away in a drawer. Such pieces, however, have their own stories to tell and lessons to teach. One such collection of fragmented and unassuming objects can be found at the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM). It is a unique collection of ancient architectural fragments from buildings of Greek and Roman origin. The collection consists of mosaic fragments, tesserae, bricks, tiles, and other building fragments primarily donated to the MPM by members of the Milwaukee elite who collected them during their travels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This thesis is a case study focusing on this unusual collection. The purpose is to examine the collection through the lens of the period in which it was collected, namely the American Renaissance, and to explore the methods and motivations for collecting the fragments. To accomplish this, I conducted biographical research on the donors and historical research focusing on the practice of collecting antiquities and architectural fragments. This allowed for the identification of themes including wealth, culture, interest, and memory. By analyzing this collection as a whole, it is possible to gain a better understanding of the collecting culture in Milwaukee at the turn of the 20th century. Uncovering the narratives of these fragments shines a light on their importance to the MPM and the Milwaukee community.