The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1901-08-03

AWSSN wards Semitic museum,
SASsS1l through the generosity of Mr..
wv Jacob H. Schif of New York,
calls attention to one of the most inter-
sstng special collections in the country
L museum illustrating the life and
thought Of the Semitic peoples ancient
Ind modern, including the Babylonian-
Assyrian, the Arabian, the Phoenician,
;he Moabite. the Ethiopian, the Syrian,
Ind other branches, with the Hebrew.
Palestinian. SO called. as the nucleus and
central feature of the whole. IT is, in
TACT, in the broad and scientific sense, a,
Bible museum; intended not only to illus
rate the instruction given in the Semitic
department at Harvard, but to be a work
ng aid to serious Bible students every
where, both in the university and out OF
t.
There are Oriental museums in which,
semitic collections form en- important
part, and there are strictly Biblical mu-
seums' out there Is no other Semitic
museum, at once comprehensive and ex-
elusive, IN the world. 1t was founded in
1883 by gift Of $4,000 from Mr.. SchIff,
who had recently been appointed one of
q new committee to report to the Over
ceers on the condition of the Semitic de-
partInent, then as now unIar the charge
If E'rof. Toy and Prof. Lyon. Other gifts,
mainly from The same tenefactor have
brought the amount which the university
has been able to spend on objects for the
museum up to nearly $4,000. until now.
and for some years past, the collection
has 'quite outgrown it's narrow quarters
assigned to it in one of the galleries Of
the Peabody Museum. Accordingly, IN
1899, Mr. Schiff offered to give 5000
Tor building provided as much more
were sec, red from other sources. When
nearly $4,000 had been raised in accord
ance with these terms, Mr.. Schjff an
aounced that he would give the entire
$4,000 for the new building if the other
donors were willing, as it proved they
were, that their subscriptions should go
10 the increase Of the collection. Later,
when the plans of the new Museum were
submitted by the architect. Mr.. A. w.
Longfel-ow of Boston, Mr. Schiff further
increased his gift to 100000, to cover the
estimate of the contractors. 1t is hoped
that the building may be ready for occu-
pancy some time this year. 1t will b;e
three stories in height, with commodious
lecture rooms and a library for the
Semitic department on the ground floor,
and the exhibition halls on the second
and third.
The $4,000 available for the purchase
of further material should make the
semitic museum the most important Bib
1cal colection-for so in the main one
must consider Tin this country, and one
of the most interesting and instructive In
the world. AS has been said, the aim is to
make it of the widest usefulness to Bib
lical and Semitic students everywhere
Besides it's use to the students in the co.,
lege proper and in the graduate school,
1t Is situated it may be noted, in the
immediate vicinity of the Harvard divin-
ity school, and within a short distance
also of the Episcopal Theological school
In Cambridge; while in Boston and it's
suburbs are theological schools of the
Methodist Universalist, Baptist and Cath
Ole churches. Besides this availability
for professional use, so to speak, it is
hoped to offer from time to time to the
public, especially teachers in Sunday
schools and Bible classes, courses of lee
lures Of Biblical and Semitic subjects, to
be directely illustrated by the collections
in the museum. The year before last, for
specialists which treated, with this con-
slant reference to objects in the museum,
such subjects as the vegetation Of Pales-
tine, past and present; Palestine under
the Greeks, the Romans and the Mos
lens; the physical features of Palestine
the birds of Palestine, and life in Pales-
tine at the present day. AS has been well
said, for the general student of the Bible
"such a collection has the same kind OF
value that those in the old state house
and Old South meeting house in Boston
have for the students of American his
tory. It illustrates the Biblical narrative
and deepens fthe interest In the book by
making the record more real and intel
ligible.''
The most inspiring monuments in the
museum are to be found of course In the
acknowledgement section. Here a
great collection Of casts is being gathered
from scriptures IN the Louvre, the Brit
ish museum and other important Euro
pean museums. The collection of casts
from the British museum is already re-
markable, comprising as it does some LOO
or more monuments Of the great Assyrian
rulers from the time of Assunazirpal, SS4
B. c., to Assurbanipal (Sardanapalus) 65C
b. c. There is but little distinction, to
be sure, in the faces Of these monarchs,
but there is much variety In the gradual
changes of costume. The splendid AS
syrian animal sculptures, particularly in
the time of Sardanapalus, when Assyrian
art reached its height, are well rep
resented All Of the best of the British
museum sculptures that have been mould
ed have been procured, and it is intended
to secure the others so far as moulds can
be made Withoue danger to the originals.
Many were exposed to the flames in the
burning of the palaces of the fAssyrian
kings, and as result of the heat to
which they were then subjected the ala
baster of which they are made is too brit
tie to make moulds from without danger.
OF these, most of which are kept under
glass, photographs will be made. But
collecting as it will casts and photo.
graphs from all the great museums
abroad, the Harvard museum should in
O.. time possess the most representative col
lection of objects Of Babylohian-Assyria
sculpture ever brought together.
Other Babylonian-Assyrian material
are casts of the most famous Inscriptions,
and many original clay books, about
1000 in all, some dating back to 1000 B.
c., the time of Abraham, others to the
time of Observation-Disclosures, Cyrus. Darius,
and their successors on the Persian
throne, and revealing to modern scholar
ship all phases of public or private and
social Hfe-law suits. dowries, loans, or
the annals of the kings themselves. The
collection includes also large number
of seals, cylindrical or conical with cary
ings and the cuneiform writings.
In the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. department
it is aimed to illustrate the fora and
geology, the modern life and costume OF
Z. tho. country the Jaufsi rolf eri5,,,s