Edith Porada
Encyclopedia
Edith Porada was an art historian and archaeologist, a leading authority on ancient cylinder seal
s and a professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University
.
in 1935 with a dissertation about glyptic art of the Old Akkadian period. Later she moved to Paris to study at the Louvre
. In 1938 she emigrated to the United States where she worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the seals of Ashurnasirpal II.
She taught at Queens College and, beginning in 1958, at Columbia, attaining the rank of full professor in 1964. She was named Arthur Lehman Professor in 1974 and, upon retiring in 1984, held that title emeritus
. In 1976 she was awarded the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the Archaeological Institute of America
.
Columbia University established an Edith Porada professorship of ancient Near Eastern art history and archaeology with a $1 million endowment in 1983.
In 1989 Porada was awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters for Columbia for "profound connections between the human experience and the interpretation of the cylinder seals."
Cylinder seal
A cylinder seal is a cylinder engraved with a 'picture story', used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay. Cylinder seals were invented around 3500 BC in the Near East, at the contemporary site of Susa in south-western Iran and at the early site...
s and a professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
About
Porada was born in Vienna to a wealthy family. She graduated from the Realreform Gymnasium Luithlen in 1930 and received her Ph.D. from the University of ViennaUniversity of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
in 1935 with a dissertation about glyptic art of the Old Akkadian period. Later she moved to Paris to study at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. In 1938 she emigrated to the United States where she worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the seals of Ashurnasirpal II.
She taught at Queens College and, beginning in 1958, at Columbia, attaining the rank of full professor in 1964. She was named Arthur Lehman Professor in 1974 and, upon retiring in 1984, held that title emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. In 1976 she was awarded the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
.
Columbia University established an Edith Porada professorship of ancient Near Eastern art history and archaeology with a $1 million endowment in 1983.
In 1989 Porada was awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters for Columbia for "profound connections between the human experience and the interpretation of the cylinder seals."
Publications
- Mesopotamian Art in Cylinder Seals (1947)
- Seal Impressions of NuziNuziNuzi was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of Kirkuk in modern Al Ta'amim Governorate of Iraq, located near the Tigris river...
(1947) - Corpus of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in North American Collections (1948)
- The Art of Ancient Iran (1965)
- Ancient Art in Seals (1980)
- Man and Images in the Ancient Near East (1995)
Links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Art Historians
- Edith Porada, 81, Dies; Columbia Art Historian, New York Times
- Edith Porada, 1912-1994, H Pittman